A green building, with a better energy-efficient design and eco- friendly construction material to minimize the consumption of power and water within the building, in most cases, does not differ very much from that of normal buildings.

Green buildings cost 4-10% more than normal ones, but have lower running costs; they can also earn carbon credits. The concept of carbon credit trading is mainly introduced encourage countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Surplus credits can be sold in the global market. One credit is equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide emission reduced.

Technopolis, the first green building in the world to be registered under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a clean development mechanism project would earn around $161, 220 every year on carbon credits.

Green buildings also use 40% less potable water and water is conserved through a zero-discharge system under which the entire effluent is treated in a sewage treatment plant and this water is recycled for air conditioning and other purposes. Green buildings can save as much as 30% on power consumption every year compared with normal buildings.

The construction mainly has a clay-based material mixed with water and then rammed into brick or solid wall form, suitable in hot and dry climates, to straw bale houses, literally using bales of straw as the core structure. There are also so-called earth ships, which use recycled car tyres filled with earth as the buildings walls, or Yurts or Gers, the semi-permanent nomadic tents of Inner Asia, that utilise local wood, wool and canvas, to literally live on, with the land.

These buildings are scored by rating systems, such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system developed by the US Green Building Council. The council rates buildings as silver, gold or platinum based on certain parameters such as water and energy efficiency.

With the cities getting crowded with concrete, companies are looking at green buildings, also as a part of their social responsibility. They can be a challenge to consider and create, but if done, it is beneficial - both for man and environment.