Ensuring ecosystem sustainability by protecting habitats is the goal of proposed requirements for ASHRAE’s green building standard.
“The intent of the proposal is to maintain or restore a minimum level of biodiversity including bio-diverse plantings, native plants and limited turf grass,” said Anthony Floyd, a member of the committee working on the standard. “Supporting and maintaining the biodiversity is critical to the long term health and sustainability of ecosystems of which humans and all life depend on for existence. Sustainable development recognizes and attempts to account for the interdependencies of ecosystems in the human built environment. Hence, Standard 189.1 addresses biodiversity at the building site level in recognition of these interdependencies.”