I’s not every day that you see a case of “acting-like-you-preach” scenario of companies living green themselves, but South Korea has built the first zero-emission business center ever. The building is home to a climate change research center and is based exclusively on renewable energy, provided by 66 different types of green technologies, including solar and geothermal.
Maybe calling the 2,500 square-meter building at Incheon, near Seoul a home for the ministry’s National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) is a bit too much. But the fact that the environmental ministry paid $8 million just to see it completely rely on clean energy is nevertheless true.
The idea of its construction came about as Lee Myung-bak’s government intends to cut down on carbon emissions by 30% until the 2020 deadline. Since buildings are responsible for about 25 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in South Korea, the government thought it would be a good idea to invest in one that is pollution-free. The building is expected to reduce emissions by 100 tons each year and bring about $100,000 to the budget in energy expenses.
NIER’s officials view this building as a symbol for the governmen’s implementation of green policies and they hope it will “raise public awareness of reducing greenhouse gases.” We say there should be more like them in the near future, especially since they look so modern!
[via The StarPhoenix]
