Current Events Blog: Environmental Innovations in Architecture

Article Link: http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/15617-environment-management-lsis-committed-addressing-climate-change-issues-depth

Topic: Environmental Innovations in Architecture

This article talks about the sustainability report by LS Industrial System in South Korea. The company discusses the environmental initiatives that the company has taken in the past few years, which include implementing regulations to decrease emissions and constructing energy efficient buildings that help the environment and are economical at the same time. They recently built the Anyang Research Institute and other buildings that have photovoltaic generation systems, smart outlets, and much more that reduce energy consumption by 10% every year. In total, the company can reduce annual energy consumption by 21%. The eco-friendly designs of theses building show how companies can reduce emissions and still be productive and how LS Industrial System is devoted to helping the environment. I admire and commend this company for taking so many steps to better the environment. In the media, it is more common to see or read about companies that go out of their way to evade or break environmental laws because what it profitable is not always environmentally friendly. For example, I have heard about some companies illegally disposing of waste in places deemed unsafe because it is cheaper to do so than to follow environmental laws and dispose of it properly. The actions of LS Industrial System made me question why they would voluntarily take on initiatives to help the environment and save energy when it is most likely costly. This company proves the generalization that being green is expensive wrong by showing how going green can be a great economic decision. As I was reading, I was amazed by all that the company did to help save energy. The architecture and buildings that were made to conserve energy, while costly, will save the company more money in the long term. The statistics of the amount of energy conserved through the use of eco-friendly architectural designs and buildings was mind blowing and made me wonder why more companies don’t follow this initiative.