Historic Preservation Is Environmentally Friendly, Too

"Buildings often outlive the purpose for which they were built. Adaptive reuse is a process for adapting old buildings for new uses, while retaining their historic features. The progressive concept of adaptively reusing historic buildings followed on the heels of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and was a precursor of the more recent emphasis on "smart growth" and "sustainable development." The basis for the adaptive reuse philosophy is four-fold: environmental benefit, energy conservation, economic stimulation, and social advantage.

Preservation, restoration and rehabilitation are much less destructive of natural resources than new construction. Statistics show that building construction consumes 40% of the energy and raw material consumption in the global economy each year. In 2001, new building accounted for 25% of wood harvest, 16% of fresh water supplies, 44% of landfill debris, 45% of carbon dioxide production and up to half of the total greenhouse emissions from industrial countries. Conversely, in adaptive reuse, an older building is stabilized and historic materials are saved and strengthened - holding down the need for natural resources and ameliorating the effects of production."