Escalating global environmental deterioration is due in significant part to buildings' share of total environmental burdens - ranging from 15 to 45% of the eight major environmental stressor categories. Therefore, improved building environmental performance could substantially reduce harmful anthropogenic environmental impacts. Previous efforts to address buildings' environmental impacts often lack a science-based approach and claims of "sustainability" or "green design" are often unsupported.
Low emitting building materials have contributed to the reduction of indoor air contaminants, and in many countries gas ranges and gas cookers are rarely used. As a result, in buildings located in urban environments, a considerable part of the contaminants in the indoor air may originate from the outdoor air. In urban areas buildings are exposed to high concentrations of a large number of contaminants, especially during traffic peak hours.
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