Here’s one definition of the term “green building”, given in 2007 by Prof Thomas Lützkendorf at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany: “The broad term ‘green building’ today covers many different ideas, as it has evolved from a combination of varying concepts and trends. In German-speaking areas, these concepts were influenced by ecological and biological trends in building and construction and can be circumscribed, among others, with strategies for energy saving, environmentally friendly construction and administration that conform to health standards. Such a building then more than meets the criteria for reducing energy costs and the resulting environmental effects in the utilisation phase: the complete lifecycle will be included.”

Although the first report of the Club of Rome in 1972 had already talked or warned about the limits of economic growth, it was on