Sustainable materials are key elements of green buildings. Some benefits of sustainable materials include durability, long life, recyclability, and energy and thermal efficiency. Copper ranks highly in all of these categories.
Copper is one of natures most efficient thermal and electrical conductors, which helps to conserve energy. Because of its high thermal conductivity, it is used extensively in building heating systems, direct exchange heat pumps, and solar power and hot water equipment. Its high electrical conductivity increases the efficiency of lighting, electrical motors, fans, and appliances, making a buildings operation more cost effective with less energy and environmental impact.
Because copper has a better thermal conductivity rating than usual façade and roofing materials, it is well-suited to solar thermal façade systems. The first commercial application of a fully integrated solar thermal copper façade system was installed at the Pori Public Swimming Complex in Finland. The installation is an urban example of sustainability and carbon emissions reduction. The solar façade works in conjunction with roof collectors and is supplemented by roof-mounted photovoltaics that provide 120,000 kWh of heat, an amount of energy equivalent to that used annually by six average family houses in cold-climate Finland.
One standard in the United States Green Building Council (USGBC)'s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system (LEED) requires that newly constructed buildings include materials containing pre- and post-consumer recycled content. Most copper products used in construction (except electrical materials that require highly refined virgin copper) contain a large percentage of recycled content. See: Copper in architecture#Recycling.