Many companies are also reluctant to go green for financial reasons.

Even though studies show environmentally friendly structures reduce operating costs in the long run, initial expenditures are sometimes up to 10 percent more.

"There is a lot of lip service out there," says Steve Khouw, head of sustainable design firm DNA Green Design. "There are a lot of people who say 'Yes, yes, yes, I care about the environment,' but at the end of the day they are always looking to cut costs."

Another barrier to the widespread adoption of sustainable buildings, especially by domestic companies, stems from a lack of awareness of its benefits as well as a shortage of resources available to help implement it, particularly in smaller cities.

"How do you get it into the hearts and minds of Chinese developers and Chinese consumers?" asks Liu whose nonprofit JUCCCE is running a training program with the Ministry of Housing this month in Beijing to educate mayors on how to integrate more environmentally friendly infrastructure in their cities.

"They want to do the right thing. There is just the lack of capability at the local level," says Liu.

Further, there has been a lack of incentives from government to push local companies to build green.

This could soon change, however, with the development of the Green Building Assessment Standard, a three-star-rating system created by the Ministry of Construction.

So far, the new domestic standard has been adopted on a voluntary basis, yet some speculate Beijing could mandate its uptake in coming years.

"I have full confidence China's green building will develop properly," says Wang Wei, senior chief engineer of the Shanghai Research Institute of Building Sciences and one of the principal authors of the new three-star system.

"Step by step, from east to west and from south to north it will develop," Wang says.

Going green: Facts and figures

Green buildings conserve natural resources through the efficient and intelligent use of energy, materials, water and building sites.

One of the greatest benefits of green buildings is their reduced use of electricity and energy, which helps reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Green buildings use approximately 30%-50% less energy than conventional buildings.

Over 60% of the world's resources are used in building construction.

The US Environmental Protection Agency classifies indoor air quality as one of the top five environmental health risks today, with the concentration of air pollutants up to 100 times higher indoors than outdoors.

Homes or offices with green technologies and appliances are likely to have a greater market value.

Catching rainwater can help supply the water needs of an entire household - a 1,000-square-foot (92.9-square-meter) roof will supply 600 gallons (2,270 liters) of water per inch (2.54 centimeters) of rainfall.

Daylight is good for everything: It saves energy, provides a higher quality of light than lamps, increases productivity and is good for your health.

Green surfaces help with insulation, climate control and storm runoff.

A project that meets higher levels of LEED certification can include a wide array of features, including storm water retention through innovative landscaping, reflective roofs, energy-generating resources, personal comfort controls and certified woods.

A typical home uses an entire acre of trees and six automobiles' worth of steel for construction.