Carlos Bahia, dressed as Santa Claus, talks with boys at the Maresias beach, in the state of Sao Paulo December 9, 2014. In the Southern Hemisphere summer starts on December 1, so while countries in the north are experiencing a white Christmas with grey skies, those in the south are busy surfing and sunbathing in temperatures just shy of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Sheep are herded during the annual sheep parade through Madrid November 2, 2014. Shepherds parade the sheep through the city every year in order to exercise their right to use traditional routes to migrate their livestock from northern Spain to winter grazing pasture land in southern Spain. (Photo by Susana Vera/Reuters)

A man carries an injured civilian at a site hit by what activists said was an air strike by forces of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus December 27, 2014. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)

A sculptor walks past ice sculptures at the Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival “Eiswelt Mainz” in Mainz, Germany, November 22, 2016. (Photo by Ralph Orlowski/Reuters)

Refugees and migrants try to find a place on an already full train headed for Serbia, near the city of Gevgelija, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on February 24, 2016. Refugees and migrants from Iraq and Syria continue to pass through Macedonia on their way to the European Union. (Photo by Georgi Licovski/EPA)

“Warming up”. This photo I capture in the early afternoon, the animal species of lemurs fly. Photo location: Sambas, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. (Photo and caption by Hendy Mp/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Just hanging out”. As full autumn hits the valley of Hallingdal in Norway, this bear chills out in a tree which seems to barely cover its weight. Photo location: Flå, Hallingdal, Norway. (Photo and caption by Jorgen Tharaldsen/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Green building also known as green construction or sustainable building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient.