The commercial and residential sectors constitute the major markets for the real estate industry in India. These sectors also consume a lot of energy and contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. As per an official draft (Modern Building Bylaws for Construction of Green Buildings) by the Town and Country Planning Organisation, Government of India, "In a typical residential building in India, approximately 60 per cent of the total electricity is consumed for lights, 32 per cent for air conditioning and 8 per cent for refrigeration." Considering this, it's a no-brainer that if investment were not an issue then there's no reason that any building should shy away from the green option.
Infrastructure investors like Kruti Jain, Director, Kumar Builders, whom we talk to, tell us that the concept of green buildings is yet to take off in a big way in India. The awareness of green buildings in India is largely found in the metro cities. Rural areas are yet to wake up to the green building concept. Compared to other Asian countries such as China, Singapore and Japan or Western countries such as the US and Canada, India probably stands at the bottom rung of the ladder. Having said that, the awareness about going green is slowly but steadily increasing.
Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) is one such institution attempting to support the growth of the green building philosophy. IGBC claims that there are 307 buildings in India "certified" as being true to that philosophy. It's quite clear that the numbers we're talking about are extremely miniscule, if not close to being non-existent when one considers the cumulative number of buildings in India. Yet, it's also clear that the glass could be seen as being half full, and the potential for Indian buildings going green be perceived as huge.
So how does one go, so to say, green? Rajat Malhotra, COO, Integrated Facilities Management (West Asia), Jones Lang LaSalle India, opines, “One obvious factor is awareness. The second most important factor is aligning Corporate Sustainability Goals with real estate selection. Green spaces not only allow for 14 to 16 per cent increase in productivity but also reduce the operational cost of the building, consume less energy, water and other resources, leading to offices which are more environmentally responsible and have a lower carbon footprint."
As far as the technological challenges for setting up green buildings go, Jackbastian K Nazareth, Group CEO, Puravankara Projects Ltd agrees that the initial investment is marginally higher (5-15 per cent) than a conventional building, but that differential is apparently diminishing – what used to be a 15 per cent in 2004/05, decreased to 8 per cent in 2010 and is now around 5 per cent. So cost is not really a huge concern. “What we need is greater awareness and adoption of green building practices in construction design,” he states.
The unique features of any green building project include solid waste management, rain water harvesting, irrigation technologies, waste segregation systems, and of course, solar energy. Also, many green building projects fail to factor in many intangible green building benefits (like improved indoor environment quality, improved productivity). These should be accounted for while formulating the cost and benefit analysis.
Will the Indian government over the next few years bring in any regulation that requires mandatory green certification of all buildings in India – something like they've done with products like air conditioners, refrigerators and others? Some believe that such a regulation is just around the corner. Not many know that through an Act passed by the Indian Parliament in 2001, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Government of India, was authorised to develop the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC). The code was subsequently developed and is functional under BEE, although it is in use only on a voluntary basis. There is no doubt that the future intentions of the government would be to make it mandatory for all buildings, as the 2001 Act was originally passed with the mandatory clause (and changed subsequently).
Notwithstanding the ECBC, there are certain top builders who believe that the process of constructing green buildings commences at the site selection and the design level itself. Reasons Boman Irani, Chairman and Managing Director, Rustomjee Developers, “The windows and the doors must be placed in the manner that they cut direct sunlight to reduce heat gain, while letting the rooms get enough air flow through cross ventilation. The site’s closeness to the public transport system too is reckoned, which helps in reducing the dependence on private vehicles that contribute to the carbon emission.” Apparently, post designing, construction material must be procured within the vicinity and must be compliant to the principles of re-use. Instead of bricks, fly-ash concrete blocks for building purposes should be used.
Read more....
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
| BBA Management Education |
No comments:
Post a Comment