The difference between a green building and a conventional building is in the approach and a conscious effort to reduce consumption of energy
Over the last decade, as the Indian economy underwent liberalization with multinationals making their way into the country, India saw a boom in infrastructure development especially with the real estate sector growing phenomenally. However, in the wake of development, conserving the environment was a challenge which the real estate sector had to address. According to the Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj study, the real estate industry is one of the biggest emitter of green house gases in India. The study goes on to mention that as per a report by the Ministry of Power in June 2004, 2025% electricity consumed in government buildings was wasted due to inefficient design.
The green building movement gained tremendous impetus over the last six years. With a modest beginning of 20,000 sq ft green built-up area in the country in 2003, today more than 300 green buildings with a built-up area of over 230 mn sq ft are being constructed all over India, says S Srinivas, senior counsellor, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Center.
Defining a green building, Dalip Sharma, MD, Delta Electronics says, Green building, also known as a sustainable building, is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green buildings are designed to meet certain objectives such as protecting occupant health; improving employee productivity; using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and reducing the overall impact to the environment.
While from the exterior there is no visible difference between a green building and a conventional one, the difference is in the approach, concern towards the environment, and a conscious effort to cut down the use of resources like energy, and an attempt to provide comfort and safety to occupants.
Standards Play
According to the theme paper of Green Building Congress 2008, an important development in the growth of the Green Building Movement has been the indigenisation and launch of LEED-India Green Building rating system for New Construction and Core & Shell. LEED India rating system has been designed to suit the Indian construction industry context.
To facilitate the adoption of green building practices relevant to the local climate and regional practices, the IGBC is also working on the development of new rating programs. While most environment experts have been focused on making commercial buildings green, IGBC has introduced a welcome program for making homes green as well. The IGBC Green Homes launched in May this year is the first rating program developed to address the residential sector in the country. More than sixty-five buildings with a built-up area of about 88 mn sq ft are being designed as per the IGBC Green Homes rating criteria.
Meanwhile, LEED is not alone, so as to say. The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) has also come out with a certified process named as Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), which has been adopted by the Government of India. It is a 100-point system focused on design efficiency, rather than just upfront usage of technology, addressing peculiar Indian issues like the underground water table, etc. Over 30 GRIHA certified projects are in various stages of construction, from a Center for Environmental Science in Kanpur to Fortis Hospitals in different cities. GRIHA could be the homegrown challenger to LEED.
But whatever be the outcome one thing is certain that, in the coming days one will be able to see and work in a lot of these green buildings. That is not only good for the employees, and the employers but also for the nation at large.
Government Intervention
While some believe that proactive measures on the part of the government is required to encourage the construction of green building, Srinivas differs. The concept of green building is based on the premise of companies opting voluntarily for it. Therefore to expect the government to incentivise is incorrect, he says.
According to Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj study, the government did launch the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) under the National Building Codes and Standards. This code is voluntary and is applicable to buildings or building complexes that have a connected load of 500 KW or a contract demand of 600 KVA, whichever is greater.
On the design front, traditionally consultants were appointed in the due course of the project, leading to no interaction between the various designers who worked on the project. However things have changed for the better today, as an architect can contribute in various aspects like orientation, envelope design and selection of materials leading to energy efficiency.
Many doubts have been raised over the cost efficiency of a green building vis–vis a conventional building. Even though the cost of a green building could be higher than a traditional building, yet this has to be seen in a different light because the baseline cost for all comparisons needs to be similar.
The incremental cost is always relative and depends on the extent of eco-friendly features included in the design stage. The incremental cost would appear small if the baseline design is already at a certain level of good eco-design; it would appear huge if the base design has not considered green principles. Moreover in any other building, the operating cost would work out to be 80-85% of the capital cost while the one time incremental cost is only about 8-10%. But in a green building, reducing operational costs leads to reduced total cost of ownership.
Since its inception in 2001, the concept of Green Building has gained tremendous popularity not only among the environmentalists but also the developer community and corporate as well. And an indication is the growing number of LEED-certified green projects. IGBC also undertook a unique initiative of Green Home rating program for certifying green homes. Perhaps in times to come, the Indian real estate with active participation from all stakeholders would see the proliferation of green buildings in India.
Large household appliances
The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimates there are 500 million obsolete computers in the United States, and 130 million cell phones are thrown out every year.
