Green Building Movement in India

Prem C Jain
Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) of CII is spearheading the green building movement in India. The movement was triggered off when CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre in Hyderabad was awarded the first prestigious Platinum rated green building in India. Since then, Green Building movement gained tremendous impetus in the country.

As on September 10, 2013, over 2,190 green building projects spreading to over 1.64 Billion sqft of green building footprint are registered with IGBC. Today, all types of buildings, all over the country are going the Green way. These include: Airports, Banks, Colleges, Convention Centres, Factories, Hospitals, Hotels, Institutions, Existing Buildings, IT Parks, Offices, Residential buildings, Schools, SEZs, and Townships.

The reason for this significant progress is the fact that green buildings make good business sense. Though the incremental cost of a commercial green building would be 2-5% and a green home incremental cost 1%, these additional costs get paid back within an attractive span of 2 to 4 years with substantial reduction in operational costs.

This important proposition is enabling stakeholders to go the Green way. Today, the construction of green buildings is technically feasible and economically viable.

Green Building Congress

Green Building Congress, held annually in a different city, is providing a unique platform for the stakeholders of Indian construction industry, to attend and share, network and explore new biz opportunities. This has helped tremendously in the rapid spread of green building movement across the country.

The event was flagged-off in 2001 and since then it has received overwhelming response from the stakeholders. Over the years, the event has grown in stature, content and participation; with what started as 250 delegates in 2001, over 2,500 delegates attended the 10th edition of Green Building Congress in 2012, held at Hyderabad.

Over the years, some of the latest and emerging green building concepts, shared at Green Building Congress, include: Energy Simulation Analysis, Tall Green Structures, Green Homes, Green Interiors, Green Landscapes, Green SEZs, Green Cities, Net-zero buildings, pre-fabricated homes, BiPV, Light pipes, solar air-conditioning, radiant cooling, geo thermal cooling and many others.

This is one such platform where all the latest trends, updates, technologies, success stories, case studies, etc would be offered under one roof. It provides a platform to forge International collaboration with organisations, academic institutions, research organizations in taking forward the green building movement across the globe.

This is enabling in bringing new green building concepts & technologies. This also provides a platform to share best practices and exploring new business opportunities. In this regard, IGBC inked MoU's with World Green Building Council, US Green Building Council, Green Building Council of Australia, CEPT, University of Salford, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, IAPMO, and others.

Needless to say, the stakeholders look forward to attend this annual flagship event.

On Display

The remarkable feature of Green Building Congress is the steady increase in the number of companies displaying their products and technologies at the international exhibition. This is one such platform where the visitors can touch, feel and smell the latest and emerging green building products and technologies.

The event also provides an opportunity to understand the requirements / needs of the stakeholders and develop products, tools, technologies accordingly.

Green Building Congress

At Green Building Congress 2012, over 120 products and technologies were on display. Few of the innovative products on display included: Permeable concrete, Light tube, Hybrid wind solar energy system, Radiant cooling technology, Recycled entry - way mats, Vertical gardening systems, High performance chillers, Low flow water restrictors, Building information modeling systems, Green Wood, Perforated clay bricks, etc.

Green Future for Students

Some of the unique features of Green Building Congress are:


Green- I contest for School students aims to create awareness and encourage students to think and implement unique environmental conservation measures in their schools.

As part of this contest, the winning school gets a grant of Rs.7.5 lakh towards implementation of their green ideas within their school campus.

The contest has made a great impact in terms of influencing school students to think about the environment and be aware of the various measures that can be taken to minimize the negative impact on the environment.

IGBC annually organsies Green Design Contest for architectural students across the country, with an aim to imbibe principles, information & knowledge and also to encourage new thoughts and innovation in green design that would pave the way for designing sustainable, futuristic and innovative buildings.

'Young minds going Green' is new session at Green Building Congress which would provide a unique opportunity for the top 2 entries from participating school selected and architectural for the Green I contest & IGBC Design Competition to share their ideas & thoughts incorporated in their projects.

Green Building Mission

Another important feature of Green Building Congress is to organize Green Building Mission to certified buildings. This provides a unique opportunity for participants to have a touch and feel of green building concepts and technologies, which in turn encourages the participants to appreciate the need and importance of green buildings.

The 11th edition of Green Building Congress 2013 is slated to be held from 24 – 26 October 2013 at Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, India. This year, the theme for the event is:' Futuristic Green Habitats and Technologies.' Besides this, Green Building Congress 2013 will feature the following events: Advanced Training Programme, International Conference, International Exhibition, Conference on Green Homes, Existing Buildings, and on Green Interiors.

Conclusion

All said and done, Green Building Congress is one important vehicle of IGBC in highlighting the need and importance of green buildings for a sustainable tomorrow. As a result of Green Building Congress, IGBC could mainstream green buildings. Today, green buildings have become a way of life.

The positive energy generated at the event propels all the participants to take the movement to the next level and facilitate India stand tall in promoting green buildings.

The vision of the Council is 'to enable sustainably built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in this sector by 2025'. In this regard, Green Building Congress would play a catalytic role in realizing the vision of the Council.