Greenbuild India conference inaugurated by Shri. Devendra Fadnavis, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Greenbuild, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building, premiered in Mumbai, India. It was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis at Bombay Exhibition Center (NESCO). The event saw several sessions by inspiring speakers, LEED and EDGE workshops, an exhibit hall with groundbreaking green building products and services, and Greenbuild Leadership Awards.

Edward Mazria, Architecture 2030 Founder and CEO, delivering the opening keynote address, India Rising: Providing Global Leadership, shared a vision for how zero-carbon growth can take place in a growing economy through building design and planning, and clean energy development.

Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO, USGBC and GBCI, said, “India is a high performer in green building, ranking third among the Top 10 countries for LEED green buildings outside the U.S. There is a great opportunity for India to be innovative with the rapid urbanization underway in all cities. For the next ten years, we will continue to focus on increasing adoption of sustainable buildings, communities and cities in order to build a sustainable future for all, and to drive transparency and performance in our built environment.”

A session titled Bridging the Gap: Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities highlighted that an estimated 110 million units (affordable homes) are likely to be built by 2022 under the ‘Housing for All’ program of the Government of India. However, cost and sustainability considerations, including energy efficiency, integrated water management, improved thermal comfort, and waste management, are often ignored.

The eminent panel spoke about how environmental building rating systems and environmental assessment systems have evolved to provide a documented and systematic approach to design, build and operate buildings that are less resource consuming over the life-cycle while providing a more comfortable and healthy space for people to live and work.

At the Women in Green Power luncheon, Mili Majumdar, MD, GBCI and Sr. VP - USGBC, led a discussion on the role and contribution of women in the green construction sector. The theme of the session was Sustainability Leadership; it was attended by women architects, designers, and specialists from various sectors.

At the closing plenary, Afroz Shah, a lawyer from Mumbai, delivering the keynote, spoke passionately about his personal mission to clean Mumbai’s beaches, in particular, the world’s largest beach clean-up project – Clean Up Versova Beach.

At the Greenbuild Leadership Awards, which recognizes outstanding leadership and achievement in the green building space, USGBC awarded eight organizations. Awardees included Mangu Singh, MD, DMRC; Gautam Dey, Director, DLF; Kishore Bhatija, MD, K. Raheja Corp; Dipak Hatsal, CEO, ITC Hotels; Swapnil Joshi, Regional Head HVAC and iBMS at Infosys; Deepa Sathiaram, ED, En3 Sustainable Solutions; Tanmay Tathagat, Director, EDS; and M Selvarasu, Director, LEAD Consultancy & Engr Services (India).

Greenbuild India, presented by USGBC and ABEC Exhibitions & Conferences, brought together professionals from across India and Asia. Attendees got an in-depth look at LEED v4, the latest version of the world’s most widely used green building rating system, and GBCI’s suite of rating systems that are helping drive the adoption of green practices across all levels of business. The event served as a forum for the green building community to unite, revolutionize business, and address pressing issues such as air quality, human health, energy use and global climate change.

Greenbuild International Conference and Expo held annually in the United States since 2002, is the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green buildings. Greenbuild India will strive to build on this global expertise by bringing together Indian and global industry leaders, experts and frontline professionals dedicated to sustainable buildings.