ACE Update – July 2019

16 july 2019 ACEARCHITECTURECONSTRUCTIONENGINEERINGUPDATE

GREEN BUILDINGI I Industry speaks

E

arlier, there was no specific Green
Building code mandatory in India
and the country was driven more by
the aspirations of private companies than
legislation set by government. There was
just an EIA clearance process by Ministry
of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
(MoEF) for which there were various
stipulated conditions mentioned in the
environment clearance. Now, however, the
scenario has changed drastically.

According to Mala Singh, Co-Chairperson, IGBC
Mumbai Chapter, the environmental norms have
been made more stringent, also most of the
green building norms are an integral part of the
clearance. All construction projects with more
than construction area of 20,000 sq.mt. India
hopes to be a global leader by 2025, on-ground
implementation of these policies is a vital aspect
for making environmental sustainability a
ground reality. The clearance mandates norms
for waste management, sewage treatment,
rainwater harvesting and generation of solar
power and climate-compliant thermal envelope
of all built structures. Certified green buildings
are now incentivised based on the achieved
benchmark levels. Several states in India
including Maharashtra, have now FSI benefits to
the developers as per new development control
rules and reduction in development charges
along with rebate in property tax to the

tenements. Environment clearance conditions

and green building norms have lot of synergy

altogether to ensure overall sustainability

in any project including implementation

of ECBC and NBC Codes from the design

planning level. If India hopes to be a global

leader by 2025, on-ground implementation

of these policies is a vital aspect for making

environmental sustainability a ground reality.

Green governance is the most neglected aspect

of policy implementation. Due to the various

government campaigns like Swacch Bharat

Abhiyan, Make in India, Clean and Green India,

etc. every person is becoming gradually aware

of environmental degradation and subsequent

need for conservation. Hence, demands green

homes.

Current status of green ratings

Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has

more than 25 rating systems in India to

promote green building movement. “Site

sustainability, water efficiency, enhanced

energy performance, sustainable building

materials and indoor environmental quality

are the sustainability parameters that must

account for- in the planning, design and

construction of IGBC Certified green buildings.

Considering the warm and humid climate of

Mumbai, natural and enhanced ventilation

with dehumidification is the best method to

achieve occupant comfort,” said Singh. The

lack of land and water resources in the city’s

snug urban fabric, highlight the ardent need

for conservation of these resources. Integration

of sustainable vegetative pockets in the city is

another urgent need to improve the air quality

and avoid a Delhi-like consequence.

Availability of green products and materials

In India, so far, the focus has been on

environmental protection as a priority;

as well as on carbon emissions and waste

management. Very little importance was given

to product oriented standards till recent time.

The development and implementation of

standards for green products (such as GreenPro

• an IGBC Initiative) is bringing about a change
  in the market availability of green products
  and boosting their demand in Indian markets.

Effective communication of green products

to consumers in India is also one of the

major challenges taking into consideration,

the limited knowledge on green products

and minimal information disclosure of the

same. “The lack of understanding of eco-

label usage for products makes it difficult for

the consumers to differentiate between the

nationally or internationally accepted eco-

labels and the spurious self-declared claims

made by the manufacturers. IGBC Certified

Green buildings result in major resource

conservation,” says Singh.

Environment clearance conditions and green building norms

have lot of synergy altogether to ensure overall sustainability

in any project including implementation of ECBC and NBC

Codes from the design planning level.

Mala Singh, Co-Chairperson,

IGBC Mumbai Chapter

Conducive Green Governance

to ensure overall sustainability