Green Buildings Are Not Expensive

Constructing green buildings is a practice that will 'save' our planet earth. Though the concept of ‘green buildings’ has been around in India for last few years, yet most constructions that take place in our country are conventional. This is largely due to the ‘myth’ that the going 'green' is a costlier affair. The fact is that conventional builders do not wish to upgrade the designing process of architecture, water management, energy management and related processes.

If we consider, for example, how water management in green building bring down the use of water, then we understand that going green is more cheaper than we think in longer period of time! Let us assume that a family has four members on an average. In a huge construction, there will 100 homes. Therefore, the water consumption per year, will be around 20 million litres. In a green building, it can be brought down to 90 litres per day per person using water saving faucets and taps.

So if a ‘green’ building is a cost effective proposition then why aren't more people opting for it? The primary reason is that making ‘green’ buildings is not obligatory. More over, consumers doesn't ask for it. If consumers become more and more aware of benefits of going green, then there will be a market for it and builders will have to offer green buildings. Also, the government has to take it up. Apart from going for ‘green’ buildings, making existing homes eco-friendly is one of the best ways to save energy. 

Building Sense: Beyond the green facade of sustainable habitat

A frenzy of construction in India is under full swing to meet the demand for homes, offices, and shops. A staggering two-third of buildings that will stand in India in 2030 are yet to be built. According to Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), there can be massive environmental debacle in the building sector if resource guzzling and wastes with appropriate architectural design, building material, and operational management are not minimized with some policies. There will be enormous impact (negative) on the quality of urban space; water and energy resources in cities; and waste generation if developers does not make these under construction buildings green.

The New Delhi based research and advocacy organization, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has raised this concern in a study- Building Sense: beyond the green facade of sustainable habitat. The organization has expressed deep concern that the data put out by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) on energy consumption of large commercial buildings that were rated and awarded silver, gold and platinum rating, under the LEED green rating programme, is incorrect. These buildings are grossly under-performing. Several of them cannot qualify even for the one star label under the energy star labelling programme of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that ranks buildings based on their energy efficiency when operational. 

India: Green building footprint to touch 2 billion sq ft by 2015

The concept of green buildings is gaining ground among developers of India and the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) believes that green building footprint to touch 2 billion sq ft by 2015. According to IGBC, 1,745 eco-friendly building projects with over 1.21 billion sq ft of green footprint are registered with the council.

"Green buildings consume 40-50 percent less energy and 20-30 percent less water. Besides, the intangible benefits of green buildings include better indoor air quality, enhanced ventilation, better view and ample sunlight that significantly improve the productivity of the occupants," says Gurmit Singh Arora, vice chairman of IGBC Mumbai chapter.

Though the building cost of a green building may be marginally (3 to 5%) higher than the conventional building, but the incremental cost gets paid back within two-three years with substantial reduction in operational costs. Developers have realized the importance of the green concept as it also offers them a good financial business model.