Sustainability And Indian Real Estate

Taking action on India’s environmental crisis is no longer an option – it is a necessity. Sustainable real estate presents India with an unique and enormous opportunity to make concrete progress in the country’s effort to improve its environment. There is greater consciousness towards the environmental crisis in India with terms such as sustainable development, corporate social responsibility and triple bottom reporting becoming more common in the real estate industry. Nevertheless, despite the ever rising construction activity, awareness of sustainability in India has significantly lagged behind countries in the West.

Even so, the Indian commercial sector has begun to make conscious efforts towards creating sustainable real estate. With support from the Indian government, a number of construction projects that are currently underway are registered with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). LEED is soon emerging as the preferred rating system as it is flexible enough to be applied to a diverse variety of markets and also because it enjoys the greatest recognition of the various international rating systems. This recognition is especially important when one considers that a prime motivator for developers to create a certified sustainable building is to differentiate their project from competition.

The government has introduced several schemes to encourage sustainability such as the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) schemes for subsidising capital for installation of solar water heaters, encouragement of energy audits and management schemes, mandatory use of fly ash-based construction material, groundwater and rain water harvesting and most importantly increased monitoring of air and water pollution.

Sustainable development can be achieved through synergy between developers and occupiers to establish goals, undertake audits and ascertain where savings and improvements can be made. We need to focus on high-impact, low-cost solutions that can be implemented within a realistic timeframe. The importance of educating occupiers on the impact their use of space will have on sustainability outcomes is integral to the success of a sustainability programme.

To properly educate developers, their patterns of behaviour must be changed to accommodate and reinforce any sustainability features that have been implemented in a building. The main objective of any education and communications program should be to encourage developers and occupiers to follow practices such as energy and water conservation, waste management and improve indoor air quality.

Gagan Singh, CEO – Projects and Development Services, Jones Lang LaSalle India

Statue Circle to be revamped, more green.

A major hangout for Jaipurites — Statue Circle — is all set for a revamp as possibilities to make it more green, spacious and beautiful are being explored.  The Statue Circle development plan received a major boost as an understanding was reportedly reached to acquire land from the adjoining properties.  The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) has proposed acquiring a strip of 25-metre around the existing periphery of the circle.  A meeting of the property management and urban development officials were held on Thursday, under chairmanship of urban development minister Shanti Dhariwal, in which the acquisition exercise was approved.  The income-tax office, Birla Auditorium and a few private properties are located around Statue Circle. The affected land owners are expected to be provided compensation in non-monetary terms. The JDA is considering offering additional floor area ratio and other relaxation in compensation for the acquired area.  The private owners have assured unconditional support to the plans. Officials from the income-tax department and Birla Auditorium have no objection, however, a formal approval from senior officials is awaited.  JDA will soon formally start land acquisition and the development of the circle. “The original layout of the circle will not be changed, only the landscaping and plantation will be altered inside the existing circle. The additional land acquired will be used to widen the roads and other development work,” said a senior JDA official.  A prominent landmark, Statue Circle attracts considerable crowds during evening. Its proximity to major commercial institutions and government offices also adds to the number of vehicles passing through the area each day. The Statue Circle Road is estimated to witness a peak hour rush of more than 3,000 vehicles. Thus traffic congestion and parking-related issues have become routine.  Several designs have been previously proposed for development of the circle. A parking project was also proposed at the site. However, the tourism department had reportedly objected to any distortion with the heritage appearance of the circle.  According to the new proposal, the existing circle will only undergo a change in plantation cover. While some of the additional land will be used for road widening, the remaining land will be used of development of green space around the circle. Installation of a marble fountain and other facilities have also been proposed to provide additional attractions for tourists.  LAND TO BE ACQUIRED FROM  • Birla Audtorium  • Income Tax office  • Portion of JMC vacant land  • Hotel Haveli  • Land from two other private bungalows  

Green buildings to grow over three times by 2014

Environment-friendly and energy- efficient buildings are increasingly becoming popular and may grow over three times in the next five years, thereby offering new opportunities to the beleaguered construction industry, a government official. "Today, India has close to 30 million square ft of green buildings; an amazing achievement given the fact that we had only about 20,000 square ft in 2003 when the movement started here,"Ajay Mathur, Director General for Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Ministry of Power, said.

"Market estimates take the figure to over 100 million square ft in the next five years, opening big opportunities for the industry," Mathur said. A green building uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste and is healthier for the people compared to a standard building, according to the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). The Bureau of Energy Efficiency is adopting various mechanisms for reducing power consumption substantially in a bid to combat climate change. BEE, which introduced star rating for determining the energy efficiency of electronic home appliances, has started a similar rating system for commercial buildings. "Our other initiative includes assigning ECBC (energy conversation building code) to generate awareness and popularising energy-efficient green building designs suiting the climate condition in Tripura," he added.