The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Green building movement, of late, gaining momentum

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Green building movement, of late, gaining momentum

Aloysius Xavier Lopez

It has started creating interest among stakeholders of housing sector

“A green building uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste”

CHENNAI: Even as the global economic slowdown is affecting construction industry, the green building movement is continuing to gain momentum. The impact of the slowdown has made various stakeholders think of different options to reduce operating costs. The movement has started to create interest in the minds of stakeholders of the housing sector in Chennai.

“The green home concept is picking up in the city. The number of clients who want to opt for green homes is continuing to increase,” said Deepa Sathiaram, Executive Director, EN3 Sustainability Solutions.

Last year all 28 registered green projects in Chennai were commercial buildings. Of the six green building projects registered so far this year three are housing projects, M.Raghu, Deputy Director, Confederation of Indian Industry.

The concept of green buildings has become a marketing tool for builders in this period of economic slowdown, said Ms. Sathiaram.

According to the definition provided by the Indian Green Building Council, “A green building uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste and is healthier for the people living inside compared to a standard building.”

The design of green buildings helps reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human wellbeing and the natural environment by efficiently using resources such as energy and water, protecting the health of the dweller and improving productivity of employees, reducing waste, pollution and ecological degradation.

Some of the commercial green building projects being developed in the city include Royal Bank of Scotland in Ambattur, Shell in Perungudi, ABN Amro Bank in Chetpet, Great Lakes Institute of Management and Standard Chartered Bank.

However, Chennai was lagging behind other cities in India in the construction of green residential projects, said Ashish Rakheja, National President of Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE) and Chief Operating Officer, Spectral Services Consultants.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system provides the set of standards governing green building certification. Total number of LEED projects certified in Chennai is 12 and the number of projects registered for LEED certification is 33, said Mr. Raghu.

The cost of design and construction of green buildings has been decreasing tremendously in the recent months and the cost is expected to become lesser than normal buildings, said Mr. Rakheja.

For example, the cost of a waterless urinal has decreased from Rs.25,000 a few years ago to Rs.2,500. The consistent reduction of the price because of better technology will make green buildings affordable soon, said Pankaj Dharkar, PDA-MEP Consultants. The cost of construction of green buildings was 30 per cent higher some years ago. Now the cost has come down and green buildings require around 10 per cent more money, said S.Arul, a green building consultant. The money saved by the reduction in operating costs of green buildings will be higher than the additional investment of around 10 per cent, said Mr. Rakheja.

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