IGBC establishes 30 mn square feet of green building footprint

Over 30 million square feet of green building footprint has been created in the north-east region by the Confederation of Indian Industry's Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), a CII member said on Sunday. The CII has rated as green three building projects in Meghalaya, which includes the Raj Bhavan and the North Eastern Council Secretariat, CII member Ramendra Nath Baishya told PTI.

In Assam, five projects have been certified as green, including the GNRC Healthcare Centre, Miles Bronson Residential School, Royal Global School and NPS International School in Guwahati, said Baishya. Fifteen projects in different parts of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura are also under consideration for green building certification, he said.

The CII-IGBC is observing the World Green Building Week that concludes on Sunday, to underline the need and importance of green buildings. The theme for this year is 'Home Green Home' and through this campaign, the CII-IGBC highlighted the fact that when homes are green they use less water, optimise energy efficiency, conserve natural resources and generate less waste as compared to conventional homes, Baishya said.

A green home has many tangible benefits, leading to energy savings to the tune of 30 to 40 per cent and water savings to an extent of 20 to 30 per cent over conventional structures, said Baishya, who is also the Chairman of the Indian Institute of Architects, Assam Chapter.

The intangible gains include the better health of occupants through abundant daylighting in every part of the house and enhanced ventilation. CII-IGBC has demonstrated a clear business case for green buildings with construction costs coming down to about two to three per cent over traditional ones, and homes, cities, villages, schools, infrastructure projects and places of worship adopting IGBC standards, Baishya pointed out.

"CII-IGBC aspires that the place we live, work study, play, commute will all go the greenway, and in the process, facilitate in building a greener and healthier India," he added.