COMMITMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY [August 2012]

Mala Singh, Founder & CEO at PEC Solutions elucidates her perception about going Green and the future ahead
According to you, what does a green building means?Green building means “A Self Sustainable Model”, a building which consumes least number of natural resources, saves water and energy; minimises the waste, provides healthy environment and good quality of life to the occupants. Making green building is a commitment towards sustainable development. It is need of the hour due to global warming and climate change issues.
The Earth has a treasure of natural resources which we are using since long time back in the history for our benefit and comfort. Human consumption of natural resources today overshoots the Earth’s biological capacity by about 20 per cent. Looking at the World’s ecological footprint, which compares the consumption of renewable natural resources with nature’s biologically productive capacity, we see that it would take 1.2 Earths to regenerate resources at the rate we are using them. Now, it’s the time when the over use of these resources have led to their scarcity and soon we won’t have them anymore. Using these valuable resources in an efficient manner and execution is the need of the hour. This objective can be fulfilled by making green buildings and sustainable infrastructure to provide good quality of life to the community.
The common perception is: “Nothing comes without extra cost”, so how much cost-efficient the green buildings are keeping Indian mind-set in mind?The day is not far away, when our future generation may depend upon mineral water/ packaged water for bathing and will start buying oxygen cylinders to breathe. ‘Global Warming’ needs to be treated as a ‘Global Warning’. Consumption of natural resources for our needs will never be stopped, it is a better choice to spend a little extra to adopt the green and sustainable strategies, which can control the consumption of natural resources and we can contribute to put our little efforts in the current time to save our future generations from the expected scenario of water scarcity & deficiency of clean air. I hope, the contribution of this little cost from us will definitely pay good results and will repay automatically in future.
In addition, if a building is legally compliant and incorporates all environmental compliances in the planning stage itself, it will not need any extra cost to spend further. For e.g. rainwater harvesting, recycling plant, vermicomposting, and energy efficient appliances etc. are part of legal approval conditions in most of the projects specially in those cases where seeking environmental clearances is mandatory for having built up area more than 20,000 sq. mtr. Hence, making legally compliant building is an important social responsibility & developers need to understand this fact, where capital cost, paybacks and profitability need to synergise altogether in the initial planning stages. There are a few developers who have started green building initiatives and keeping concern to conserve the natural resources and fulfilling the regulatory compliances. Presently, we at PEC Solutions are involved in such various green building projects across India, where intent of developer is quite fair towards sustainable growth. There is a lack of awareness of green building concept among the common man in India; its information is available for those who can access web service or able to participate in green seminars and conferences. But it has not been explored yet at that level for the masses like common man. There is a big need to simplify the concept and spread the awareness among the common man belonging to mass communities. Here in this case, electronic and print media can prove their contribution towards Mother Earth by promoting green concept to the common man. I feel the sale of more number of green buildings in India in the consumer market will definitely have positive impact, where occupants will get experience of good quality living in green buildings and demand of green buildings, green products & green technologies by the consumers will increase itself.
Is it possible to build green homes for the low-income group?Yes, our company is involved in designing green strategy and planning for the projects for low income group like Slum Rehabilitation & Rental Scheme etc. In many of the schemes we have already achieved green building rating in the planning stage itself and complying with integrated & sustainable approach. Our team does continuous monitoring for all green standard and compliances till the commissioning of the project. We provide training and green education to the project team and occupants to build and maintain the building throughout the life of the project. Hence green building concept awareness starts from the intent of the developer and pass on to the occupants to fulfil the objective of maintaining and monitoring the green building features of the project. This approach will definitely help to promote more and more green building projects for all kind of groups including high, middle, and low income groups altogether.
Being a green building professional, are you really happy with the kind of initiatives being undertaken by Central & State agencies?The Government has initiated to take interest but there is a big need to take this movement successfully further. Under Environment Protection Act 1986 and pollution control board norms, lot of conditions are in the approval papers, but implementation is still a big challenge because of lack of adequate resources, lack of awareness of green concept & technologies, and absence of monitoring mechanisms. The Government should provide incentives and rebate in taxes, if green building concept is being implemented. Rebate in property tax, cut down in water and electricity bills can definitely improve the demand of green buildings by the consumers itself.
The Maharashtra Govt. had announced for implementation of ‘Green Code’, could you elaborate on the same?The Government of Maharashtra has taken initiative to formulate the green building guidelines for area development projects of more than 20,000 sq. mtr. in coordination with IGBC (CII) under the Chairmanship of Environment Secretary Mrs. Valsa Nair Singh. For developers who opt for green buildings, State of Maharashtra is offering faster clearances from all authorities including the fire brigade and the civic body. The Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said that Government will soon implement a “Green Code” – guidelines for buildings more than 20,000 sq. mtr. The Green Code will first be implemented for Government buildings and those of public utilities by the end of the year. These green guidelines include both mandatory and optional aspects. The State is likely to line SOPs to give builders the incentives like reduction in sales tax, single window clearance, reduction in Government fees for processing clearances and rebates in water charges. According to Mrs. Valsa Nair Singh, “If these guidelines are implemented it could result in power savings of up to 40 per cent and water savings of up to 30 per cent and huge reduction in GHG emissions due to green constructions.”
What sort of opportunities it may bring for the real-estate developers and home-buyers?There are lot of opportunities for real estate developers and home buyers. Green buildings can have tremendous benefits both tangible and intangible. The most tangible benefits are the reduction in water and energy consumption right from the day of occupancy. The energy savings could range from 30 – 40 per cent and water savings around 20 – 30 per cent. Intangible benefits of green buildings include enhanced indoor air quality, good day-lighting, health, wellbeing of the occupants etc.
Real estate developers can approach for faster environmental clearance approvals and will have socially responsible corporate image among all the stake holders. By understanding the demand and benefits of green building construction and by properly educating potential customers, builders can create a competitive advantage for themselves in a sometimes rough market.
Home buyers can get benefits like reduction in energy and water bills as well as maintenance cost. There are clear opportunities to improve the quality of life to transform “Sustainable Communities” by applying the green building concept.
Tell us about your commitments in achieving efficiency in green buildings.Green buildings help to achieve 30 – 50 per cent energy efficiency due to energy efficient lighting, optimised building envelope, renewable energy and various energy efficient systems & technologies available in the market. Our company, PEC Solutions is currently transforming 20 million sq. ft. construction footprint into green footprints across the country and keeps the thirst to achieve many more in the way of sustainable development.

8