CII-IGBC celebrates World Green Building Week 2022, felicitates organizations and developers showcasing environmental leadership

35 projects from organisations and developers register with CII’s- Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), amounting to the green footprint of 55 Million Sq.ft.

Hyderabad: The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is a global action network of over 70 Green Building Councils around the world working on transforming the building and construction sector. The WorldGBC celebrates World Green Building Week worldwide on the 3rd week of September every year.

This year’s celebrations of World Green Building Week 2022 happening from Sept 12 – 16, 2022, are woven around the theme – Building for Everyone which aims to accelerate the approach to Sustainable Development Goals and Sustainable Built Environments for everyone, everywhere.

The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), established by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in 2001, has been spearheading the green building movement in India with over 8.30 billion sq ft registered green building footprint from over 8,500 registered projects adopting CII-IGBC’s 30 holistic rating systems.

IGBC is a founding member of the WorldGBC since 2004 and is celebrating World Green Building Week 2022 by organizing various activities across the country via its network of 29 Regional Chapters. As a part of these celebrations, IGBC’s Hyderabad Chapter organized ‘IGBC’s Green Crusaders’ Programme at CII – Green Business Centre, Hyderabad today.

The programme was graced by the presence of eminent officers such as Mr. K Vidhyadhar Director-DTCP, TSRERA - Secretary Govt. of Telangana, Mr E V Narasimha Reddy,Vice Chairman & Managing Director (FAC),TSIIC Ltd. and Mr Abhay Kumar Gupta, Divisional Railway Manager, Secunderabad Division, South Central Railway.

Mr C Shekar Reddy, Chairman IGBC Hyderabad Chapter opened the session by welcoming the participants and admiring their commitment to sustainable development by registering their projects be green. He also thanked the officials for their presence, emphasizing the role they play in the sustainable built environment and their contributions so far. He thanked the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) for their committing their facilities to go green. He congratulated the Deccan Railway Team on being the first Platinum Rated Railway Station in India to be certified under the IGBC Green Railways Stations Rating System for the Secunderabad Railway Station.

Mr. V Suresh, Chairman, IGBC Policy and Advocacy Committee & Government Relations, congratulated the officers and developers participating on their contribution to the green building movement. He said that so far IGBC has certified 40 metro stations,65 railway stations are registered and over 21 lakh houses are under IGBC Green Homes, Affordable Housing, and Green Residential Societies Rating systems. He emphasized the importance of overall sustainable development and reduction of carbon footprint.

Special guest, Mr. K Vidhyadhar, remarked that the Telangana Govt introduced green initiatives beginning in 2014. TS B plus sanctioning building permission within 20-25 days 10% rebate on the solar heating and building 15% reduction in the fee for the registration 10% budget on the plantation for the municipality

Special guest, Mr E V Narasimha Reddy, called for every building to have mandated greenery and for all buildings in the IT sector and residential projects to adopt IGBC green concepts. He highlighted the initiatives such as the elevated EDRTS for EV Vehicles, Raidurgam Sky Walk. He said the industry needs a holistic approach to resource efficiency and bringing in new technology in the construction and living aspects. He said under Telangana Ku Haritha haram the green cover which was 24% in 2014, has added 3.4% in the last 8 years and targets to achieve 33% in the next few years. He enthused that the 50 new industrial areas, 19,000 acres Pharma cluster will also be green building compliant. He said that existing buildings should target for IGBC Gold ratings.

Special guest, Mr Abhay Kumar Gupta thanked CII IGBC for the encouragement provided for Secunderabad Railway Station to be the first station achieving the Platinum Rating in the country. He highlighted other green initiatives being carried out by Railways such as the electrification of the operation of 65,000 km tracks which will make the Indian railway the only 100% electrified railway in the world, targeting nil consumption of diesel by 2023, 100% retrofitting of the coaches with bio-toilets, efforts in the recycling of water etc. He said that the railway's department is following futuristic planning for the railway station on par with the airport infrastructure.

The Programme also entailed a Session on the Potential of Green Buildings by Mr M Anand, Principal Counsellor, CII – IGBC which highlighted the many benefits of adopting green building rating systems. The audience which consisted of developers, consultants, and other real estate players were made aware of the tangible and intangible savings accrued as well as how implementing the ratings not only improves and conserves the environment but also enhances the health and wellbeing of occupants of the certified project. He also said that IGBC has been working on Net Zero for the past 5 years and is one of the other leading bodies playing a role in India achieving its Net Zero goals. 

During this program, Developers/Builders/Corporate/Owners of projects who have registered their projects under appropriate IGBC Rating systems were felicitated as IGBC Green Crusaders for showcasing their leadership and commitment towards building a sustainable planet. There were over 35 participant projects who in total have committed to a 55 Million sq. ft. of green building development.