Why Aren’t There More Green Buildings in India?
Green buildings are environmentally conscious structures that strive to conserve natural resources and improve the quality of materials and air indoors. These use less water, improve energy efficiency, generate less waste and provide a healthier space for its occupants in comparison to a conventional building.
Despite all the advantages, the concept isn’t quite picking up yet. “The Green Building movement is a recent phenomenon in India. It has gathered momentum, but it isn’t yet part of mainstream architecture and construction practices”, said Spondon Bhagowoti, an architect and green building analyst with Environmental Design Solutions (EDS). “People haven’t yet woken up to the benefits of green buildings which are manifold”, he added. These promote healthy living, cause less pollution, help conserve natural resources and are financially more viable since the maintenance and operation costs get hugely slashed.
How Green Buildings Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
“Perhaps, the builders perceive the cost of constructing a green building higher than establishing a conventional one, and more than it actually is”, says Swati Gupta, project officer at the GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) Council. “At most, the additional cost is about 5% of the base price, and the same is recovered within 3-5 years of the operation of the building”, she adds.
A green building may require an initial investment into green technologies such as high performance windows, insulation in walls and roofs, on-site generation of renewable energy using solar PV, wind turbines, biogas, etc. The builders seem unwilling to invest in these as the end-users/occupants will be the ones reaping the benefits of the green designs and construction practices; and the buyers too are reluctant to pay more for them. “The market is gradually evolving”, says Gupta.
There is a clause of maintenance that states that the building has to be revaluated for its green measures in a certain period of time. “There is no clarity as to who’s responsible for the maintenance”, says Gupta, adding that this is another major reason why builders aren’t enthusiastic about taking up green building projects.
Is FAR incentive a good way to encourage builders?
The Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is an incentive being now used to encourage builders to construct green buildings. FAR is a strategy used by authorities to define how much floor-area can be used to construct buildings and how many stories can be built upon a piece of land. This translates directly into rent-able or sale-able area for the builder.
“Certain municipalities like Noida recently started allowing 5% extra FAR for buildings that have been certified green by institutes like GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment), IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) , USGBC (US Green Building Council), etc.”, said Bhagowoti. This incentive has generated considerable interest and awareness among contractors and owners.
However, incentivising green buildings in financial terms may just as well be a double-edged sword. “As a green building analyst, I have observed a trend wherein builders and owners get their buildings stamped as ‘green’ on paper in order to cash in on the incentive, but don’t really work on it”, says Bhagowoti. Perhaps, the government should weigh in and start penalising such acts.
“This shift in offering an incentive to the builder has to then be matched with the drop in interest rates for homebuyers who pick green certified apartments and villas and row houses”, says Hariharan Chandrashekhar, Chairman of the ZED Group. “Perhaps a rebate of 0.5-0.75% on the home finance interest cost per annum would make a big difference and encourage buyers”, he adds.
The Way Forward
According to a recent release by the USGBC, India ranks third among the top 10 countries for LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified buildings. LEED is a widely used green building rating system.
The top 10 list highlights countries outside of the US — which has the largest green footprint in the world — that are making significant strides in sustainable building design, construction and transformation. “India’s dominant position in the green building movement is significant due to the country’s aggressive plans to expand access to electricity, it explosive economic growth projections and its unprecedented and rapid urbanization,” USGBS said in the release.
India probably can learn from Singapore, which is taking the lead in establishing green buildings. In a span of 8 years, the number of green buildings in Singapore has grown from 17 in 2005 to almost 1700 in 2013, said Dr John Keung, CEO of Building and Construction Authourity (BCA). Come 2030, Singapore will set an example for the entire world by certifying as many as 80% of its buildings ‘green’.
In India, the green buildings account for 3% of the total buildings as of today. This is set to go up to 10% by 2022, says Chandrashekhar, adding that awareness is the key.
