GREEN REVOLUTION IN BUILDINGS.

Over the last decade, eco-friendly properties have gained unprecedented traction in real estate markets with energy, water and recycling being among top-of-the-mind considerations for homebuyers. As a corollary, this has been coincident with the ever-growing demand for energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly home designs with supporting facilities for usage of green appliances and devices. Based on a survey in March this year, a report by the National Association of Realtors states that about two-thirds of the members of the real estate industry have expressed confidence that promoting energy efficiency in listings for buildings could help attract buyers.

Even as the pandemic has further sharpened focus on the broader sustainability and well-being of the planet, sustainable living has become a key driver behind people's home-buying choices now. As per Fortune Research insights, with green buildings increasingly catching the imagination of Indians coupled with several promising smart city projects being on the horizon, India is poised to become a major green building destination with accompanying development of associated value chains and ecosystems.

Reduce, reuse and recycle

Typically, the three end-goals of a green building are to reduce, reuse and recycle, with all three naturally combining to ensure an optimized usage of resources as well as a more sustainable habitat. On a separate note, simple ideas such as ensuring cross-ventilation and allowing natural light while avoiding direct sun rays into the house can help in making a building green while also reducing the need for energy-intensive electricity and electrical appliances. Going beyond economics and the environment, green buildings can also bring positive social impacts as well, many of which revolve around the health and wellbeing of people.

Green buildings allow sustainable consumption

At the same time, due to using of less water, energy and other natural resources, green buildings not only mitigate the negative impact on the environment, they also help the cause of sustainable consumption. Also, the materials used in green buildings are often more durable and require far less maintenance over time than their mass-produced non-green counterparts. The immediate advantage of this is that a home can look well maintained for longer and therefore save money on repairs.

Green buildings & climate change

Of course, one of the most significant benefits that green buildings offer is in terms of climate change. Given that buildings generate nearly 40% of annual global CO2 emissions, taking to green buildings can be one of the shortest routes to tackling climate change and global warming. So, along with major emitting sectors, green buildings with all their accompanying features and fixtures can also significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, it has been estimated that the building sector has the potential to make energy savings of a minimum of 50% by 2050, supporting the broader goal of limiting global temperature rises to 2°C. Indeed there are green buildings which even generate their own energy and are known as what are called net zero buildings, and can go a long way in addressing energy efficiency needs. Combining energy efficiency and renewable energy generation, a net zero building's usage of the total energy every year is equal to or less than the amount of energy created onsite.

Green buildings save on long-term costs

Significantly enough, if the green features are introduced at the design stage itself, managing expenses later becomes easier, and sustainable housing in the form of green building can also become affordable. Green buildings also offer additional economic or financial benefits, such as cost savings on utility bills for residents due to efficient use of energy and water. What's more, they involve lower long-term operations and maintenance costs. In fact, the cost of owning a green home can be equal to or even cheaper than a standard home, provided one has roped in the right architects, builders, engineers and other industry professionals who are aware of and or experienced in planning homes that are green and cost-effective. There are cheaper, alternative materials available in the market which can help build a green home that fits one's budget. Therefore, it is important that before buying a 'green home', one enquires whether the materials used are reusable or recyclable, energy-efficient and durable.

Green buildings can preserve biodiversity

Furthermore, if the designing and planning of the landscape is done carefully, green buildings also help in preserving and even increasing the precious natural biodiversity in a location or a region.

Increased attention to green buildings

As many state governments are handing out incentives to developers to focus on green projects, it is safe to say that at policymaking levels, the long-term benefits and the problem-solving nature of green buildings has been well recognized. Among states, Maharashtra leads in terms of initiatives on green buildings by becoming the first state to embark on a wholesale transformation of its existing and to-be-built infrastructure. Towards that end, committing upcoming structures to the green rating system has been one notable milestone. For instance, the PCMC (Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation) in the state took a step further towards energy and environment conservation with its plans to give green rating to new buildings, drawing on the guidelines laid by TERI. Accordingly, the buildings will be rated on the scale of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, depending upon the number of eco-friendly measures taken.

Way Forward

Driven by increasing awareness of environmental benefits of green buildings coupled with government support that promotes them while containing costs to an extent, India's green building area is estimated to double by 2022 at 10 billion sq ft, with a market worth ranging between USD 35 and 50 billion. The country's home-grown certification for green buildings, issued under the aegis of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) known as IGBC or the Indian Green Building Council is widely used now by builders and institutions across the country. In the past few years, IGBC has been working closely with several government agencies at various levels to promote the green building movement in India.

In fact, there are already real estate players which are incorporating these green building codes and regulations while also using green material with a view to offer green housing projects to more environmentally-responsible and sensitive Indian buyers. Although some big players are only operating sustainable housing projects in metro cities, there are some with international housing experience who are offering such concept-based projects in tier II cities too. As such, the Indian real estate sector is steadily 'going green'.

Therefore, there is an immense potential for green buildings in India. The need of the hour is to spread awareness around the fact that sustainable living is affordable. With a favourable consumer demand environment, a well-rounded green building ecosystem will develop benefitting all players across the value chain including the suppliers, the developers, the financiers and above all, the increasingly green living-conscious consumers. For the sector as a whole, more jobs will be generated while also creating predictability & stability in real estate space. India awaits another green revolution, albeit of a different kind.

Amritanshu Roy

COO
Greenfield Advisory

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