Page 96 - CO April 2017 Full Issue

SPECIAL FOCUS: GREEN BUILDINGS & SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION The Green Bounty A popular perception is going Green is costly, due to fancy composite materials and additions like costly solar panels or water/sewage recycling plants, etc. In fact the opposite is true. Going Green not only pays back handsome dividends in the long run in terms of tangible money savings, but it also reduces the Carbon Footprint significantly, whose environmental benefits are yet to be measured in terms of sheer scope of environmental impact. A 2007 public opinion survey conducted by identifed a 6 per cent premium for certifed and an enhanced awareness of the occupant the World Business Council for Sustainable buildings. Te researchers calculated that and tenant benefts of green buildings. Development found that respondents at prevailing capitalisation rates, this adds believed, on average, that green features more than $5 million to the market value Market Maths added 17 per cent to the cost of a building, of each property. India has already emerged a major player whereas a study of 146 green buildings According to the Indian Green Building in the green space. According to the US found an actual average marginal cost of Council (IGBC), constructing green Green Building Council (USGBC), less than 2 per cent. Another landmark building is technically feasible and -- developers of the LEED green building study by the frm Davis Langdon found no economically viable in India. The program to foster more rapid adoption of signifcant diference between the average incremental cost of a commercial green green building practices in India -- green cost of a LEED-certifed building and other building has come down to less than 3 building is projected to grow 20 percent in new construction in the same category: per cent, over and above the cost of a the country by 2018. India already ranks there are expensive green buildings, and conventional building. Te additional costs third among the Top Ten Countries for there are expensive conventional buildings. gets paid back in about 2 to 3 years, through LEED, and in 2016, nearly 650 projects in Certifcation as a green building was not substantial reduction in operational costs. India earned LEED certifcation. Emerging a significant indicator of construction Having lanched its own rating system, the economies such as India are engines of green cost. And as awareness of potential savings IGBC aspires to facilitate 10 Billion Sq.f growth, with development varying from owing to Green construction spreads among of registered green building footprint by two-to-six fold over current green building potential buyers, certifed green buildings 2022, when India completes 75 years of levels. According to a recent USGBC have begun to command signifcantly higher Independence. Tis trend is refected in survey, 87 per cent of Indian green building rents. A University of California–Berkeley the fact that India has the second largest professionals anticipate the use of LEED study analyzed 694 certifed green buildings registered green building footprint. in India increasing overall, with nine out and compared them with 7,489 other ofce On a global scale, green building of ten industry senior executives in India buildings, each located within a quarter- construction is doubling every three years, anticipating that their LEED-related work mile of a green building in the sample. Te according to the 'World Green Building will increase over the next several years. researchers found that, on average, certifed Trends 2016 SmartMarket Report,' a report Te Dodge report fnds that by 2018, the green ofce buildings rented for 2 per cent published by Dodge Data and Analytics. green building industry in India will grow more than comparable nearby buildings. Some of the leading drivers of this growth 20 per cent, driven largely by environmental Afer adjusting for occupancy levels, they are client demand, environmental regulation regulations and demand for healthier 98 construction opportunities|aPrIL 2017