Water & energy crisis: Convert existing buildings into green

Conversion of existing buildings into green structures would help solve water and energy crisis as well as improve company's profit, say experts.
Addressing a conference on Green Existing Buildings organised by industry body CII today, Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Chairman Prem C Jain spoke about India's challenges to conserve energy & water.
"Today, we have about 25 billion sq ft of existing building stock, of which over 2,400 projects amounting to over 1.86 billion sq ft are going green with IGBC," Jain was quoted as saying in a CII statement.
Jain emphasised that there is tremendous opportunity to convert existing buildings into green by effective operations and maintenance.

DLF Rental Business Managing Director Ramesh Sanka also pitched for conversion of existing buildings into green, stating that this would help in enhancing the bottom line, besides being a environment friendly step.
"By 2025, the retrofit potential of existing buildings in India is worth USD 25 Billion," Sanka added.

Speaking on the occassion, Urban Development Ministry Additional Secretary D Diptivilasa said that there was a need to address environmental issues in a holistic manner.
He also said that there should be a a strategy to make the existing buildings more sustainable and efficient.
"The concept of green buildings should reach every nook and corner of the country and the ministry will extend all its support and will be happy to jointly work with IGBC," added Diptivilasa.

IGBC Green Existing Building Rating System Chairman Gurmit Singh Arora said the focus should be on the existing buildings to solve energy and water crisis.
Stating that India is the fourth largest carbon emitter, Arora said the only solution to these existing problems is making our existing building green. "By doing that, we can save 20-30% in energy, 30-40 per cent in water and at the same time, enhance great occupant, health and comfort," he added.
S Raghupathy, Executive Director, CII-Godrej GBC, suggested that the government should consider providing incentive on Property Tax for high performance buildings.