As a result, the pay-back time, which is a feature of green buildings, is reduced considerably. For instance, the additional costs incurred are paid back in three to five years, down from the initial eight to ten years, according to S Raghupathy, head of CII Godrej Green Business Centre (GBC). |
Green building materials are now locally available. For example, GBC imported waterless urinals for Rs 14,000 plus import duties in 2001. They are now available for Rs 6,000 from Indian manufacturers. Likewise, it imported double-glazed glass from Belgium at Rs 5,000 per sqm.
But today, it is manufactured in India and is available for Rs 3,000 per sqm. The building management system (BMS) cost Rs 30 lakh then but today there are many companies offering BMS at competitive prices.
"The cost of many other materials would decrease as the green movement spreads," Raghupathy said. Construction material is considered green based on multiple factors "� its energy saving potential, composition of recycled material and its rapid renewable potential.
"The green materials have been available all the time. It's only now that people are classifying them as green," he said.
For instance, many preferred Ordinary Portland Cement, which used fly-ash, to Pozzolona Portland Cement (PPC) as it set faster.
But with green awareness spreading, people are accepting PPC for its environmental benefits. Green builders are investing in technologies like the CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) and LED (light-emitting diodes) lighting for lower energy consumption.
Several manufacturers are even changing their product line to meet the criteria of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, a third-party verification that the building meets green building and performance measures.
However, lack of testing facilities and certifying frameworks for certain products is hampering the spread of green building concepts.
"The government should come out with a certification that is equivalent to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to ensure sustainable management of forests," he said, adding though high reflectance paints and tiles are available in India, facilities to test their solar reflectance index (SRI) are not locally available.
GBC is also in the process of coming out with a green building material directory. With over 130 million sft of green building projects lined up in India, the market potential for green building materials is estimated to touch $4 billion (around Rs 16,000 crore) by 2012. This is only for those buildings that would go for the LEED certification.
Buildings that are designed taking their lifecycles into consideration would provide environmental, economic, and social benefits, according to Emmanuel Cantagrel, general manager of Somfy, a company offering automation solution to openings and closures of buildings.
The company has provided building management system to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, also a green building.
