During the next few years green buildings are well poised to grow at 50-60 per cent annually

By Manoj Asrani (Brand & Marketing Manager – Soham World)

The Green building concept is catching up fast globally, and in India too. A Green Building is one, which in the process of constructing a building, uses renewable materials, saves money on light bills, gas bills and water bills. This method can include using all natural materials but for the most part, it pertains to saving environment and costs. It is a reflection of the growing concern for environment and energy, and the awareness that huge consumption also leads to huge depletion of resources. More and more people are becoming aware of this fact and the concept of Green Building is here to stay and it should be encouraged and promoted for the betterment of the society. Our experiences of the recently constructed green buildings have been very encouraging. It reduces the energy consumption of a building, thus reducing CO2 and global warming to help the climate change. It is also cost effective and is being implemented worldwide.
The markets have transformed in the last 10 years. Building-owners, developers, architects and consultants see avalue proposition in designing green. Green design is turning out to be a niche area for developers. During the next few years green buildings are well poised to grow at 50-60 per cent annually. Owners and occupants are now demanding green buildings from architects, designers and consultants. There is an increased need for greenbuilding materials and products in the industry.
Emerging trends in the sector.
Green buildings have always been part of the Indian ethos. The large-scale adoption today comes naturally for Indian designers and architects. The only change, perhaps, that we are seeing today is the need to blend our traditional wisdom with contemporary technologies and practices. This can largely be attributed to the changes in lifestyle and general increase in economic affordability of the people.
Building Awareness
Awareness on the green building concept was sporadic during initial stages. With the educational and training programmes conducted by IGBC, now we have excellent professionals deeply involved in this.
Availability of materials
The green building movement has enabled a wonderful market transformation in the country. Most of the materials are today available within the country. However, we need more manufacturers involved in green building materials. The market potential for green building materials & equipment by the year 2012 is expected to be US$ 40 billion.
Cost of green buildings
At initial stages the incremental cost has been experienced between 12-18 percent and now we can observe that the incremental cost has been reduced to 5-8 per cent. Further, we are aiming at green buildings becoming less costly than conventional buildings thus making them affordable for the common man.