This was discussed at the three-day international conference, the 15th edition of the Green Building Congress 2017 which will host over 2,000 delegates from 31-member countries of the World Green Building Council (WGBC).

 

The availability of more sustainable building options has increased with climate becoming a critical problem, making green construction desirable and profitable in the global construction market.

 

“The green building market is anticipated to be among the fastest growing industries worldwide. India has been driving the green building movement in a significant way since 2001. The turning point was in 2007, with demand for green buildings escalating. Besides, with 75% of the buildings that will be required by India in 2030 yet to be built, this sector has immense potential in India,” said John Mandyck, chief sustainability officer, United Technologies Corporation, on the sidelines of the conference.

 

The industry minister Rajpal Singh Shekhawat while inaugurating the event said, “The government is committed to facilitating sustainable development in the state. A bunch of measures has been introduced, including 5% additional floor area ratio (FAR) for projects under Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) for green buildings. The state already has 83 Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) registered projects with a footprint of 103 million sq ft of green buildings, making Rajasthan the role model for other states. Awareness about the importance and benefits of adopting the green building concept is very important to further this growth.”

 

Currently, India is the second largest country in the world with a green building footprint of 4.68 billion sq ft, it has the potential to be the world leader soon. “Rajasthan has taken a leadership position in this area and can play a significant role in helping the country to achieve IGBC’s vision of 10 billion sq ft green built-up environment by 2022. The government's main aim is to make India a global leader in green buildings,” said environment and forest minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar.

 

A rating program for healthy buildings for occupants, ‘IGBC Healthy Building Rating’, was launched on the occasion. The program evaluates buildings on the metric of people-centric design and for incorporating elements that address energy consumption, water use and waste management in a sustainable manner.

 

“The health of a building is defined as much by its construct as by the way its occupants relate with it in terms of energy use. Health is at once an accelerator as well as a metric for future green buildings. The global green building movement is currently focused on identifying and working towards the convergence of healthy buildings and green buildings,” said Dr. John Allen, who has led several studies as director, healthy buildings program, Harvard Centre for Health and Global Environment.