News Desk, News Nation 360 : The Indian Green Building Council, in collaboration with West Bengal HIDCO, arranged a significant conference on "Greening the Commercial Establishments" last evening at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre. The goal of the event was to encourage commercial developments to implement green building practices in both their new and existing facilities. Debashis Sen, IAS (Retd), the former MD of WBHIDCO and Chairman of the NKDA, the former additional chief secretary of the West Bengal government, Sushil Mohta, the Chairman of the IGBC Kolkata Chapter, Merlin Group, AR Vivek Singh Rathore, the Co-Chairman of the IGBC Kolkata Chapter, and M Anand, Dy. Executive Directors were present at the inaugural session. The event was graced by Sanjay Bansal, IAS, MD, WBHIDCO, and Secretary of Urban Development & Municipal Affairs, Government of West Bengal. In his inaugural address, Sushil Mohta, chairman- of IGBC, and Merlin group stated that thanks to the visionary leadership of the State government, which announced green building incentives for Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), other municipal areas, and New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA), West Bengal emerged among the top five states in India in terms of highest registered green building footprints. The bulk
of projects in Kolkata that follow green building certification guidelines and plan and execute their projects under those guidelines come from the rapidly expanding residential sector. However, the whole building sector must take a comprehensive green approach to address resilience in the built spaces and sustainable development-construction practices. After construction is completed, building maintenance becomes more crucial. Large-scale operations, including those involving larger structures larger than 20,000 square metres, are required by environmental norms to obtain environmental clearance. Thus, it makes sense for the developers to obtain certification for green buildings. Prominent corporations such as ITC, Wipro, State Bank, Bandhan Bank, and others have decided to adhere to Green Building Standards for all future building developments. He thinks more organisations and corporations should apply for the same. He also listed the many achievements of the IGBC over the previous 20 years, emphasising how Kolkata has become one of the nation's top cities for the number of green building initiatives. He stated in his speech that India has achieved 11.203 billion square feet of registered green footprints from more than 12,000 projects nationwide as a result of IGBC efforts. Among the top five cities, Kolkata has contributed more than 1000 green building projects across a range of building typologies. The seminar went on with a technical presentation covering key ideas in green building, including water management, low carbon steels, energy-efficient HVAC systems, cool roof technology, glasses for energy efficiency, and a case study of high-performing buildings. In addition to representatives from important government departments, over 200 delegates from the building industry participated in the session.
Pic - Courtesy
