“IGBC- The Indian Green Building Council has awarded the Vishakhapatnam railway station ‘Platinum’ rating”, “IGBC signs MoU with Mangaluru Smart City”, “Demand for Green building is growing in India”. These are the headlines flashing every day in newspapers nowadays. With Green building, there are enormous benefits to occupants, to developers, and to our beloved earth. That’s the reason people are curious to know “What is IGBC? and What is the Importance of Green Building?” Let’s find out.
First understand “What is Green Building?”
“A Green Building is one which uses less water, optimizes energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste, and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building.“
What is IGBC ?
IGBC ( The Indian Green Building Council) was formed in the year 2001. The vision of the council is, “To enable a sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in the sustainable built environment by 2025”.
The Green Building movement in India was triggered off when the CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre building in Hyderabad was awarded with the first and the prestigious Platinum rated green building rating in India. Since then, the Green Building movement in India has gained tremendous impetus over the years. With a modest beginning of 20,000 sq.ft. green built-up area in the country in the year 2003, today (as on 31 Aug 2020) more than 6,055 Green Buildings projects coming up with a footprint of over 7.61 Billion sq.ft are registered with the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
Today all types of buildings are going the Greenway- Government, IT Parks, Offices, Residential, Banks, Airports, Convention Centre, Institutions, Hospitals, Hotels, Factories, SEZs, Townships, Schools, Metros, etc.
An important development in the growth of the green building movement in India is the launch of the following IGBC Green Building Rating Systems:
IGBC Green Building Rating System
All the IGBC rating systems are voluntary, consensus-based, market-driven building programs. The rating systems are based on the five elements of nature (Panchamahabhutas) and are a perfect blend of ancient architectural practices and modern technological innovations. The rating systems are applicable to all five climatic zones of the country. IGBC rating programs have become National by Choice and Global in Performance.
About IGBC Green New Building Certification
The Construction industry in India consists of the Real estate as well as the Urban development segment. The Real estate segment covers residential, office, retail, hotels, and leisure parks, among others. While Urban development segment broadly consists of sub-segments such as Water supply, Sanitation, Urban transport, Schools, and Healthcare. Considering the rapid growth of this industry and its contribution to the economy now is the time to introduce green building concepts and techniques in this sector, which can aid growth in a sustainable manner.
With respect to this, the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has launched the IGBC Green New Buildings rating system to address the National priorities like water efficiency, energy efficiency, reduction in fossil fuel use in commuting, handling of consumer waste, and conserving natural resources. This rating programme is a tool that enables the designer to apply green concepts and reduce environmental impacts that are measurable.
IGBC Green New Buildings rating system addresses green features under the following categories:
- Sustainable Architecture and Design
- Site Selection and Planning
- Water Conservation
- Energy Efficiency
- Building Materials and Resources
- Indoor Environmental Quality
- Innovation and Development
The guidelines detailed under each mandatory requirement & credit enables the design and construction of new buildings of all sizes and types (as defined in scope). Different levels of green building certification are awarded based on the total credits earned. However, every green new building should meet certain mandatory requirements, which are non-negotiable.
Certification Level in IGBC Green New Building
The threshold criteria for certification/pre-certification levels are as under:
| Certification Level | Owner-occupied Buildings | Tenant-occupied Buildings | Recognition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certified | 40 – 49 | 40 – 49 | Best Practices |
| Silver | 50 – 59 | 50 – 59 | Outstanding Performance |
| Gold | 60 – 74 | 60 – 74 | National Excellence |
| Platinum | 75 – 100 | 75 – 100 | Global Leadership |
Owner-occupied buildings are those wherein 51% or more of the building’s built-up area is occupied by the owner.
Tenant-occupied buildings are those wherein 51% or more of the building’s built-up area is occupied by the tenants.
IGBC will recognise Green New Buildings that achieve one of the rating levels with a formal letter of certification and a mountable plaque
Benefits of IGBC Green New Building
Benefits to Occupants – Green New buildings can have tremendous benefits to occupants, both tangible and intangible. The most tangible benefits are the reduction in water and energy consumption right from day one of occupancy. The energy savings could range from 20 – 30 % and water savings around 30 – 50%.
The intangible benefits of green new buildings include enhanced air quality, excellent daylighting, health & well-being of the occupants, safety benefits, and conservation of scarce national resources.
Benefits to Project Developers – The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, offers fast track Environmental Clearance (EC) for green building projects which are Precertified/ Provisionally Certified by IGBC. In addition to it, many of the state government agencies have given incentives to developers in terms of additional floor area ratio (FAR), 100% exemption of building scrutiny fee, financial assistance for the MSME sector from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
Now that you understand what is IGBC and how Green building is important to the construction industry, I hope that you as a Civil engineer will definitely take pride in constructing more green buildings that will give a sustainable built environment to all of us. Let’s be a proud civil Engineer!