FROM CRIMSON TO GREEN

Green buildings are not fashionable. But the order of the day

- JAYASHREE KINI MENDES

For long, green buildings were spoken of fashion-ably. The impression given to the listener was that it was an elite thing. Few contended. That is because more people thought it was an expensive affair and beyond their means. It was only when reams were written and interviews were published on officials of members of the Green Building Council did people fathom and get an inkling of green buildings.

But then, why the secrecy? If it is meant to benefit mankind and usher in a new era of construction, shouldn’t the information be scattered around? For some time, Construction Week has always sought to do the right thing by writing about green buildings and their benefits. We thought we would go one step further.

We brought in some of the promoters of green buildings in a webinar to understand how India can go green.

Our panellists were: Mili Majumdar, MD, GBCI, India and senior VP, USGBC; Shabbir Kanchwala, sr VP, K Raheja Corp; Shailesh Puranik, MD, Puranik Builders; Chitty Babu, Chairman & CEO, Akshaya; and Sanjay Bahadur, CEO – CC, Pidilite Industries.

Encouraged by Dr Fixit, the eclectic panel had all the knowledge required to charm our audience of 1200-plus who attended the webinar virtually.

A BETTER VIEW

Speaking about green buildings, Majumdar said, “Now is the time to revisit what green offers to us in terms of solutions optimising cost and one should encourage green to reap its maximum benefits. Energy-efficiency, health benefits, low maintenance are only some of the large benefits.”