Green GRIHA

Buildings of all kinds account for a major portion of world’s greenhouse gas emissions

By GS Sethi
All big cities are on their way to become concrete jungles. These buildings and roads too absorb sunlight and trap heat. Added to this is the breathing of millions of people in busy streets. All this creates in its own way, warmer microclimates – something which has come to be known as the urban heat island effect. Buildings, in fact, of all kinds – commercial, industrial and residential – account for a major portion of world’s greenhouse gas emissions. This problem is sought to be taken care of, at least partly, by the incorporation of energy-efficient measures in various aspects of construction. This is particularly necessary for our country because construction industry is growing very fast, faster than the global average.

No doubt in India, a variety of green building projects are coming up – residential complexes, exhibition centres, hospitals, educational institutes, airports, IT parks, government buildings, corporate offices etc – yet much more needs to be done. The well-known project worth citing is the CII – Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (CII – Godrej GBC) at Hyderabad. This centre is engaged in works related to Green Buildings, Energy Efficiency, Water Management, Renewable Energy etc – all with the overall objective of making India as one of the global leaders in green businesses by 2015. The centre received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum rating in 2003. Some other projects, which have received platinum rating are: ITC Green Centre Gurgaon, Wipro Technologies Gurgaon, Hiranandani BG Building Mumbai, Spectral Services Consultants Pvt. Ltd Noida, ABN Amro Bank N.V. Ahemdabad. LEED is the system run by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). In UK, BREEAM system, in Germany DGNB, in France HQE, and in Canada SBTool system of rating is followed. Thus many
countries have developed their own systems of rating green buildings.

Essential Features
A green building is typically defined as one which uses less water, optimizes energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants through convenient indoor environment, as compared to a conventional building. Aesthetically, a green building is in harmony with the natural features and resources surrounding the site. A green building may cost more up front, but can save money over the life of the building through lower operating costs. Here is an excellent example in action. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s terminal Metro station in Gurgaon in Sector 29 will not only be developed as a shopping and entertainment centre, it will also be the Building with GRIHA certification. The six-floor metro station is being constructed in consultation with The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) with clay tiles to keep the building thermal-insulated from weather. What goes into it to make a true Green Building includes waste management strategies, optimization of climatic factors such as wind loads, use of solar energy, recycling of waste water and rainwater harvesting.

GRIHA, an acronym for Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment, is the National Rating System of India. TERI and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy have jointly developed this. It is an evaluation system, which is applicable to all types of buildings. It attempts to quantify parameters like energy consumption, waste generation, renewable energy adoption, etc. so as to manage, control and reduce them to the maximum extent possible. It is a tool used to qualitatively and quantitatively assess and ‘rate’ a building on the degree of its “greenness”. Green buildings envision a new approach to save water, energy and material in the construction and maintenance of buildings and in the process reduce or eliminate the adverse impact of buildings on the environment and occupants while at the same time reducing destruction of natural areas, biodiversity, and soil loss from erosion. Green buildings have thus several purposes to serve including environmental, economic and social benefits.

During the last few years, green buildings have caught the attention of several stakeholders of the construction industry for obvious reasons of reduction in energy costs (40 to 50%), water consumption (30 to 40%) and even for green corporate image. Though initial investment is high, green buildings result in substantial savings in the long run. In countries like the US, tax and insurance incentives are given to promote the concept of green buildings.

GRIHA Rating System
GRIHA rating system consists of 34 criteria. Eight are mandatory, four are partly mandatory, and the remaining optional. Each criterion has a number of points assigned to it.

GRIHA is a 100-point system consisting of both mandatory and optional points. The minimum points required for certification is 50. The star rating is one star for 50-60 points, two stars for 61-70 points, three stars for 71-80 points, four stars for 81-90 points and five stars for 91-100 points.

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