Go energy efficient and eco-friendly or in other words Go green messages are beginning to gain ground. There are encouraging signs that the urban consumer segment is looking for green building solutions from builders.

Also, the green building concept is going beyond the realm of commercial space into the residential segment. Green home spaces are rapidly evolving and clients today have a clear intent of owning a green building, says Inderajit Kembhavi, Principal Associate, and Kembhavi Architecture Foundation.

There is a niche, educated urban consumer segment that seems to be demanding green building solutions from builders, says Krish Murali Eswar, Chief Operating Officer, Biodiversity Conservation India Ltd BCIL, a pioneer in developing green homes.

“We are beginning to notice large construction companies such as L&T looking to work with BCIL on green technology solutions. That is an encouraging sign.”

According to him, corporates are now realising the potential savings in running costs, productivity gains for employees, health benefits and brand visibility gains of getting a green building certification. This trend is particularly being witnessed in new IT buildings and SEZ, he adds.

On the green residential sector, Mr Eswar claims that his company is yet to come across significant competition, “although a few builders are beginning to approach us for green technology solutions”.

The company, he says, also gets inquiries for designing green independent homes. Architects such as Mr Kembhavi feel that percolation in the residential sector is happening at every level; from a small house to large projects. “In fact, I can happily say that today most of the buildings have at least some amount of green in them,” says Mr Kembhavi with optimism.

A big selling point

Green has become a huge selling point today, he says. He points out to the fact that his company has worked on the design aspects with leading developers including Provident Housing for their Provident Wellworth project in Bangalore, Century Group for their upcoming projects and Chennai-based Akshaya Homes.

As one of the very few developers in Bangalore to venture into the green residential segment, BCIL has had a challenging time, competing with conventional developers and trying to keep prices competitive at the same time.

Coupled with the recessionary factor, how difficult was it for them? “Our target segment has been fairly well defined. Therefore, our efforts to reach out to this clientele group are much focused,” says Mr Eswar. In fact, the company finds this segment recession-proof.

What works to their advantage is the word-of-mouth boost that their consumers have given to the green movement, themselves being beneficiaries of the lower costs incurred while living in a green home. This has been particularly helpful in marketing the company’s upcoming futuristic off-the-grid villa campus in Bangalore, where about 20 villas were sold even before the official launch, says Mr Eswar. However, he confesses it has not been an “easy journey”.

Is it costly to go green?

It is a myth to think that going green is costlier, say experts. A green building should be more economical than a conventional building, as the theory is based on saving and optimising resources, says Mr Kembhavi.

The trick, says Eswar, is in the kind of value engineering adopted. According to him, buildings are often 15-30 per cent over-engineered in this country. “We are constantly looking for ways of reducing steel, cement, and wood three of the high-cost elements in a building.”

Though it does cost a little bit extra to add green elements to a campus, the cost gets offset in the cost of ownership over the lifecycle of the ownership.

“Clients realise this,” he adds. According to Kembhavi, the only element expensive is harnessing of energy as solar panels are expensive.

Affordable green homes

There are three key elements in bringing the overall costs down, explains Mr Eswar. According to him, materials, labour and processes have to be value-engineered to maintain costs.

Getting into the specifics, Mr Kembhavi says the ‘greening’ work starts right when the site is selected. The first job on hand, he says, is preserving the top soil. “Save it and reuse it,” he says.

What could also help is a sensible architectural design that blends with traditional construction practices. For instance, small windows where the wind is entering and large ones for it to go out. Provide thicker walls or cavity walls on the south-western side to dissipate heat. Use filler slab instead of RCC roof.

Have a terrace garden, and use brickbat coba on the roof for insulation and water proofing. In terms of consumption, use controlled or low-flow fittings. Rainwater harvesting and water treatment through vegetation could go a long way, he says.

Some well-known benefits to users of green spaces are: better health to users; lower operating costs; lowered pollution and toxicity; and long-term payback.

Government intervention

Stake-holders point out the following areas where government intervention could make a difference. Subsidies and income-tax rebates on various residential investments and loans will ease the pressure on the purchase decision. This must be offered to consumers directly.

Other banks can take cue from SBI in reducing the home loan rate for rated green residential buildings. The government can aid in subsidising the interest rates for home loans too.

State-owned insurance company should consider introducing tailor-made insurance products for green residential buildings.

Cross-subsidising investments in green residential development efforts directly with the money being saved directly in energy efficiency. “It is a loss for government to supply water to residents in any city.

“The hidden costs of supplying power are so high that it is no secret that the urbanite power bills are clearly subsidised,” says Mr Eswar of BCIL.

Since the real-estate sector contributes to more than 5 per cent of global carbon emissions across the globe and subsidies for green projects can lead to an increase in green projects, the government should look at providing incentives to both consumers buying green properties and developers focusing on green development, says Mr Brotin Banerjee, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Housing Development Company.

The Government should increase the FAR and reduce the coverage. Advocating vertical development could be an answer, since horizontal growth eats into land. Make sure future buildings necessarily have more green aspects. Ensuring more open and green spaces in every site.

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