IGBC Launches India’s First Net Zero Carbon Rating System at Green Building Congress 2023

CII’s Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) in partnership with The Tamil Nadu Government held its three-day annual flagship conference - Green Building Congress 2023 from November 23-25, 2023. As a key facilitator in India’s journey towards achieving Net Zero Carbon Emission goal, IGBC announced India’s first ‘Net Zero Carbon’ rating system as part of the inaugural event.

The IGBC’s Mission on Net Zero serves as a catalyst for the adoption of Net Zero concepts, supporting the market's transformation towards total decarbonization of the building sector. The reference guidelines of IGBC net zero carbon rating system publication formulated by IGBC was unveiled and released by Mr. Gurmit Singh Arora, National Chairman, Indian Green Building Council, Mr. Ajit Chordia, Chairman, IGBC Chennai Chapter, Mr. Oliver Ballhatchet MBE, British Deputy High Commissioner Chennai, Mr. Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Mr. B Thiagarajan National Vice Chairman, Indian Green Building Council and Mr. Mahesh Anand, Co-chairman, IGBC Chennai Chapter.?

As part of the inaugural event, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans Atmakuri Ramarao School, (Benefits to Environment), Kendriya Vidyalaya BSF Camp Chhawla, Delhi (Education & Awareness) and Navy Children School, Karwar, Karnataka (Innovation Category) were recognized and awarded as winners for the Green Your School Programme. Founded with a singular motto of instilling a sense of Green amongst young minds, IGBC also initiated a Green Your School Programme for classes starting from 8th to 10th and has been successfully recognizing innovative ideas and initiatives from school children to become a greener nation for the past 17 years. Along with the launch of the new Net Zero Carbon Ration System, IGBC also released updated versions of its existing rating systems for existing buildings, green campuses and green factories.?

Sharing his view on the newly launched Net Zero Rating System, Mr. Gurmit Singh Arora, Chairman - IGBC & Chairman - Green Building Congress 2023 said “The Government of India over the last two decades has initiated several new missions and policies which support the path towards net zero carbon buildings, cities and nation. The building sector of our country has an excellent opportunity to take the leadership role for accelerating the uptake of Net Zero. The Green Building Movement in India has been spearheaded by CII’s IGBC since 2001, by creating awareness amongst the stakeholders. Thus far, the Council has been instrumental in enabling 10.42 billion sq.ft. of green building footprint in the country.? The Council’s activities have enabled a market transformation particularly in the green building materials and technologies. IGBC continuously works to provide tools that facilitate the adoption of green building practices in India. The newly launched Net Zero Rating System is an initiative aimed at facilitating the adoption of Net Zero concepts to support market transformation towards total building sector decarbonization and to accelerate the adoption of Net Zero concepts in the country.”?

Mr. Gurmit Singh Arora further added that “The benefits of this rating system are multifaceted. Beyond supporting India's climate goals through carbon reduction, it encourages resource efficiency, adoption of energy-efficient systems, integration of renewable energy sources, responsible water use, waste minimization, and climate-resilient building designs. The rating system presents an excellent opportunity for the building sector to lead the adoption of Net Zero practices and facilitate India's transformation into one of the foremost countries achieving Net Zero by 2050.”

Adding to this, Mr. Ajit Chordia, Chairman, IGBC Chennai Chapter said “We are pleased to host our annual flagship event - Green Building Congress 2023 in Chennai. We are sure this event will significantly contribute to reinforcing India's position as a leader on the global green buildings map. We appreciate the Tamil Nadu government for its efforts towards achieving sustainable goals in the pursuit of moving towards Net Zero waste, water, energy, and carbon. Tamil Nadu’s commitment towards the green building movement can be witnessed through many landmark projects such as the IGBC certified buildings - Anna Centenary Library, Chennai Metro Rail Limited, Smart Governance Centre and many more. This three-day conference is set to unearth many innovative modals of achieving Net Zero Carbon future and we are confident that there will be significant takeaways for everyone.”

The launch of IGBC Net Zero Carbon rating system is in alignment with ‘IGBC's Mission on Net Zero’ launched on Earth Day in 2021 and India’s commitment at COP 26 i.e., achieving long-term goal of reaching Net Zero carbon in emissions by 2070.? The rating system operates on a voluntary and consensus-based approach, promoting the use of low-embodied carbon materials and technologies, and on-site or off-site renewable energy sources, and adherence to a Whole Building Life Cycle Analysis as per ISO Standard 14040. The rating system addresses projects in both 'Design & Construction' and 'Operations' phases. This approach allows tailored strategies for minimizing or eliminating carbon emissions at different project stages.

Commenting on the inauguration of IGBC’s Green Building Congress 2023, Mr. Jamshyd N Godrej , Chairman, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre said “I am happy to be a part of IGBC’s Green Building Congress 2023. I am glad to note this Green Building Congress is focusing on Net Zero through decarbonization which is a step in the right direction. In case of green buildings, India has been looked at as follower. We stand number 2 in the world, whereas in case of net zero buildings we have a great opportunity to take a leadership position and make India number 1 country in the world. I am sure that the deliberations in the next three days will help the stakeholders to understand the strategies to be taken to achieve the common goal for Net Zero.”?

Concluding the session, Mr. B Thiagarajan, National Vice Chairman, Indian Green Building Council said “While going green is imperative in the built environment industry, there is also a greater emphasis that needs to be placed on the availability of technology and products that support in facilitating the transformation. For this, we have curated a large-scale exhibition space for various stakeholders in the value chain to showcase their innovative products. Over 1000 products from across the globe will be displayed at the expo. The conference and the expo together will certainly be a stepping stone to create a conducive green future.”

The inaugural event also laid a platform for the eminent guests to recognize and reward the winners of ‘Design for LiFE: Small Medium Large Solutions for a Sustainable Tomorrow’ – a design competition for student of architecture to envision the future. The competition received more than 700+ registrations from students from 140+ Architecture colleges across the country. The eminent jury with all their experience, knowledge and wisdom has nominated six designs solutions, two in each category for the award and one jury special award under medium & large category. Mr. Abhishek Karad from VIT’s PVP College of Architecture, Pune, Mr Heet Sanghvi & Mr Ansh Kadam from SMEF'S Bricks Group of Institutes, Pune and Ms Shaurya Singh from CEPT - Faculty of Architecture, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University, Ahmedabad won the first place in small, medium and large categories respectively. Mr. Charankamalpreet Singh from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Ms Maitri Shah from BMS School of Architecture, Yelahanka and Ms Suditi Chaudhury from Lokmanya Tilak Institute of Architecture and Design Studies, Navi Mumbai won the second place in small, medium and large scale categories respectively. The jury special award under medium & large-scale category is won by Mr Sanidhya Shah from VIT’s PVP College of Architecture, Pune.

With the theme - Advancing Net Zero through decarbonization, IGBC Green Building Congress aims to provide a platform that brings together eminent industry leaders, policy makers and technology providers to exchange insights and vision on sustainable building practices. Incepted in the year 2001 the Green Building Congress 2023 over its 20 years journey has brought to spotlight pivotal conversation on Sustainable Building practices. The conference re-emphasizes the growing evidence that green buildings not only conserve resources but will also enhance the quality of life of the occupants. The conclave will also showcase innovative green products, materials & technologies as part of a dedicated expo space over the course of the three days.?

IGBC was established by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in 2001 to actively promote the Green Building concept in India. The council is represented by all stakeholders of the construction industry comprising corporate, government, and nodal agencies, architects, product manufacturers, institutions, and more. The council also closely works with governments, the World Green Building Council, and bilateral and multilateral agencies in promoting green building concepts in India.?

With a Green Building footprint of 10.42 billion sq ft, and with over 11,586+ projects adopting IGBC’s 34 rating systems, the Green Building movement in India has been advancing at a rapid pace and transforming India, into one of the global leaders in green built environment. IGBC’s current stakeholder ecosystem consists of 29 Local Chapters across the nation, 6880+ Accredited Professionals (IGBC APs), and 360+ student chapters. Tamil Nadu Green building statistics: 742 registered green building projects, equivalent to 465 million Sq ft of green building footprint.?