In and around…(aug 10)

Green summit

The fourth Annual Sustainability in Design & Construction India Summit 2013, held on August 1 and 2, was convened by Shiv Kumar, President, FKCCI; M. Selvarasu, Director, LEAD consultancy & Engineering Services (India); and Karan Grover, Principal, Karan Grover & Associates.

Rajendra K. Pachauri, Director General-TERI and Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), enlightened the audience about the implications of climate change as far as the building sector is concerned. He emphasised the need for stringent focus on sustainability and conservation of resources.

The event was supported by the Karnataka Ministry of Urban Development, BWSSB, FKCCI, TERI and leading associations such as ISHRAE, Builders Association of India, Glazing Society of India, SESI and ICCTAS. The theme of the event was “Envisioning a sustainable future based on best practices which would emphasise on long-term affordability, quality and efficiency”.

The conference had an average attendance of 170 delegates on both days, comprising leading architects, developers, consultants, contractors, corporate houses, relevant government entities and research agencies. Solution-providing expertise such as MFE Formwork, Wienerberger, GE Lighting, Zamil AC, SCG Trading, RAK Ceramics, Versa Drives & Phifer also participated in the event.

The summit gave an insight into the pertinent environmental issues faced by India and the influence the building sector has on it. The much debated and discussed topics included reduction of urban carbon footprint; addressing misconceptions of the cost of “going green” and discovering the benefits; cost-effective innovative technologies in formwork, lighting & porotherm; ingraining sustainability into architectural education; energy efficiency in the residential building sector; and integrating green and conventional construction for mass adoption in India to take the green building movement to a greater height in India.

Some of the key stakeholders from the Karnataka Government agreed on the importance of SICI 2013. P.N Sreenivasachary, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, stated that an event like this opens opportunity for local and foreign entities to invest in sustainable construction.

Gaurav Gupta, Chairman, BWSSB, said the event promotes sustainable utilisation of existing resources. R. Shivakumar, President, FKCCI, agreed that the summit was successful in bringing together stakeholders in progressing towards adoption of a sustainability concept in construction.

SICI 2013 was conceptualized and organised by the business intelligence firm Nispana, based in Indiranagar, Bangalore.