The future of construction is green
The field of construction is rapidly undergoing a green transformation; the key watch words being sustainability, green materials and smart tech. The accelerated requirement to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, use of non-renewable resources and unsustainable practices has construction giants racing to find solutions that are adaptable to all strata of industry players.
Due to economic growth, a sizeable urban population, government initiatives and rising awareness about sustainability, the focus has shifted to investing in a green future through complementary construction activities. In the year 2023, the market size of green buildings in India was $30.24 billion with a 5% CAGR from a forecast period of 2023 to 2028.
As per the Indian Green Building Council or IGBC, India has a green building footprint of over 12.3 billion sqft; with over 14,510 registered green building projects and 5,820 certified and operational green building projects at present.
With sustainable, green construction repositioning itself from a niche segment to that of a global necessity here are the imperatives driving fluctuating market dynamics and customer choices:
- Compelling economic benefits
The economic and cost saving benefits of green buildings is unparalleled. Apart from impactful savings on utility bills, there is enhanced occupant efficiency and decreased operating costs. Green certified buildings also command a significant premium over their non-certified counterparts which indirectly compels ethical choices when it comes to construction practices.
- Raised environmental concerns in an ever expanding India
The construction industry has a significant impact on the environment; infact, 40- 50% of resources extracted from around the world are used for infrastructure, construction and housing. Green buildings offer a timely solution to increasing environmental crisis in a rapidly urbanizing India. According to the IGBC, resource conservation by green buildings have shown a marked impact. In the year 2022, green buildings in India conserved 14 billion liters of water, mitigated 40 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emission and conserved 45 billion kW of energy.
- Need for alternative materials
The Indian construction Industry is rightly skewed towards an increased usage of sustainable materials and building practices. The end goal is to minimize harm to the environment, reduce the carbon footprint and resource conservation. The council of architecture in their ‘Green building materials’ article stated that eco friendly construction materials can be adapted into the framing and building structure, insulation, roofing, exterior sliding, heating and air conditioning and interior finishes.
- Necessity for a nationwide approach
In the 2022 global ranking for LEEDS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) of green buildings, India was placed second with a project count of 323 and over 10.47 million GSM, which is comparatively twice the number of projects in 2021. While India continues to make a global impact by being consistently placed in the LEEDS listing, adoption of green construction practices has been restricted primarily to tier-I cities. The significant gap indicates that focus now needs to move to tier-II and tier-III cities with policies and incentives that help hasten adoption.
The future of green construction depends on a heightened consciousness about its impact on the environment. Keeping this a priority, B&M Infra’s latest project was conceived. Be.i- Be earth intelligent focuses on a range of eco homes that employs a biophilic design, the latest in energy saving smart tech, environmentally conscious construction practices to ensure a minimal carbon footprint and sustainability measures such as rain water harvesting for resource conservation.
The future of construction is indeed green and we at B&M Infra believe it is now.
