How green is my building

It is a project that would have warmed the cockles of the late Sohrab Godrej’s ‘evergreen’ heart. The CII - Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre in Hyderabad (CII-GBC) became "the greenest building in the world” when it was awarded a Version 2.0 Platinum rating by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The first in India as well as the first within and outside the US to obtain a Version 2 grading under the LEED (Leadership in Environment and Energy Design) program, the building was inaugurated by the President of India Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in July this year.

In a unique public-private partnership, the CII (Confedera­tion of Indian Industry), the government of Andhra Pradesh (by way of free land allotment) and the Pirojsha Godrej Foundation embarked in August 2002 on the eco-friendly project which marries nature, architecture and technology and is situated on a five-acre plot near the city which has in recent years made a name for itself in software and hi-tech innovations.

Jamshyd Godrej, chairman and managing director of the Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited and a past president of CII, is the chairman of the new Centre. The project was supported by Godrej and Boyce, the Godrej group being among India’s envi­ronmen-tally conscious corporate entities. The building was named after the former chairman of the Godrej group and Jamshyd’s uncle, Sohrab Godrej, who was an ardent environmentalist.

"Our vision is not just to put up this demonstration build­ing but also be the world leaders...What we intend to do is to promote Indian industry as one of the foremost competitive indus­tries as far as green buildings and environmental matters are concerned,” Jamshyd Godrej told newsmen in Hyderabad at the time of the inauguration, as reported by Syed Amin Jafri in his des­patch from Hyderabad on July 13, 2004 posted on the website www.rediff.com "We have already made contacts outside India. We intend to take this movement throughout the ASEAN region and the Gulf region and many other places because it is very important that we are seen as a leader in this area. Making India a world leader in Green Business by 2015 is the vision of the GBC,” Godrej stated. The Centre has already made a presentation before the Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong during his visit to New Delhi earlier this year, the website adds. "We are going to work with the Singapore government in promoting green buildings,” Godrej said.

The CII-GBC has also set itself the task of building 10 green buildings in India by 2006 and creating five world-class energy efficient companies by next year, the website notes. "We are offering these (consultancy and LEED building-related) services to eight Indian companies... and aim to help at least five achieve green status by the end of 2005,” Godrej asserted, as reported by Business Today in its edition of August 15. Among the proposed green buildings is the CII — Naoroji Godrej Centre of Excellence in Bombay, according to the magazine.

Costing around Rs 10 crore, the 20,000 sq ft CII-GBC is expected to pay for itself in terms of savings on power and water in three to four years’ time, reports Business Today. Its two tall wind towers pre-cool the air, thus reducing energy consumption by the air-conditioning unit, use of photovoltaic cells augment the power re­quirements by 23.5 KW (kilowatts), the building’s orientation makes maximum use of natural light, its vast water body utilizes rainwater harvesting. The waste water is recycled. Non-toxic, recycled and environmentally friendly building materials make up 80 percent of items used in the construction. Technical support was provided by USAID (United States Agency for International Development) to the "not-for-profit” Centre.

"US blue over India’s Green title,” wrote Chidanand Rajghat­ta of Times News Network on The Times of India Online, in a report from Washington dated November 26, 2003 when the Centre’s design team led by Baroda architect Karan Grover, among others, scored over the Version I Platinum rating won by a couple of buildings in the US. "America wants it back. No, not the out­sourcing... It wants back a title that has, against all form, unexpectedly come India’s way — the honor of hosting the world’s ‘greenest’ building... an acclaim that went unnoticed in India,” wrote Rajghatta. After stringent auditing, the USGBC had awarded the design 57 out of a possible 69 points, the highest ever given to a building anywhere in the world,” writes Dr Kath Williams, vice chair of the USGBC from 1997-2003 in her article "Beyond Borders” on the site www.sustainablebusiness.com India is among the seven founding members of the World Green Building Council based in Sydney, Australia, she adds.

With the CII-GBC setting the standard, it may prove to be the first small step towards the giant leap required in India if this nation of one billion people, most of whom have scant regard for the environment, is to stop its slide towards ecological disaster.

A year of mentoring

Zoroastrians are among the "minority communities” listed by the Government of India, ministry of welfare (along­side Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists) for credit facilities from banks for "priority sector lendings — special programs.” The Reserve Bank of India Master Circular of September 29, 2004 (RPCD No SP. BC. 37/09.10.01/2004-05) states: "The Government of India have indicated that care should be taken to see that minority communities secure, in a fair and adequate manner, the benefits flowing from various government sponsored special pro­grams. All commercial banks, both in public and private sector have been advised to ensure smooth flow of bank credit to minori­ty communities.”

The first page of the Circular is available for viewing at the WZCC-I (World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce — India) new worldwide address http://.wzcc.net under the Resources section.

The current year has been announced as ‘The Year of the Young Entrepreneurs’ by the WZCC. Minoo Shroff, president of the WZCC-I in his keynote address at the first annual general meeting (AGM) of WZCC-I on September 12, 2004 at the West End Hotel in Bombay stated how mentoring of a budding businessman is satisfying to both giver and receiver. Shroff cited, among others, the example of Jehan Bhuj­wala whose love for wild life has prompted him to set up an adventure tourism business known as the Shergarh Tented Camp at the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh (famous for its tigers). Bhujwala has put in a 50 percent contribution from his own resources, with the Zoroastrian Investment Corporation Limit­ed [the Bombay Parsi Punchayet’s (BPP) venture capital scheme] helping him with advisory services and the balance 50 percent, according to a report on the proceedings of the AGM by Homi R. Mullan.

On the anvil of the WZCC is the publication of a WZCC journal. Their new worldwide web address www.wzcc. net invites suggestions for a suitable name for the Journal, with the promise of $ 200 prize for the best suggestion from members in any part of the world.

The achievements of WZCC-I received kudos from Rohinton Rivetna, president of the parent body who stated in a message that WZCC-I’s progress in India was "simply astonishing.” WZCC-I secretary Kersi Commissariat noted in his report that besides the four chapters already existing (Delhi, Bombay, Poona and Ahmeda­bad), WZCC-I’s proposed chapters are "Hyderabad/Chennai, Umber­gaon/Vapi and perhaps Bangalore.” As at the date of the AGM, the India chapter had 355 members. The newly formalized and elected board of directors will serve a three-year term, with Poona’s Anu Aga, a new director on the board. Jamshed Guzder with his commit­ment of two lakh rupees is patron-in-chief, with Shroff and BPP trustee Burjor Antia as patrons with a contribution of Rs 50,000 each. WZCC-I’s first year’s accounts showed a surplus.

Kersi Limathwalla, Mumbai chapter chair, expressed his appreciation of the voluntary and tireless efforts of Yazdi Tantra, Mumbai chapter honorary secretary, to put the WZCC world network on a common platform (www.wzcc.net). Tantra has been appointed technical director on the world board of the WZCC, managing the website.

Compiled by Hilla P. Guzder