Real Estate Research Initiative jointly with CREDAI hosts sustainability summit on: ‘Journey towards Net Zero in Real Estate’ on 2nd December
Focusing on sustainability targets – water, energy, and design and materials, summit witnessed presentations by architects, developers and consultants on best practices and strategies that make construction both sustainable and profitable
5 December, 2023, Bengaluru: The Real Estate Research Initiative (RERI) at IIM Bangalore, in collaboration with the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), hosted a sustainability summit on: ‘Journey towards Net Zero in Real Estate’, on 2nd December 2023.
RERI at IIM Bangalore conducts scientific and interdisciplinary research on the Indian real estate sector. The research is published in leading academic and practitioner journals, and is expected to provide guidance and policy prescriptions to government and industry stakeholders on major issues relating to the sector.
Background: Buildings contribute as much as a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, and any effort by the country to become net zero is impossible without addressing issues faced by this sector. Though the sector has set 2050 as the timeframe to achieve its net zero goal, it is not clear how it can be achieved without specific action plans. The dream of a sustainable future for mankind is incomplete without decarbonizing our built environment. The building sector today contributes to 10% of the global GDP while also being one of the largest consumers of natural resources, and the largest generators of waste and GHG emissions. For a rapidly urbanizing country like India where half of the buildings are yet to become a reality, this is an opportune moment to develop strategies for a sustainable built environment. The RERI-CREDAI Real Estate Sustainability Summit was a step towards that.
About the summit: The event included addresses by Prof. Venkatesh Panchapagesan, Chairperson, Real Estate Research Initiative, IIMB and by Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIMB.
The event saw developers working with subject matter experts and faculty in small groups who brainstormed for almost five hours in parallel in order to create action plans for three important sustainability targets – water, energy, and design and materials. These focus groups were moderated by IIMB faculty to ensure discussions and progress towards a plan. These action plans formulated in small groups were presented by the focus groups to the main session audience comprising real estate developers, architects, consultants and the academia, aiming to develop short-, medium- and long-term goals towards making our built environment more sustainable.
The summit witnessed presentations by architects, developers and consultants on best practices and strategies that make construction both sustainable and profitable. However, the key differentiator of the event was the Focus Group Discussions with the objective of arriving at actionable items for Real Estate Developers to reduce their carbon footprint. The Focus Groups deliberated to arrive at recommendations for three groups. First, the cost-conscious, risk averse developers who are unable or unwilling, at the present time, to make additional investment towards sustainability. Recommendations for this group included the low hanging fruits that are tried and tested, and could be adopted by all developers with negligible trade-offs. Second, the environmentally conscious developer who is willing to go the extra mile by making additional financial investments, developing capabilities, taking risks by adopting new technologies and translating benefits into financial value to bring customers on board. Thirdly, policy makers and industry bodies, to incentivize the industry and consumers through cost sharing and collaboration. These recommendations were backed by evidence, proof of concept and international best practices.
Major recommendations for cost-conscious developers:
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Use of material such as blended/composite cement, secondary steel, alternative wall material such as AAC/fly-ash brick, alternative structural concrete
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For water efficiency, use of low-flow fixture, aerator, dual plumbing system, smart meter, controlled irrigation, rainwater harvesting (RWH) and effective landscape planning, use of only recycled water for construction
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Reducing energy demand through design intervention such as orientation of building for minimum heat gain, optimizing window-to-wall ratio to maximize daylight and reduce heat gain, use of shading device, use of alternative cooling methods, energy efficient lighting fixture, lighting control and use of alternative sources of energy
Major recommendations for environment-conscious developers:
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Alternatives to conventional concrete such as composite systems (steel and concrete), post tension concrete slabs, decking slabs, concrete filled steel tubes, bio-concrete for walls, etc.
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Use of triple plumbing systems (to further separate grey and black water), centralized water treatment plants, smart water meters, increasing RWH capacity
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Use of Building Management Systems for data-driven decision making to optimize operations cost
Policy recommendations:
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Adding cost of carbon to cost of building
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Introduction of performance-based incentives in addition to prescriptive incentives
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Incentives for research on alternative building material
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Mandate minimization and recycling of construction waste
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Developing embodied carbon-based incentives and implementing carbon exchanges among developers and builders
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Revising regulations by making them output based rather than mandating technology