Green Buildings For A Greener World

With increasing effects of global warming on our environment, implementing sustainable solutions in every aspect of our life has become crucial and it should start with adopting a green living, be it the items we use or the place we call home!

What are Green Buildings? Why there is a need to build them?

Green Buildings also known as Sustainable Buildings refer to the structure and environmentally responsible, resource-efficient implementation of the process that involves designing, constructing, operating and maintaining the structure.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, “Generally, green homes are healthier, more comfortable, more durable, and more energy efficient and have a much smaller environmental footprint than conventional homes.”

Green buildings have become a priority for not just the real estate builders but the consumers too as they have started acknowledging the need to have an energy efficient, cost saving & sustainable property that leads to a healthy living. They also want to ensure that their investments and savings are associated with greener homes.

As per a survey conducted by National Real Estate Investor, green building have become one of the most important commercial real estate strategies & it is continuously competing to be known as the new industry standard. This survey received responses from 218 corporate users and 166 developers of the commercial real estate to conclude that 52% of corporate respondents and 39% of developer respondents currently own, manage or lease at least some “green” properties in the US.

What is USGBC? What is a LEED certification?

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and operation by transforming the way buildings are designed, constructed, and operated through LEED.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. They provide a framework that can be used to build energy efficient and cost-saving sustainable buildings, projects seeking a LEED certification are rated as certified, silver, gold, and platinum. Projects earn points across various categories such as energy use, indoor environmental quality, materials used etc to get certified.

Alembic City’s MasterCard Building receives USGBC ‘Gold Rated’ LEED Certification

Alembic Real Estate always believes in bringing a perfect balance to the today’s lifestyle and rapidly degrading environment by designing & building elegant green spaces for work and living.

Our one such effort was to build a significant sustainable commercial real estate buildings located in Alembic City, a business park in Vadodara, India. Right from designing the building our focus was to include:

1. Sustainability:

By adopting the best practices implemented at the project site, be it electric vehicle charging points, bringing in various plant species for landscapes, provision of bicycle parking slots to reduce the carbon footprint.

2. Water Efficiency:

Utilizing water to the fullest with the use of Rainwater Harvesting, Drip Irrigation System, and Wastewater Treatment that helped to achieve more than 50% water usage reduction in the project.

3. Energy and Atmosphere:

With the efficient usage of VRF based AC, the refrigerants and fire suppression system of the building which is free from ozone-depleting substance, and LED lighting the project was able to achieve 15% energy savings as compared to ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) base case.

4. Materials & Resources:

With the usage of building materials with recycled content and procuring the materials locally, the project had a lesser carbon footprint.

5. Indoor Environmental Quality:

Keeping the importance of occupant comfort in mind, the entire campus is built with materials that have low VOC(Volatile organic compounds) and lead to a better air quality not just in campus but inside the buildings too.

Since 1907, our persistent goal has been to enhance the quality of life through high-quality products and services. This approach is what has brought us to the point that our efforts towards a greener world have been recognized by the USGBC. We wish to continue building sustainable solutions to make the world a better place. Together we can build a stronger future!