The Hindu Business Line : Grundfos facility gets Gold rating from US council

GRUNDFOS Pumps' facility on the Old Mahabalipuram Road here has been awarded the Gold rating by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) under their LEED (leadership in energy and environment design) programme.

The Green Building Rating System has four certification levels, starting with LEED Certified, going on to Silver, Gold and finally Platinum.

This is the first Gold rated building in India and is one of the 50 such buildings in the world.

At a press conference, Mr Parasuraman R, Chairman, Indian Green Building Council, said that green buildings could save up to 50 per cent energy and water resources and increase the productivity of occupants by 10 to 15 per cent.

A view of the Grundfos Pumps facility in Chennai — Bijoy Ghosh

The Confederation of Indian Industry estimates that the potential for green building construction would touch around Rs 730 crore by 2007.

He said there was a need for the construction industry to go green, as the impact of this activity on the environment was quite high. For instance, 20 per cent of (non biodegradable) landfill is from the construction. About 10 per cent of the total energy generated and 10 per cent water consumed in the country is by the construction industry.

Mr Ranganath N.K., CEO, Grundfos Pumps India Pvt Ltd, said the project cost for this building was Rs 6.4 crore, 10 per cent more than a conventional one. He said that there was 25 per cent energy savings over a conventional building and 40 per cent reduction in potable water use.

Some of the other features of this building are the use of cavity wall to minimise heat ingress in the building, use of treated water for garden, recycling more than 95 per cent of construction water, high efficiency chillers, carbon dioxide sensors to monitor indoor air quality, use of low volatile organic compounds paints and sealants.

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