The Hindu Business Line : Wipro making ‘green’ a way of life

Bangalore, Aug. 20 Long before its PCs went green, Wipro has been working at making ‘green’ a way of life at its corporate offices across the country.

Recognition like the Platinum Rating from the US Green Building Council for its Gurgaon Software Development Centre is only one milestone in this endeavour, says Mr Laxman K. Badiga, Corporate Vice-President and CIO, Wipro Technologies.

There have been other achievements too, like the paper recycling unit at the company’s Electronic City campus, making note-pads for employees for the last six months, the Kochi Development Centre likely to get a Gold Rating from the US Green Building Council and the conversion of canteen waste into bio-fuels at the Bangalore office.

“The key thing in all our buildings is extreme discretion in power consumption and water management, which has become a way of life for us,” says Mr Badiga.

The Electronic City campus at Bangalore could consume 45 days of recycled water last year. The Azim Premji Foundation building in Bangalore runs on natural light and without air-conditioners.

Solar water heating systems and smartly-designed lighting and air-conditioning systems have ensured 30 per cent reduction in energy usage at the Gurgaon Development Centre, the only building in the country to be recognised with the Platinum Rating.

The centre uses natural lighting as much as possible, reduces the need for additional lighting using a combination of daylight sensors and lighting control. Treated water is reused for gardening, flushing and air-conditioning makeup water. Double glazed windows with energy efficient glass ensure low noise levels and low penetration of heat into the building reducing the load on the air conditioning system.

Mr Ramakrishnan, General Manager, Facilities Management, Wipro Technologies, says that at GDC, all furniture is modular, made of MDF boards made from recycled material. Bio-gas from canteen waste is being used at the company’s headquarters in Bangalore. Wipro is also considering setting up of windmills as an energy source option, Mr Badiga said.

But do savings in terms of energy and water really merit the cost of setting up these ‘green’ initiatives? “All this has been achieved with a nominal increase in construction cost, say about 10 per cent.,” Mr Badiga says. But he’s thinking of a more critical factor: “Launching such an initiative is easy, but sustaining it is the tricky part.” And that’s why Wipro employees are being sensitised to its green programmes through exhibitions, conferences and training programmes.

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