The Hindu Business Line : A guide on green real estate launched

Bangalore, June 11 “The winners in the emerging ‘carbon economy’ will be those who prepare early. Governments and economies will soon turn to buildings to achieve deep emission cuts quickly,” says Mr Simon Carter, Regional Head of Sustainability (Asia-Pacific), Colliers International, a real estate services firm, in his 36-page r.e.Design — The Green Real Estate Guide.

The guide, which was launched here on Tuesday, identifies four core pointers for strategy design: Managing Green — improving existing building performance; Developing Green — creating new green buildings and refurbishing existing ones; Occupying Green — leasing a green building, creating a green outfit and operating a green office; and Living Green — improving your own individual footprint.

Over-focusing on the cost of green developments could be misleading, Mr Carter said. “When the markets transform, it is the cost of not having a green building to lease or sell that is of great concern. What happened in markets such as Australia demonstrates that those who commit to green real estate quickly can drive down the cost of doing so and increase their returns,” he said.

While some green buildings might have an initial cost premium attached to its construction as compared with conventional buildings, others could be cheaper to develop; but in the long run, it could effectively save up to 40-80 per cent of the energy costs.

“Green buildings are set to become standard practice and we need to quickly understand them, including how they deliver value to us. The uptake of green building practices in India is now quick and real estate practices are beginning to change accordingly,” he said.

Looking at the major trends in the world around climate change and sustainability, this trend is only set to accelerate. “This presents enormous risks and opportunities for those associated with real estate,” Mr Carter said.

The guide points out that real estate can offer cost-effective greenhouse gas emission cuts compared with other sectors. “It emphasises the need and approach to redesign our buildings and real estate practices and make our living and more environmentally-sustainable,” he said. The guide gives tips to save energy, manage waste, reduce operational cost, just by using the right materials, having the right orientation and introducing the right design.

Mr Joe Verghese, Managing Director, Colliers International India, said that the growth in green buildings in India is largely driven by occupiers. Currently, India has 26 built-green buildings, and 218 registrations for green certification. It is interesting to note that only one building was registered in 2002 for the certification.

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