SIERRA ODC building looks like any other IT office building from the outside. No posh or massive structure, but if you enter the office complex of this Coimbatore-based IT solutions company, you will realise what the so-called “Green Building” means and is much talked about.

The building incidentally has been recognised as the world’s second highest ranking Green Building, with a score of 103 out of 110 under LEED certification.

“The three-storeyed building has been designed and constructed with an emphasis on increasing the efficiency of resource use — be it energy, water or materials, while reducing its impact on human health and the environment through its entire lifecycle,” said Giridhar, Managing Director, SIERRA ODC.

Highlighting the achievements of the green building facility, he said they have managed water use efficiency of 89 per cent by using water saving fixtures and curbing wastage. Water is recycled cent per cent, he added.

“This is a carbon-neutral building. We’ve registered a cost saving of 64 per cent on energy. We have for the first time in South India, implemented a technology — Amorphous Silicon Thin Building Vortec — wherein photovoltaic modules produce power at low cost per watt.

“The major spend has been on solar panels, which has worked out to ₹25 lakh,” he said. Mahesh Ramanujam, President and Chief Executive, US Green Building Council, who was in the city to certify the project said the criteria for recognition included site selection, energy and water conservation, indoor air quality and so on. “This project would serve as a model in India and around the world as to how we can create a future that is safe and healthy for our planet and its people.”

He further said that there were over 90,000 projects in the pipeline across 164 countries, that awaited certification.

To promote the benefits of green building, SIERRA ODC is in the process of establishing an on-site green learning centre where students, social enthusiasts, industry experts and the general public can learn the benefits and also consider applying certain strategies at home and work.

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