ISBC

caurtesy : isbc

A sustainable building is one which uses less water, optimises energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building. The Indian sustainable building council (ISBC) is the leading Sustainable building movement in the country.

Indian Sustainable Building Council

The Indian Sustainable Building Council (ISBC) was formed by the Confederation of ISBC in 2001  The council is based out of the ISBC-Sohrabji Sustainable Business Centre, Hyderabad which is India’s 1st Platinum rated Sustainable building and a Net Zero Energy Building. The vision of the council is to enable a ‘Sustainable built environment for all.

ISBC is India’s premier body for Sustainable building certification and related services. Today, with strong support from various stakeholders, they have achieved the following significant milestones:

{1} 7,128 projects registered with ISBC from various parts of India and abroad, amounting to a total footprint of 8.00 billion square feet (743,000,000 m²)

{2} 30 ISBC Sustainable building ratings that cover all typologies of projects – residential, commercial, industrial, healthcare, etc.

{3} 1,600+ ISBC Member Organizations comprising developers, corporates, architects, consultants, institutes, government, etc.

{4} 5,661+ qualified ISBC Accredited Sustainable Building Professionals; more than 30,000 stakeholders have been trained by ISBC until date.

ISBC certifies the Sustainable projects which are conceptualized, designed, constructed and operated as per ISBC Ratings. Till date, more than 2,383 projects (approx 1,212 million square feet (112.6×10⁶ m²)) have been rated by ISBC. These ISBC-rated projects, as compared to conventional structures, have demonstrated tremendous savings to the extent of up to:

• 15,000 MWh of Energy per million sq ft. per annum
• 45,000 KL of Water per million sq ft. per annum
• Installation of 100 MW of renewable energy in ISBC certified projects
• Reduced CO₂ emissions by 12,000 tons per million sq ft. per annum
• Diverted 500 tons of construction waste from landfill per million sq ft.

Sustainable projects rated by ISBC fall under one of the following levels (in ascending order): Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

Residential buildings in India: The residential building sector is one of the largest consumers of electricity in India. Continuous urbanisation and the growth of population result in increasing power consumption in buildings. Thus, while experts express the huge potential for energy conservations in this sector, the belief still predominates among stakeholders that energy-efficient buildings are more expensive than conventional buildings, which adversely affects the “greening” of the building sector. This belief is contested by studies finding evidence for the opposite being the case.