World Green Building Council
A lot is being done in the field of Green Building. New rating systems are coming up around the world. What started out as LEED– US, spread to LEED -Canada, LEED –India {IGBC} etcetera, today we have a World Green Building Council. The UK has its BREEAM, Australia & New Zealand have their own rating, Singapore and the far east also rate their buildings.
India also has a rating system designed under the command of the Government of India, the GRIHA. Showing India to be a very progressive and mature Nation with regards to its understanding & supporting the cause for abatement of Global warming.
But while, including LEED-India & GRIHA rating give importance to Architectural / Civil- Structural efficiency along with Lighting & HVAC energy reduction in their quest for rating the building for its “greenness” not much is being said about the interior design. Other than in LEED -US, which has a commercial interior rating called LEED-CI but that is all there is, according to my knowledge. I may stand corrected in this and would be happy to know of any other green interior rating.
The reason Interior Design, a very very big and lucrative market World over; does not have a stand-alone Green rating of its own is because most of the existing “Green” ratings presume that the subject gets automatically dealt with when one does a “Green Building”.
Well this presumption is correct to an extent, such as in selection of bath & toilet fixtures which generally conform to the requirements stipulated for water efficiency, to recycled tiles, certified wood, low-V.O.C paints, LED lighting, low SRI carpets, star rated A/c etcetera. But for me, this should not be the case. I don’t see this as a complete solution at all.
Now lets see how much of it gets done in India. Not much to speak of !
Both LEED-India & GRIHA are in there early years, the knowledge and idea about them amongst the Building & Construction Industry is very limited, pan India. A few good developer/ builder do practice it. However, most have rudimentary to nil knowledge.
With this being the situation when it comes to construction of “Green” Building, I would rather call them Energy Efficient Building {EEB} to avoid any confusion as to the purpose and intent; it is hardly surprising that we do not as yet have a rating system which will cater specifically to interiors.
Yet every day we have some high-end show room opening which displays furniture, wall & floor tiles, Italian marble & granite, Egyptian carpet and et al. Do these furniture & tapestries with there high -gloss and stain free coating get checked for there Environmental friendly approach?
Don’t the teeming, so called high end and those who aspire to be high-end Interior Design Consultants, who rip apart perfectly well done interior finishes in the houses of the rich & the famous and toss out every inch of wood -work, stone, highly toxic paints scraped from walls etcetera, need to be aware?
Aware that their actions are detrimental to the planet? Should not they also be educated on the mantra of Reduce – Recycle – Reuse? The three “R” are the basic principals of a “Green” or to be exact an Energy Efficient and Sustainable design.
It would in my opinion make immense Economical & Ecological sense if both IGBC and ADaRSH the Indian institutions responsible for the LEED-India and GRIHA rating system start to think about creating a – Green Interior Rating which can rate both commercial & residential projects.
India would be left richer as a sustainable Nation should awareness in Green Interiors is mooted. As one must remember homes & office premises are usually bought once in a life-time of most Indians but Interior design usually happens once in 5 years; either at one go or in instalments most Indian homes see this change.
It is time we think of doing something right about it and make the world a little more safer for our children.
Related articles
- A Beginner’s Guide to LEED Certification (txu.com)
- New LEED Interior Design & Construction (ID&C) Practice Exam Book Prepares Examinees to Pass the LEED ID&C Exam (prweb.com)
- Green Building Rating Systems (devrealestateconsultant.wordpress.com)
- The revolution of Green Buildings in India (devrealestateconsultant.wordpress.com)
- Adopt GRIHA to cut greenhouse emissions from buildings: Pachauri (leeddaily.com)
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