LEED certification makes firms, homes put ‘green’ foot forward

The first commercial interior in India to be certified as LEED v4, the newest version of the LEED green building programme from the US Green Building Council (USGBC), was awarded the dynamic plaque in Gurgaon. Group 10 Technologies, an entrepreneurial venture, took the leap of faith when it was setting up its office on Sohna Road, Gurgaon.

“It requires commitment and conviction to set out to achieve such a stiff target,” said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC’s president & founding chair, who came to India specially to award the certifications to the Indian awardees.

"When we set out to build our new interior office space, we wanted to design a space that could give back to the environment,” said Manmohan Singh, managing director, Group 10. “LEED gave us the framework to create a space that is using less water and fewer natural resources and saving energy and providing a healthy indoor environment for our employees. Because LEED is recognised around the globe, we wanted to raise the bar and earn the new LEED v4 certification.”

So what does this certification mean in the larger context of a clean-up of the real estate sector and the enhanced awareness about energy efficiency? Interiors certification allows small users to set ambitious energy-efficient targets for themselves and gain certification. It also follows the dynamic plaque option where the Leeds rating has to be conformed at all times. It also changes dynamically depending on the information flow so that organisations can constantly correct faults if and when they happen to building systems.

This gives users the opportunity to plug into the green movement according to their capacity. Finally, the onus on contributing to the green movement in the built environment is on individual companies and individuals.

Can homes aspire for this certification too? Fedrizzi certainly believes so. It requires commitment to the cause of energy efficiency, an ability to work with building managers to constantly achieve those targets and finally become agents of change.

So if you are a green loyalist, here is your chance to climb a bandwagon that was earlier reserved for large developers, commercial establishments and those with large amounts of resources to spend. Just log onto USGBC, state your intention to seek a green certification, see the conditions and the materials specified, conform as much as you can and gain whatever is the best possible certification. You have the option to begin small and grow as you go along. After all, the ultimate battle for earth and energy depends on each small contribution, leading to big results.

E Jayashree Kurup is the head, content and research team of Magicbricks, the real estate portal of Times of India Group.

Source: http://content.magicbricks.com/industry-news/delhi-ncr-real-estate-news/leed-certification-makes-firms-homes-put-green-foot-forward/80256.html