Newsletter | January 2018     GRIHA Council signs MoU with PWD, Government of Maharashtra   GRIHA Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Public Works Department (PWD), Government of Maharashtra (GoM) on January 6, 2018, for promotion and implementation of GRIHA in Maharashtra. The MoU was signed by Shri Ajit Sagane, Secretary (Works), PWD, GoM and Shri Sanjay Seth, Chief Executive Officer, GRIHA Council, in the presence of Hon'ble Minister, Public Works, Shri Chandrakant Patil, and other senior officials of PWD and GRIHA Council.       It is a myth that green buildings cost more; sustainable is affordable, says Mr. Sanjay Seth, CEO, GRIHA Council   Mr. Sanjay Seth, Chief Executive Officer, GRIHA Council, spoke to Mint Money about green buildings. Pollution has become a big issue in India. The issue also led to a major controversy when the international cricket team of Sir Lanka went off the field alleging that conditions were unplayable due to poor air quality of Delhi. There are many things that contribute to poor environment. Apart from vehicles, some of the major sources of air pollution are construction activity and energy emissions from buildings. In fact, when the Delhi government announced emergency measures last year to control air pollution, one of the measures was to impose a ban on construction activity. While pollution in Delhi makes the headlines, it is a serious concern across the country. This is where green buildings come in as they can play a significant role in reducing pollution.       GRIHA Three Star Provisional Rating awarded to Woodsville Phase I, Pune   The project has demonstrated compliance with all the mandatory requirements of ECBC 2007 and the EPI of the project was simulated as 31.72 kWh/m2/year, implying 69.66% reductions in EPI from the benchmark. Solar hot water system to suffice 100% hot water requirement has been installed, thus reducing the consumption of energy generated from non-renewable sources. The other salient features of the project were 51.64% reduction in building water consumption by installing low flow fixtures, 100% storm water run-off from roof is being recharged into the ground through recharge pits, more than 85% of total living area is day lit, 16.29% and 33% of cement is replaced with fly ash by weight in structural and plaster/masonry work respectively and so on.       Two new products enlisted in the GRIHA product catalogue Dulux Professional Weathershield E1000 GRIHA V 2/3: 5,14 GRIHA V 2015: 3,8 SVAGRIHA: 2,5 Dulux Professional Weathershield Flexx GRIHA V 2/3: 5,14 GRIHA V 2015: 3,8 SVAGRIHA: 2,5 2 new products from Akzo Nobel India Ltd. have been added under the category of High SRI external paints/ tiles.     GRIHA Certified Professional and Evaluator Exam Calendar 2018 announced     The GRIHA Certified Professionals or GRIHA CP are a cadre of professional from diverse fields, who are equipped with the knowledge of the GRIHA rating system and GRIHA Evaluators are subject matter experts and professionals who evaluate the assigned projects after qualifying the GRIHA Examination. GRIHA Council reaches out to these professionals for criteria evaluation according to their expertise.       GRIHA training program organized   Awareness program on GRIHA for Affordable Housing Date: 16th January 2018 3-Day GRIHA V 2015 Training Programme at Ahmedabad Date: 17th- 19th January, 2018 Students Training Programme on Green Building Materials Date: 22nd January, 2018     Upcoming GRIHA training program   Venue Dates Hyderabad 21st- 23rd February 2018 Kolkata 14th - 16th March 2018     View Events       Editor's choice   Surat emerges as leading 'solar smart city' in country A recent article in Akshay Urja says the Diamond City is among one of the few cities in India to have met the expectations in the field of renewable energy after the launch of 'Smart Cities Mission' by GoI in 2015. The guidelines of the ministry of urban development (MoUD), which identified 100 smart cities in the country, said at least 10 per cent of the smart city's energy requirement should be met by solar power only. 9 Companies Fighting Climate Change Through Biomimicry We know that carbon emissions, particularly carbon dioxide and methane, are a major contributor to global climate change trends, and that the challenge of mitigating and even reversing this trend is highly complex. We also know that like so many other sustainability challenges, we face managing carbon is a challenge faced by the natural world and solved through its own adaptive strategies that have evolved over 3.8 billion years. Report on environment ranks India among bottom five of 180 countries, warns of public health crisis The Environmental Performance Index study said India had made ‘little progress’ to efforts to tackle air pollution as compared to China. In two years, India dropped 36 ranks to reach the bottom five in 2018 in a list that measures the environmental performance of 180 countries. The list was prepared by Yale University and Columbia University in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. Register your interest for training on GRIHA Register your products and projects   Copyright © 2018 GRIHA Council GRIHA Council, 1st Floor, A - 260, Defence colony, New Delhi, 110024 (Ph : 011 4644 4500) If you do not wish to receive this newsletter Click here