Post-conference report
Association for Development and Research of Sustainable Habitats (ADaRSH) in association with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India, organised a two-day 'National Conference on Green Design: Buildings and Habitats' at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi from 7-8th January 2011.
Many key players in the construction industry participated as speakers/sponsors/ exhibitors/participants. Attended by over 300 building professionals and decision-makers from both the government and the private sectors, the conference gave clear direction for ADaRSH's work in the coming year. The conference was inaugurated by Dr Farooq Abdullah, Hon'ble Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, GoI; Dr R K Pachauri,Director-General,TERI; and Shri Deepak Gupta, Secretary, MNRE.
In the inaugural session GRIHA /TERI-GRIHA green rating plaques were presented by Dr Farooq Abduallah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to the rated projects viz. Suzlon One Earth: GRIHA five star rating, Police Training School: GRIHA four star rating , Fortis Hospital Shalimarbagh : TERI GRIHA three star rating and Hindustan Unilever Development Center : TERI GRIHA two star rating.
This year's conference expanded on the themes of the previous conference and focused on - Innovation in architectural design, systems, planning, structural design etc; The importance of adopting integrated design and its impact on project economics,environment and education . How to make affordable and low cost housing green? and strategies to be adopted to reduce the environmental impact of existing buildings and to make them green.
The speakers brought diverse viewpoints on the role of GRIHA, green rating systems, and government policy in promoting sustainable habitat. With over 108 projects spread over millions of square metres already going GRIHA, green buildings have certainly drawn the attention of the entire spectrum of stakeholders, ranging from ministries and statutory bodies regulating building practice to key corporate houses and institutions.
The two day conference also hosted an exhibition on the sidelines to showcase green building products, energy-efficient solutions and new technologies & services available today to build a sustainable habitat. The list of 22 exhibitors at the National conference for Green Design: Buildings & Habitats are; AIS Glass, Armstrong, , BASF Companies in India, Bayer MaterialScience, Daily Dump: Compost at Home, Desiccant Rotors International, Dow Chemicals, Everest, Lloyd Insulations, Owens Corning, Saint Gobain Glass, Surmount Energy, SOHOM FENSTERTECH PVT.LTD, Synefra, Termex, Technoform, UTC (United Technologies Corporation), and Veejay Trading.