HaraBara hosts Connect roundtable on "Issues in Green Building"

HaraBara hosted a roundtable discussion on "Issues in Green Building" for HaraBara Connect™ members. Participants from the finance/banking, design, real estate development, hospitality, clean technology and other industries explored the incentives, barriers, costs and benefits of green building. Their key finding was that although the long-term benefits of green building are clear, and the costs are manageable, there is a lack of connection between the costs to the developer and the value to the occupant that prevents more green construction.

The participants agreed that inconsistent regulation and government policies made many green building projects impractical. They felt that education of legislators, corporates and of the public, on the costs of waste and the benefits of green building are urgently needed.

"There is monstrous waste of energy and water in Indian buildings," said Dr. David Wheat, Ph.D., Co-Founder of HaraBara and facilitator of the roundtable. "Green building methods and technologies have the potential to reduce energy and water use significantly, but serious barriers need to be overcome. Designers, corporates, regulators, building societies and the public need to learn more, and building codes need to be amended to permit more green construction."

Mr. Jamsheed Kanga, former head of TATA Housing and retired Commissioner of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, emphasized the energy savings possible from conservation of older buildings. "The energy has already gone in to constructing these buildings," he said.

"With the current emphasis on sustainable development, green building will become standard building in the future," said Wheat. "The participation of HSBC, Kotak Mahindra, Standard Chartered, Graviss Hospitality and other corporates in our roundtable shows the importance they attach to having healthy, efficient green buildings for their employees and customers." Other participants included Moser Baer Photo Voltaic, Da Vinci Engineering, Abellon CleanEnergy, KNS Architects, Ratan Batra and Lodha Group.

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HaraBara, Inc. helps companies meet green challenges. Headquartered in San Francisco, it works with businesses world wide. Through its subsidiary in Mumbai, HaraBara Online India Pvt Ltd, it provides the HaraBara Connect™ service to Indian companies. Increasing environmental, energy, climate and health concerns create both threats and opportunities for business. HaraBara provides support, networks, resources, information and connections to enable companies to maximize profitability while dealing with Green.

For further information contact HaraBara at info@harabara.com, or +91 96 1910 1507, or visit HaraBara.com.

Dr. David Wheat can be reached at david.wheat@harabara.com.