Talent shortage may stunt greenbuilding movement's growth

As the green building movement in India gathers steam with growing numbers of real-estate developers adopting eco-friendly construction methods, it is trying to overcome a huge shortage in green-friendly industry professionals.

The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) - the nodal body for eco-friendly construction - has some 190 buildings registered with it for certification and is drawing up plans to try and overcome the shortage, said Dr Prem C Jain, the Council's Chairman, speaking at a seminar on 'Green Buildings in India: challenges ahead', organised by Zicom-CNA Automation Ltd and The Economic Times.

To start with, the Council proposes to train a team of architects from each real estate firm in eco-friendly design and construction. The council is also working with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) to introduce specialised green-building courses in schools of architecture. The session was moderated by Ashish Rakheja, president, ISHRAE and director of Spectral Services, who managed to extract insightful responses from all the esteemed panelists.

"Traditionally, Indians are known to be green in their construction practices, using materials that were locally available. But then we began aping the West and now use more steel, glass and concrete than required. Training professionals in ecofriendly construction methods is not difficult. Reducing our dependency on man-made materials like steel, cement and glass is the key to eco-friendly development," said Sheetal Rakheja, a leading architect and green building consultant.

Green buildings, being fundamentally different in design, would take longer to conceptualise, argue many developers. According to Pankaj Dharkar of Pankaj Dharkar & Associates, an architectural consultancy, the country needs a number of experienced architects to understand the various architectural elements and nuances of energy modelling associated with green buildings.

"In Mumbai, for instance, there are close to 70 constructed green buildings but there is no specialised agency to carry out energy modelling. As such the design phase for a green building tends to stretch for a longer duration," he said. Lui Wing Sin, the general manager of GETC Asia, a subsidiary of Singapore-based building automation solutions major CNA Group, said that while there is a need for more trained green-friendly architects, there should also be incentives for green-building professionals.

"When you appoint consultants, tell them that you will offer a bonus if the building performs better than what was projected in terms of energy saved or better water management. Incentives will help our cause in the long run.”

Mr Sin observed that the initial response to the green building movement in Singapore was not very good but people have now come to realise that they stand to gain from improved indoor air quality and the reduction in their energy bills. "Then there is also fact that you are showing some environmental responsibility. So when a number of people build green buildings, those who don't tend to stand out."

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