TODAY -

World Green Building Day

By B Krishnakumar Sharma *

A resource person making a power point presentation during World Green Building Day observance at the Studio of Architect Section, Works Department on September 23 2011
A resource person making a power point presentation during World Green Building Day observance at the Studio of Architect Section, Works Department on September 23 2011



We all have known and celebrated World Environment Day every year. But we least know about Green Building which is one of the most important factors relating to the environment and a perfect contributor in reducing global warming. So let us know and understand some facts about Green Building and let us observe the 23rd day of September as World Green Building Day along with the world.

Green Building: A building which creates harmony with its environment and can function using an optimum amount of renewable energy, consume less water, conserve natural resources, generate less waste and create spaces for healthy and comfortable living, as compared to conventional buildings, is a Green Building.

Instant examples: Use natural day-lighting to reduce the using of electrical lighting during day time, uses of solar panels to conserve solar energy, utilization of wind to regulate the temperature of rooms or wind turbine can be used to produce electric current, rain water harvesting, plantation of vegetation in-site to give shades, enhanced top soil thus prevents soil erosion and roof gardening or terrace gardening.

History: The contemporary Green Building movement arose out of the need and desire for more energy efficient and environmentally friendly building practices. The oil price increases of the 1970s spurred significant research and activity to improve energy efficiency and find renewable energy sources. This, combined with the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s, led to the earliest experiments with contemporary Green Building. The Green Building field began to come together more formally in the 1990s.

A few early milestones in the US include:

  • American Institute of Architects (AIA) formed the Committee on the Environment (1989)
  • Environmental Resource Guide published by AIA, funded by EPA (1992)
  • EPA and the US Department of Energy launched the ENERGY STAR programme (1992)
  • First local Green Building programme introduced in Austin, TX (1992)
  • US Green Building Council (USGBC) founded (1993)
  • “Greening of the White House” initiative launched (Clinton Administration 1993)
  • USGBC launched their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) version 1.0 pilot programme (1998)
In India, there are two bodies that govern the norms of green buildings
  • IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) launched their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in 2001 and
  • TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute, Delhi) launched their Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) in 2007.
Impacts of global warming by buildings: The International Energy Agency released a publication that estimated that existing buildings are responsible for more than 40% of the world’s total primary energy consumption, it has estimated 42 perecnt of the global water consumption and 50 percent of the global consumption of raw materials. We used conventional energy (fossil fuels, coal, natural gasses etc) in order to produce electricity for houses, for transportation etc.

So, huge amount of conventional energy has been used every single day to meet the demands. Existing buildings consumed nearly half of the global water. We need to concern more on these facts because there is gradual increase in population hence the consumption of water and conventional energy will rise.

Effects of building activities: It produces 50 percent of world’s air pollution, 42 percent of its greenhouse gases, 50 percent of all water pollution, 48 percent of solid wastes and 50 percent of all CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) are contributed by the buildings to the environment. How cements are manufactured? How iron and steels are manufactured? How plastics materials are made? Don’t puzzle yourself about the process how those materials are made. Think about how much carbon dioxide gasses are produced during its process. It produces tonnes of carbon containing gases into the atmosphere which lead to the air pollution and then helps in greenhouse effect.

Urban areas have emerged as one of the biggest sources of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, with building alone contributing to around 42 percent of the total GHG emission globally, thus resulting in Green House Effect.

Features of a Green Building
  • Natural features of sites and its surrounding should be protected.
  • Plants, Wetlands, Wildlife sanctuary, Water-bodies etc. should be protected to conserve flora and fauna. It is a prime decision to be made hence to balance the ecosystem.
  • Improve more plantations to enhance the fertility of the top soil to support the growth of vegetations and to avoid soil erosion.
  • Use native plants for landscaping and gardening. Because native plants adapt suitably in the local environment, need less caring and required less water for maintenance.
  • Porous materials should be used for the pavements like courtyards because it absorbs water down to the ground thus maintaining ground water table and avoid unnecessary flood.
  • 50 percent of the hard pavements should be in the shades to reduce heat island effect.
The hard surfaces of the roofs should be layered by Terrace gardening/roof gardening to block direct heating of the surfaces by sun and the trees can provide shading to the hard pavements which will avoid the heating effect of the sun.
  • Use maximum amount of natural lighting during day-time to reduce the usage of conventional energy fuels.
  • Conserve solar energy by using photo-voltaic panels.
  • Utilization of wind energy to regulate the temperature of the rooms. Wind towers can be introduce to create good ventilation in the building.
  • Usage of low flow fixtures in bathrooms and kitchen to reduce the excess water consumption.
  • Use BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficient) star labeled electrical appliances.
  • Use of locally found materials in the construction or as interior elements of the buildings. We can use locally found materials like bamboo for interior elements thus reducing using of concrete.
  • Use low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) because it contains formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde, and urethanes - and other chemical substances which are hazardous to the occupant health.
  • Rainwater harvesting, storm water collection, rain garden etc should be followed to improve ground water level and it can be used in future also.
  • Waste water treatments like root zone treatment should be adopted. Root zone treatment is a simple eco-friendly process to filtrate the waste water from septic tanks into raw usable water, it can be used later in gardening and landscaping
  • Solid wastes should be segregated into biodegradable and non-biodegradable before disposing.
Benifits of a Green Building

Energy efficient buildings or the green buildings can reduce energy demand by as much as 40 percent as compare to the conventional building. Green building consumed 40-80 percent lesser water. Green building produced lesser waste. It generate lesser pollution during and as well as after construction. It ensures proper safety and health of the occupants.

The design can be such that the working and living environment in the buildings is quite comfortable during different seasons without too much dependence on the conventional energy. In fact, it has been suggested that the building sector has greatest potential to reduce GHG emission. Hence green buildings can create a great impact on environment reduce the global warming.

Environmental Benefits: Enhance and protect biodiversity and ecosystems, improve air and water quality, reduce waste streams and conserve and restore natural resources.

Economic Benefits: Reduce operating costs, create, expand, and shape markets for green product and services, improve occupant productivity and optimize life-cycle economic performance.

Social Benefits: Enhance occupant comfort and hea-lth, heighten aesthetic qualities, and minimize strain on local infrastructure and improve overall quality of life.

Examples of Green Building in India

  1. CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Hyderabad is the first platinum rated building in India.
  2. Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Building, Tamil Nadu
  3. ITC Royal Gardenia, Bengaluru
  4. Green Boulevard, Noida
  5. Suzlon One Earth, Suzlon Energy Limited, One Earth, Pune.
  6. CESE (Centre for Environmental Sciences and Engineering) Building, IIT Kanpur



* B Krishnakumar Sharma wrote this article for The Sangai Express
The writer is a Senior Architect, PWD, Manipur. This article was webcasted on September 25, 2011.


* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.




LATEST IN E-PAO.NET
  • 12th Legislative Assembly #2 : Gallery
  • Violence in Manipur 2023-2025 : Timeline
  • Education & its disjuncture in Manipur
  • HUN-Thadou Cultural Fest 2025 : Theme
  • Coo :: Poem
  • Agartala Coach : India U-19 Women Cricket
  • The story of the village of hope
  • Career choice in wetlands
  • CM in Delhi to meet Shah
  • After failed plastic ban bid, on brickfields
  • New catfish species discovered in Chakpi
  • Love, Unsure :: Poem
  • Manipur's border battles: Deeper conflict
  • A world without leprosy
  • Origin of corruption & possible remedies
  • The question of life
  • 'Sereki' unveils Majuli-themed campaign
  • Posers over summons to Delhi
  • Addiction-free campaign
  • Mera Chaorel Houba @Kangla #5 : Gallery
  • Lamtanganba, Adum , Mahaiso : eMing
  • Manipur : Champions Jr Natl Sepaktakraw
  • Effective Unified Command approach
  • Saurashtrian Tamils
  • Accepting the change :: Poem
  • From Kumbh to heaven direct
  • Edge of the seat suspense
  • Wetlands revival efforts reaping fruit
  • Natambakta : Play by JNMDA #4 : Gallery
  • EIIFF 2025 unveils Festival Memento
  • Climate change & plant diseases
  • Shija Hospital- AHPI Healthcare Award
  • Budget 2025: A big gift for middle-class
  • The Science of Success : Attitude #2
  • Cakeology 2025: India's largest cake expo
  • Need to stick to a consistent narrative
  • Leniency on tobacco ban aiding demographic
  • 76th Republic Day @ Kangla #2 : Gallery
  • Pheiroijam Christina - 21st Miss North East
  • Manipur: Gold at 28th Jr National Sepaktakraw
  • Clarion call for redeeming our rightful future
  • The Power of Poppy - 67 :: Poem
  • Clean energy for sustainability
  • Union Budget: Industrialists from NE speaks
  • Balaram Sougaijamba: General of Manipur
  • Nikhil Okram crowned 14th Mister North East
  • Chadong village: Rising from waters with hope
  • Financial literacy for common man
  • Obituary: (L) Pu Thangkholen Sitlhou
  • Nail care in Winters
  • State of war since 2023: No winner, only losers
  • Talks on new district row
  • Radio E-pao: 1000+ songs from Manipur
  • Maibi Jagoi @ Kwak Tanba : Gallery
  • February Calendar for Year 2025 : Tools
  • Ballad of Letting Go :: Poem
  • 2nd Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Fest
  • Deeper exploration of term 'Hill-Valley Divide'
  • Children's Book to adopt 'Look East Policy'
  • Pony registration & conservation
  • Endless suffering of internally displaced child
  • 21st Ningtham Kumhei Fest #2 : Gallery
  • Thiyam Suryamukhi conferred Padma Shri
  • Isolate Kuki Militants by facilitating safe return
  • Sports Meet held at Rongdai Village
  • Eco-Apocalypse: Prevent collapse with Green
  • Grand Finale : 21st Mega Miss North East
  • Time to give more teeth to ST demand
  • 5 years of ILP; what about NRC demand ?
  • Remembering Md Ladu, celebrated polo player
  • The Lament of Love's Deceit :: Poem
  • Need for inculcating value based education
  • Royte - Times Young Entrepreneur Award
  • Glass Child Syndrome ! 'Sibling rivalry'
  • 6 Films for NE Section at GAFF 2025
  • Pony registration & conservation
  • Impartial anti-extortion cell need of the hour
  • 76th Republic Day @ Kangla #1 : Gallery
  • Conservation Strategies of Pethia manipurensis
  • Remembers 13 Brave Indian Soldiers
  • Workshop: Intl Year of Quantum Science
  • Governor's role and discretionary powers
  • Physics workshop for educators at Agartala
  • Who wins Delhi - Daru or Dharma
  • War on Drugs: A war Manipur cannot loses
  • NE turning into transnational drug hub
  • Essence of Gaan-Ngai #2
  • Manipur's dystopian reality
  • The day Light reached the hills
  • 2nd Eikhoigi Imphal Intl Film Fest 2025
  • Why is depreciation of rupee not stopping ?
  • An introduction to Rabies (Hydrophobia) #5
  • Thoithoiba Yelhou Yangkok Artist #2 : Gallery
  • Republic Day Titbits
  • NIT Manipur: Best Design Award @VLSI Design
  • The Power of Poppy - 66 :: Poem
  • Grand Finale: 14th Mega Mister North East
  • Application : FILMART, Hong Kong
  • The Science of Success : Attitude #1
  • 21st Ningtham Kumhei Fest #1 : Gallery
  • Demographic for balkanisation of Manipur
  • Training on Mushroom Cultivation at Nambol
  • Jugeshwor Kshetrimayum receives GELA 2025
  • Construction Committee of Meetei Yumpham
  • Call against misuse of social media
  • Positive & negative aspects of social media
  • In Search of Peace in Manipur
  • Embracing the Shadows :: Poem
  • Dr Manmohan Singh will live on
  • Rise in the price of medicines
  • Respecting the dead- Denying is a disgrace
  • Winter skin care tips for oily skin
  • Illegal immigrants :: Of FMR & border fencing
  • JD-U row exposes national parties' apathy
  • State Gaan-Ngai @Sagolband #2 : Gallery
  • On 'Only BJP can save Manipur'
  • Frontline health workers dispelling darkness
  • 14th East Himalayan Trade Fair
  • Life is plastic
  • Killers on the road : 834 lives lost
  • Call to action to save State's wetlands
  • Essence of Gaan-Ngai #1
  • The Taste of Dreams wins @Red Intl Film Fest
  • Science: 3rd eye for Meitei-Kuki reconciliation
  • Northeast flies high in direct selling
  • Mastering focus amidst distractions
  • An introduction to Rabies (Hydrophobia) #4
  • Indo-Naga Talks (From 2012) :: Timeline
  • BJP : Tepid response from the hills
  • BABINA Hospital sets example in healthcare
  • Nitya Ras @Nongmeibung #1 : Gallery
  • Agonizing reality of our country's veteran elites
  • Historicising the colonial narratives
  • NSS Team Departs for National Integration
  • HUN-Thadou Cultural Festival 2025
  • Time to recreate Naga Peoples Convention 2.0
  • Career in nutrition
  • Need to give more meaning to War on Drugs
  • Time for real action not empty rhetoric
  • Foundation: Manipur Press Club #2 : Gallery
  • "Aronba Wari" :: Shumang Leela Synopsis
  • Tripura's livelihoods challenges
  • Archaeological Exhibition @ Kangla : Gallery
  • Gaan-Ngai @Chaopok village #1 : Gallery
  • Manipur needs to affirm her tribal roots
  • Madras/Chennai- 1989 till 2024 : Gallery
  • Investigate "arms recoveries" in Mizoram
  • Training on Mushroom Cultivation
  • NE Direct Selling Conference & Expo
  • Response of Delhi in last 20 months
  • Regulated entry after FMR scrap, border
  • Mutua Bahadur : Preserving Manipuri culture
  • Competitive Altruism: Resolving ethnic conflict
  • Pithe Puli Utsav at Agartala
  • Building the best version of yourself
  • Guwahati Asian Film Festival 2025
  • Tips to keep your lips soft & smooth in winter
  • Subsidised flight tickets for all
  • MCPCR alert on child trafficking fear
  • Imoinu Erat Thouni @ Wangkhei : Gallery
  • Gaan-Ngai celebrating Culture in Delhi NCR
  • The Weeping Gods of Manipur :: Poem
  • Disarming Kuki-Zo armed groups under SoO
  • Why nurses deserve more recognition, pay
  • The hidden truths of our social media lives
  • MMTU stand bang on target: Recapping May 3
  • Enhancing aerial options to ease travel woes
  • 2nd Emoinu Fish Festival #1 : Gallery
  • Sustainable development - climate action #1
  • RIST Talk- 62 : Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • "Technically a BJP MLA will rule Nagaland"
  • Makar Sankranti : vibrant customs & traditions
  • Why gold is a strong hedge but ...
  • Delhi date on January 17
  • Onus of addressing tribal issues on new Guv?
  • Nupilal Ningshing Lamjel #2 : Gallery
  • Licypriya Kangujam: Nat'l Youth Day Award
  • Barak Festival advocates Peace, Progress
  • 'Yu', not fully liberalised
  • Article 355 equals Governor's Rule ?
  • Calls to vote with conscience
  • Zingtun academy leading by example
  • State Gaan-Ngai @Sagolband #1 : Gallery
  • Is Kuki-Zo community pushing Nagas to edge?
  • Will drive to find-treat-prevent TB continue ?
  • Smart Cities, dustier roads ?
  • ST of NE & Dalits of mainland India
  • That May :: Poem
  • Understanding Red, Yellow, Green
  • Cong posers on Govt aid to SoO group
  • Culturals @Tri-Nation Football #1 : Gallery
  • Gaan-Ngai festival of Kabui/Rongmei
  • 40 Years & 04 Stations- Part IV (Madras)
  • Manipur Gold: 34th Sr Natl Sepaktakraw C'ship
  • Public Health Risk Management Training
  • The Power of Poppy - 64 :: Poem
  • The Science of Success #4
  • Hingminashi Eikhoi : Call for unity in diversity
  • A Hymn for Goddess Emoinu
  • Are the foods we eat, correct ?
  • Gangtok, Sikkim (1983 till 1988) : Gallery
  • The Taste of Dreams : Teaser Unveiled
  • Be a child of courage & conquer obstacle
  • Hans Renal Care Centre in Guwahati
  • Focus on pre-May 3, 2023 period
  • Conundrum over the genesis of crisis
  • Misna Chanu aids to Jiribam IDPs : Gallery
  • North-East Students invited to JEE Main 2025
  • Empower the State else avoid blame on CM
  • Obituary : Thaunawjam Brajamohon
  • Hope :: Poem
  • An introduction to Rabies (Hydrophobia) #3
  • Winter makeup tips for dry skin
  • Imphal, Delhi still groping in the dark
  • Tension over assault case, land claims
  • Mega Protest Rally, end AFSPA #2: Gallery
  • Foundation: Manipur Press Club #1 : Gallery
  • Ningol Chakkouba @ Delhi #3 : Gallery
  • Indigenous Pottery Making @Imphal : Gallery
  • AIR Radio Imphal Station - Live streaming
  • Nupi Lal Memorial @Pune #2 : Gallery
  • The historical account of Kabaw Valley #3
  • Featured Front Page Photo 2024 #6: Gallery
  • E-Pao.net : 25th Anniv & 2025 Wishes
  • Protest @Delhi - Murder of Meiteis #2: Gallery
  • "Connections", art exhibitt @ DC : Gallery
  • Observance of Thang-Ta Day #1 : Gallery
  • Mera Chaorel Houba #4 : Gallery
  • Nupi Lal Memorial @Pune #1 : Gallery
  • Meitei Mayek Tamba : Online Classroom #5
  • Indigenous People Cultural Fest #1 : Gallery
  • Maibi Jagoi @ Mera Houchongba: Gallery
  • Mega Protest Rally, end AFSPA #1: Gallery
  • Ta Ta TabuHtoN :: Seireng
  • Downloadable Manipuri Calendar :: 2025
  • GHOST of PEACE :: Download Booklet