IGBC Launches India’s First Net Zero Carbon Rating System at Green Building Congress 2023

The inaugural event of this three-day conference also witnessed the felicitation of three winners of the Green Your School Programme from across India

 CII’s Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) in partnership with The Tamil Nadu Government today formally inaugurated its three-day annual flagship conference – Green Building Congress 2023 in the city. As a key facilitator in India’s journey towards achieving Net Zero Carbon Emission goal, IGBC announced India’s first ‘Net Zero Carbon’ rating system as part of the inaugural event. The IGBC’s Mission on Net Zero serves as a catalyst for the adoption of Net Zero concepts, supporting the market’s transformation towards total decarbonization of the building sector. The reference guidelines of IGBC net zero carbon rating system publication formulated by IGBC was unveiled and released by Mr. Gurmit Singh Arora, National Chairman, Indian Green Building Council, Mr. Ajit Chordia, Chairman, IGBC Chennai Chapter, Mr. Oliver Ballhatchet MBE, British Deputy High Commissioner Chennai, Mr. Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Mr. B Thiagarajan National Vice Chairman, Indian Green Building Council and Mr. Mahesh Anand, Co-chairman, IGBC Chennai Chapter.  

As part of the inaugural event, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans Atmakuri Ramarao School, (Benefits to Environment), Kendriya Vidyalaya BSF Camp Chhawla, Delhi (Education & Awareness) and Navy Children School, Karwar, Karnataka (Innovation Category) were recognized and awarded as winners for the Green Your School Programme. Founded with a singular motto of instilling a sense of Green amongst young minds, IGBC also initiated a Green Your School Programme for classes starting from 8th to 10th and has been successfully recognizing innovative ideas and initiatives from school children to become a greener nation for the past 17 years. Along with the launch of the new Net Zero Carbon Ration System, IGBC also released updated versions of its existing rating systems for existing buildings, green campuses and green factories.  

Sharing his view on the newly launched Net Zero Rating System, Mr. Gurmit Singh Arora, Chairman – IGBC & Chairman – Green Building Congress 2023 said “The Government of India over the last two decades has initiated several new missions and policies which support the path towards net zero carbon buildings, cities and nation. The building sector of our country has an excellent opportunity to take the leadership role for accelerating the uptake of Net Zero. The Green Building Movement in India has been spearheaded by CII’s IGBC since 2001, by creating awareness amongst the stakeholders. Thus far, the Council has been instrumental in enabling 10.42 billion sq.ft. of green building footprint in the country.  The Council’s activities have enabled a market transformation particularly in the green building materials and technologies. IGBC continuously works to provide tools that facilitate the adoption of green building practices in India. The newly launched Net Zero Rating System is an initiative aimed at facilitating the adoption of Net Zero concepts to support market transformation towards total building sector decarbonization and to accelerate the adoption of Net Zero concepts in the country.”   

Mr. Gurmit Singh Arora further added that “The benefits of this rating system are multifaceted. Beyond supporting India’s climate goals through carbon reduction, it encourages resource efficiency, adoption of energy-efficient systems, integration of renewable energy sources, responsible water use, waste minimization, and climate-resilient building designs. The rating system presents an excellent opportunity for the building sector to lead the adoption of Net Zero practices and facilitate India’s transformation into one of the foremost countries achieving Net Zero by 2050