Building Sense : Certificate course for Sustainable Building Policies, Practices and Performance

September 19-21, 2016

CSE organised a training programme on ‘Sustainable Building Policies, Practices and Performance’ exclusively for the CPWD officers from different technical backgrounds. The three day programme aimed to deepen the understanding of existing policies, their potential and constraints in promoting efficient use of resources and minimizing waste in public buildings.  The programme explored the scope of harmonizing the policy-driven and market-driven approaches to accelerate the adoption of resource-efficient practices in buildings.

The programme brought together 22 senior officers including Civil, Electrical engineers and Architects to suggest ways for integrating green measures in building practices.

The training addressed and focused on following components:

a) Understanding sustainability principles and codes
b) Sustainable design and methods of construction
c) Sustainable building  materialsand technologies
d) Building energy efficiency and technologies
e) Water sensitive design and management
f) Waste management

The first day of the programme started with a lecture delivered by Ms. Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director- Research & Advocacy in CSE was wonderful on ‘Overview of sustainability and green buildings’, the way in which she gave ideas about sustainability and concepts of green buildings. The presentation provided an overview of issues concerning urbanization, building construction and energy use with a special focus on developmental challenges in building sectors. . She highlighted the fact that the India has still to build 70 per cent of its building stock which will be there in 2030. Pointing out that we have great opportunity to develop differently and be more sustainable.

She was followed by a presentation on ‘ECBC – towards performance based approach’ and ‘energy efficient technologies with case studies’ delivered by Vivek Mahajan and Sammer Divekar from dbHMS consultants. The day ended with a lecture on solid waste management practices in India by CSE waste management expert Swati Sambhyal.

The second day focused on the theme Sustainable building materials and construction methods. The day started with a lecture on “Sustainable building materials and construction technologies and delivered by Professor from IIT Delhi, Dr. B. Bhattacharjee.The afternoon session focused on water efficiency and water programme team from CSE delivered lectures on rain water harvesting and waste water treatment techniques.

She was followed by Deependra Prashad, Principal Architect Deependra Prashad, Architects & Planners (DPAP), Delhi and he talked about the “Priortizing materials in sustainable design”. His presentation examined the types of "green" building materials available and how to select the best ones for your specific needs.  The materials used to construct buildings can make a tremendous difference in preserving natural resources and promoting human health.

The third day started by Mr. Inderjit Ahuja from CSE who took two lectures –‘Building energy efficiency – A big picture’ and environmental regulations in buildings. The day was ended with a talk on solar energy policies and practices in India by Mr. Sridhar from CSE’s renewable energy programme.

In the feedback session, the participants felt that the programme was of more informative, inspirational and beneficial that enabling them to design sustainable buildings.