Curtain Raiser Press Release
The 15th edition of the Green Building Congress (GBC 2017) began in Jaipur on 4 October. The 4-day mega event was held at Hotel Clarks Amer from 4 to 7 October. It was organized by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) at Hotel Clarks Amer in Jaipur. Government of Rajasthan is the Partner State for the event. The focus this year for the event is ‘sustainable built environment for all’. This was informed by Chairman, IGBC, Jaipur Chapter and Co-Chair, GBC 2017, Mr. Jaimni Uberoi.
Mr Uberoi further underlined that with a modest beginning of 20,000 sq.ft of green footprint in the country in the year 2001, today over 4,205 IGBC green building projects, amounting to over 4.61 billion sq.ft are adopting IGBC green building rating systems. This in turn has enabled India become one of the top 5 countries in the world in terms of largest registered green building footprint. He said that IGBC has facilitated India to stand no: 2 in the world in terms of largest registered green building footprint. IGBC aspires to facilitate 10 billion sq.ft of footprint by 2022, when India turns 75.
Outlining the programme Mr. Uberoi said that there will be over 2,000 national and international delegates and participation from global thought leaders to share their success stories and best practices. They will participate in over 20 sessions spread over 3 days.
The ‘Curtain Raiser’ which saw the participation of State Government with a special address by the Chief Guest, Rajasthan Minister for Urban Development & Housing, Mr. Shrichand Kriplani. The Rajasthan Chief Secretary, Mr. Ashok Jain; Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development & Housing Department, Mr. Mukesh Kumar Sharma and the Chair of World Green Building Council, Ar. Tai Lee Siang spoke on the occasion. Mr. Jaimni Uberoi will propose the Vote of Thanks. The Curtain Raiser event was be followed by a special session which was addressed by the Chair, IGBC Delhi Chapter, Mr. Arun Bhatia; Chief Sustainability Officer of United Technologies Corporation, Mr. John Mandyck and Director, Healthy Buildings Program, Centre for Health & the Global Environment, Harvard Chan School.
Among the sessions and panel discussions held were: Design and financing of green buildings as a key feature of eco-smart cities; the Value Trifecta of Green Buildings; Top 10 Strategies for India to leapfrog as a Global Leader in Green Built Environment; Green Development for Societal Benefits; Preparing for Low Carbon Future; the Spirit of Rajasthan and National & International Case studies.
The objective of the Congress was to address the imperative need for green buildings which were designed to use less water, improve energy efficiency, conserve natural resources and provide healthier spaces.
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had established IGBC in 2001. It is represented by all stakeholders of construction industry comprising of Architects, Builders & Developers, Corporate, Designers, Facility managers, Government, Institutions, Nodal agencies, Product manufacturers & suppliers, Service Consultants.