Team SHUNYA (Sustainable Housing for Urbanising Nations by its Young Aspirants) from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay won second place for their project Vivaan, in the Solar Decathlon Build Challenge in the United States. The team was commended for their innovative net zero carbon, net positive energy and net zero waterhouse designed for hot and humid climatic conditions. Read More

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) has entered into a nationwide tie-up with the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), with a pledge to build more than 1,000 certified green projects in the next two years and 4,000 green projects by 2030 through the adoption of IGBC Green and Net Zero building ratings. Read More

IIT Kanpur joins hands with the Military Engineer Services (MES) Jhansi to create carbon-neutral army campuses. This partnership aims to transform five cantonment campuses into environmentally conscious spaces by implementing energy-efficient practices, optimizing building design, and incorporating renewable energy solutions. IIT Kanpur and the Indian Army plan to create a carbon-neutral roadmap for the country, leveraging the vast land area covered by Army cantonments to achieve sustainability. Read more

In a significant stride towards efficient HVAC systems, researchers at IIT Mandi have developed a pioneering algorithm for automatic detection of failures in HVAC systems in buildings. This algorithm, powered by machine learning techniques, aims to enhance energy efficiency and maintenance effectiveness by detecting faults in real-time, reducing energy consumption, and optimizing system performance. Read more

Colliers organized a three-part series of events in December 2022 in collaboration with RICS school of built environment and the Australia-India Council to discuss issues associated with embodied carbon in the built environment and solutions that can bring about a change. The series aimed at fostering alliances between Australia and India and facilitating partnerships and collaborations to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment. The event was hosted simultaneously in Australia and India and was live-streamed worldwide. Read More

As part of the government’s plan to reform and modernize waste management practices, all upcoming housing societies and business complexes in India will soon be required to ensure zero waste. Achieving net zero waste involves reducing, reusing, and recovering waste streams (sludge) in order to convert them into useful resources, ensuring no solid waste is disposed of in landfills. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is likely to issue a directive to all state governments by the end of March 2023, to make this a part of the building by-laws, and assure implementation. Read More

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Arup, have published a research titled, ‘Net-zero buildings: Halving construction emissions today’, which focuses on lowering upfront embodied carbon in construction.This report is a follow-up to the WBCSD Net-zero buildings: Where do we stand? publication which provided a description of how to account for full life-cycle emissions of building projects based on six whole life carbon assessments (WLCA). The report aims to provide insight into strategies that, when brought together under the prioritized objective of driving carbon reductions, can begin to frame the possibility of how to at least halve current embodied carbon emissions.Read More

The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), in partnership with CDP(Carbon Disclosure Project), has assessed 50 companies across the building sector. The latest building benchmark assessment shows that 54% of companies do not have climate transition plans in place for a low-carbon future, and 44% do not have emissions reduction targets. Companies analyzed include JLL, Brookfield, China Evergrande, Country Garden, Greenland Holdings, Vonovia, New World Development, SEGRO, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Ayala, Gecina, Hyundai E&C, Lendlease, LEG Immobilien, Macrotech, Godrej, Mitsubishi Estate and Prologis. Read More

ASHRAE Standard 228-2023 sets requirements for evaluating whether a building or group of buildings meets the definition of “zero net energy” or “zero net carbon” during building operation. The Standard 228, drawing from ASHRAE Standard 105, addresses energy and carbon flows across a site boundary, as well as their measurement and balance.. It includes allowances for sites that lack the ability to generate adequate renewable energy. Read More

Global CEOs have pledged to reduce real estate emissions by 50% by 2030, and achieve net zero carbon, no later than 2050. The pledge aims to accelerate the transition to net-zero carbon emissions from buildings, which currently account for 40% of global energy consumption and 33% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This initiative brings together leading real estate companies, policymakers, and experts to drive the decarbonization of the built environment and support the goals of WEFs Green Building Principles and Action Plan, upholding the Paris Agreement. The CEOs’ pledge reflects a growing recognition of the urgency of addressing the climate crisis and the crucial role of the real estate sector in achieving global emissions reductions. Read More

Buildings’ energy intensity, defined as the amount of energy used by buildings, would need to improve by 30% globally by 2030 in order to meet the Paris Climate Agreement’s aims, the key goal of which is to keep global average temperature rise to 1.5°C. While the construction sector’s energy intensity continues to improve at a 1.5 percent annual rate, the roughly 2.3 percent increase in worldwide floor area has countered some of these gains. If no scaled action is done, building-related carbon emissions are expected to increase by 2050. Read more

Scottish Government is planning to mobilize £1.8 bn to cut carbon emissions from the built environment to a tune of 68% by 2030, helping the nation to realize its net zero goal by 2045. According to the Strategy, by 2030, over a million houses and the equivalent of 50,000 non-domestic structures will have to adapt to zero emissions heat. This could result in further advantages, such as the creation of 16,400 employment by 2030. According to the Strategy, between 2021 and 2026, roughly 124,000 low-carbon boiler and system alternatives would be required, with the installation rate peaking at over 200,000 new systems per year.

These strategies will help the country meet existing legislative goals, such as reducing national emissions by 75 percent by 2030, 90 percent by 2040, and ensuring that no more than 5% of households are fuel poor by 2040, no more than 1% are in extreme fuel poverty, and the fuel poverty gap is no more than £250. Read more