Across the globe, 5th June is celebrated as World Environment Day, which is the principle platform of the United Nation to create more awareness and action towards protecting Earth’s environment. This day has a very special significance for the real estate sector
Over the past few decades, fast-paced economic development coupled with rapid population growth and urbanization has led to a rapid depletion of natural resources. The accelerated rate of resource consumption and rise in greenhouse gases' emission has resulted in significant environmental degradation. This has, in turn, resulted in climate change, the rise in average temperature and deterioration of air quality.
The building sector is one of the major consumers of natural resources such as water, energy and other raw materials. It generates a large number of wastes and pollutants during the three phases of its life cycle - construction, maintenance and deconstruction. As per estimates, the construction sector consumes an approximate 25% of water and 35-40% energy, apart from other raw materials.
Additionally, it emits 40% of global wastes and 35% of greenhouse gases. Looking at the rampant degradation of the environment across the globe, it has become imperative to take measures for the optimal use of natural resources, reduction of wastes and restricting the pollution. The use of green building practices can help in addressing these concerns along with giving an impetus to build a sustainable environment for future generations.
What is a green building?
Apart from a noun, green building is also a verb – namely the practice of using processes and technologies which are environmentally friendly and energy efficient throughout the building's lifecycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction.
Green building practices can improve the environment's ecology in numerous ways. They can reduce energy consumption by 20-30% and water usage by 30-50%, and significantly reduce waste generation by extensive recycling. Apart from the obvious protection of the ecosystem and biodiversity, the use of green building practices leads to:
· Better air quality
· Enhanced daylight, leading to lower electricity consumption
· Superior health and overall wellbeing
· Enhanced productivity
Across the different countries, there are several programs and agencies that define, categorize and certify green buildings, such as LEED (USA), BREEAM (UK), DGNB (Germany) and CASBEF (Japan). In India, IGBC and GRIHA are at the forefront of promoting the green building programs and certifications. Certifications are done on various parameters such as:
· Water conservation and efficiency
· Energy efficiency
· The types of building materials and resources
· Indoor environment quality, health and comfort
· Innovation and development
· Site and facility management
Though at a nascent stage, India has emerged as one of the leading countries in terms of green buildings' projects. India ranks only second after the U.S. in terms of the number of green technology projects and built-up area. More than 4,300 projects with an approximate 4.7 billion sq.ft. of built-up area are registered for green technology in the country.
However, this is only about 5% of the total buildings in India, indicating that there lies a tremendous potential for further penetration of green building technology in India. Growing at an exponential rate, the Indian green buildings' market is expected to double and may reach close to 10 billion sq.ft. by 2022 (at a valuation of $35-$50 billion).
Key factors driving green building practices
Although the initial costs of a green building may be higher (up to 15%, depending on various factors) than for conventional buildings, the long-term benefits such as low operating costs, potential health benefits for the occupiers and protection of the environment makes such buildings very viable options.
Some of the key factors that are likely to drive the green buildings' demand are:
· Increasing awareness
· Improving affordability
· Environmental benefits
· Resources - countries with higher populations and limited resources will tend to adopt green building practices faster
· Government support, subsidies and compulsions
Emerging trends and technologies in green buildings
Green buildings aim to build a sustainable environment through efficient use of energy and conservation of natural resources. The efficiency of a green building can be maximized by the use of innovative construction materials and cutting-edge technology. While there are many technologies used across different countries, some of the more notable ones are:
· Biomimicry: Also known as biomimetic, this is a concept of imitation of the various models, systems and elements of nature and incorporating them into buildings' design and architecture. This trend has led to the adoption of many innovative designs to optimize the of buildings' air ventilation along with better cooling and heating control. Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe, with its biomimicry of termite mounds, is a great example.
· Green Roofs: In what is also known as the living roof technique, the roof of the building gets fully or partially covered with vegetation and soil on a planted waterproofing membrane. This moderates the heating and cooling of the building along with improving the air quality.
· Vertical Gardens or Living Walls: In this technique, the plantation is done vertically on either side of walls. This technique helps in degrading the pollutants and enhancing the air quality.
· Glass Fiber Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) Panels: This is a very cost-effective and durable technique of development. It can be deployed fairly quickly and consumes less raw materials such as sand, cement and other products. Additionally, the core component - gypsum - is easily and cheaply available, considering that a huge amount of it is generated as a waste from fertilizer and mining plants. Buildings which use GFRG panels have a better lifespan and do not require beams and columns.
· Monolithic Concrete Construction: Unlike conventional techniques, in this method, all structures such as walls, floors, beams, columns, slabs etc. along with window and doors openings are cast in a single operation with the help of modular formwork made of aluminum. With thinner walls and columns, it provides a higher usable area. It is one of the potential technologies that can be used in affordable housing on a large scale, and it also conserves natural resources.
· Rain Gardens: This concept helps in enhancing groundwater absorption by reducing the amount of rain runoff. It uses planted depressions to allow water runoff to go through impervious urban areas, pathways, driveways, compacted lawns, roofs, parking lots etc. This technique allows more time for water to be absorbed in the ground that leads to an increase in groundwater levels, low soil erosion and reduced water pollution.
Ongoing challenges & barriers for green buildings
While the use of green building practices is on the rise in India, there are also a few challenges and barriers. Over the last few years, the slowdown in Indian real estate sector has led to a huge stash of unsold inventory. In addition, the impact of recent reforms amidst subdued demand has further dampened the market sentiments, and the majority of the developers are struggling to offload the existing inventory.
Current market conditions have made the developers skeptical about the usage of any technology that increases the cost of construction. Apart from this short-term market situation, some of the other challenges for green buildings practice implementation in India are:
· Lack of awareness about green buildings practices and its long-term benefits: A large section of Indian users are still unaware of green building concepts and its enduring benefits. A majority of users perceive that green building practices are expensive and not financially feasible.
· Inadequate Government's rules, standards & policies: There are not enough stringent and mandatory laws to enforce large-scale implementation of green building norms.
· Lack of skilled resources and subject matter experts: A majority of industry stakeholders such as policy makers, architects, engineers, contractors and workers don't possess adequate skills and know-how required for green buildings' construction.
· Inefficient incentives and subsidies for developers: There are very few incentive plans and those that exist vary across states or even cities, based on the governing bodies. While in the majority of cases, incentives are in form of additional FAR/FSI, followed by a rebate on property tax and other schemes. However, these incentives have not been significant enough to encourage developers and homebuyers.
· Higher cost of equipment and products: The equipment and products used in the construction of green buildings cost more than the conventional ones, so small contractors and developers cannot afford them.
· Approvals and clearances: Developers already face a tedious process of approvals, and there is an apprehension that further addition of green buildings' related compliance may cause additional delays.
Conclusion
The relentless degradation of the environment along with fast pace depletion of resources, rising pollution and climate change has affected the human life significantly. The deteriorating health conditions and livability quotients are alarming for the current and future generations.
This state of affairs calls for closer attention and increased participation of countries across the globe to take measures to slow down environmental degradation. The building sector, which is one of the biggest consumers of resources and emits a significant amount of pollutants as well as wastes, can play a vital role in building a sustainable environment by increased usage of green technologies.
In India, the growth of green buildings can be accelerated through standardization of norms, better incentive schemes, single window clearances, robust financial support system and most importantly creating awareness amongst all the stakeholders. Increasing awareness about green buildings and their long-term benefits can create a much bigger market potential - and when all is said and done, green buildings are the foundation of any substantial sustainable living mantra.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched three Indian mobile payment apps in Singapore at a business event aimed at internationalisation of the country’s digital payment platform. At the ‘Business, Innovation and Community Event’ here where digital platform was the main feature, Modi launched India’s BHIM, RuPay and SBI app.
India’s RuPay digital payments system was linked up with Singapore’s 33-year old Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS). RuPay users will be able to make payments at all of NETS acceptance points across Singapore. Holders of Singapore NETS will be able to make online purchase on any National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) e-commerce merchant website in India, using 2.8 million RuPay point of sale terminals in India.
Industry observers said it would create multi-billion dollar transactions as some five million Indians travel to and transit through Singapore, internationalising the RuPay beginning with the first cross border usage.
Also, a new app-based rupee remittance mode of the SBI’s Singapore branch was launched at the event. “In order to expand our remittance offering, we are launching rupee remittance to India through United Payment Interface (UPI),” SBI country head in Singapore, Soma Sankara Prasad, said today after the launch at the event where digital platform was the main feature.
Singapore branch of the SBI is the first to launch this new mode of remittance in collaboration with National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). “This is a major step towards the internationalisation of India’s digital payment platform,” Prasad said.
It will be most convenient for Indian blue-collar workers here to use the app for sending money home from their dormitories at work sites, he said. Remittance of up to Rupees 100,000 will be made quick, easy and convenient with the help of Virtual Payment Address (VPA). This service will be available to all savings account holders of SBI Singapore. SBI has six branches in Singapore as well as Auto Teller Machines (ATMs).
Modi today started his tour in Singapore, by visiting the exhibitions centre. The India-Singapore Enterprise and Innovation Exhibitions at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre showcased innovation in frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence, fin-tech and innovation for social impact. The exhibition was put up jointly by Indian and Singaporean companies.
Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd., a global technology consulting and digital solutions company, announced the availability of its Digital Engineering & Construction Solution for Engineering, Construction and Operations (EC&O) companies. The pre-configured solution for SAP S/4 HANA opens up an array of digital transformation opportunities for asset-intensive industries like Engineering & Construction, Heavy Engineering and large projects-based organizations.
The key features of LTI’s Digital Engineering & Construction Solution are:
· Converges physical and digital by connecting people, equipment and site operations to transact anywhere, anytime.
· Manages large numbers of internal and external stakeholders with intricate interdependencies to preempt and proactively manage technical, operational, financial, resource related and other risks.
· Accelerates implementation with LTI’s Mosaic platform, driving projects from planning through execution with mobile apps, execution workbench & project management cockpit.
· Leverages SAP Leonardo, and advanced capabilities of SAP S/4HANA and SAP Cloud Platform.
· Benchmarks processes for higher level of excellence and intelligence and thereby equips site supervisors, project managers and business leaders with tools to make better and timely decisions.
· Multiple deployment options to match business priorities and enterprise roadmaps.
Johnny Clemmons, SAP EC&O Business Unit Head, said, “I’m very excited about the work LTI has done to build a preconfigured SAP S/4HANA solution for engineering and construction customers. LTI has leveraged their extensive industry experience and worked with the SAP EC&O Industry Business Unit and several of our product teams to ensure they aligned with SAP strategy. This should be a real value accelerator for engineering and construction companies who are looking to optimize their business today and innovate to drive future success.”
Aftab Ullah, COO, LTI said, “At LTI, we have built deep expertise in the Engineering & Construction sector given our rich heritage and relationship with L&T Group. Our Digital Engineering & Construction Solution solves intricate industry problems, bringing together industry expertise, digital capabilities and our partnership with SAP. This modular solution can accurately capture execution details in a uniform manner to deliver significant business value.”
LTI is a Diamond Exhibitor at SAPPHIRE NOW from June 5-7 in Orlando, Florida and will demo the Digital Engineering & Construction Solution at the conference.
Avaya Holdings Corp. has announced that the new Avaya IP Office release is now available globally. Avaya IP Office helps businesses drive greater productivity and streamline collaboration through a single application for all communications channels, meetings, team collaboration and content sharing. Avaya IP Office adds support for Avaya Equinox®, the company’s signature UC experience, as well as other new capabilities that provide an enterprise-level experience with the ease of use and management that small and midsize businesses require.
“The Avaya IP Office solution serves an enormous base -- 26 million users and growing -- and we continue to evolve the solution in ways that support businesses ability to be agile and collaborative,” said Chris McGugan, SVP, Solutions and Technologies, Avaya. “By providing a single app to access all the tools they need to efficiently communicate and collaborate, we’re truly enabling teams to work smarter, not harder.”
The enhanced IP Office solution includes Avaya’s innovative unified communications and collaboration capabilities and can deliver greater value through flexible deployment options – cloud, hybrid and on-premises. Avaya IP Office can leverage the unique Avaya Vantage and newest J Series desktop phones for voice and video, in addition to the Avaya Equinox soft and mobile clients. For European customers, the solution also nearly doubles scalability for DECT users.
“As businesses move their communications and collaboration capabilities to the cloud, they look for robust, business-grade solutions delivering familiar, yet enhanced user and admin experiences,” said Elka Popova, Vice President and Senior Fellow, Connected Work and Digital Experience at Frost & Sullivan. “With support for Avaya Equinox and all deployment options, Avaya IP Office offers partners and small and midsize business customers a proven UC solution with an advanced, contemporary user interface designed for highly mobile and collaborative work environments. Avaya made a commitment to shift its solutions portfolio to the cloud and the launch of Avaya IP Office with Avaya Equinox shows that the vendor is delivering on its promise.”
For the small business, a new highly affordable, cradle-to-grave reporting and tracking package improves measurement of call activities to enable even the smallest of organizations to enhance customer engagement. Avaya Chronicall for IP Office, OEM’d from Avaya DevConnect partner Xima, provides over 50 standard plus customizable reports that support visual call management, customizable displays and agent performance, and is available in both on-premises and Powered by Avaya IP Office cloud deployments.
“As a solution provider and intermediary between vendors and clients, it’s important that we have a record of live conversations to ensure that we have a reference point of critical elements affecting a client’s satisfaction,” said Derek Gray, Carousel Cloud Solutions Specialist. “Chronicall with IP Office logs everything that happens on the call, providing us with call history, recording and real-time reporting, with a clean, easy to use interface. This not only provides us with what we need, but is also a perfect fit for our customers."
Partners utilizing Avaya’s Powered by IP Office cloud platform also benefit from these new capabilities and can offer them to new or existing customers in either a full cloud or hybrid cloud deployment delivery model. Partners will also have new installation wizards and management tools to make it even easier and faster to deploy and manage both premises-based and cloud options. For example, the new Cloud Operations Manager simplifies administration of large multi-customer cloud deployments, upgrades, patching and application inventory with role-based administration that helps ensure security.
Supporting its vision to improve the way the world works and lives, Accenture is committing more than US$200 million over the next three years to help equip people around the world with job skills for the digital age.
“As a technology leader, we have an obligation to apply new scalable technology solutions to help solve complex societal challenges,” said Pierre Nanterme, Accenture’s chairman and CEO. “Our investments will continue to empower Accenture to produce socially minded partnerships and programs that will have a profound impact on the lives of millions of people throughout the world, now and for the future.”
Rekha M. Menon, chairman and sr. managing director, Accenture in India, said, “In India we are focused on providing skills to help disadvantaged people get jobs and start businesses, and under Skills to Succeed we’ve collaborated with strategic non-profit organizations and used digital technologies to deliver impact at scale. So far, we’ve enabled more than 380,000 people including women and people with disabilities, to earn livelihoods for themselves, and create employment for others.”
Accenture’s commitment will help support Skills to Succeed, Tech4Good, Accenture Development Partnerships and related Accenture initiatives.
The company’s Skills to Succeed initiative advances employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, leveraging digital innovation to help close employment gaps at scale. Together with a network of nonprofits and other ecosystem partners, Accenture has since 2010 equipped more than 2.2 million people with the skills to get a job or build a business, with a goal of equipping a total of more than 3 million people by 2020. Examples of Accenture’s Skills to Succeed partnerships include:
· Helping Youth Business USA develop a platform that uses artificial intelligence and analytics to connect young entrepreneurs from under-represented communities with the resources, skills, training and mentoring needed to grow their business.
· Working with Rede Cidadã and Instituto Ser Mais in Brazil to provide low-income populations with the business and technical skills they need to build meaningful, lasting careers in technology, including the opportunity to be hired by Accenture.
· Working with Anudip Foundation to provide disadvantaged youth and women in underserved communities with the digital skills needed to work on online work platforms of the new digital economy.
· Enabling Quest Alliance with a detailed technology roadmap to build a Skills to Succeed mobile learning ecosystem to take learning beyond the classroom and empowering youth to take charge of their learning and career pathways.
· Partnering with Enable India to develop a mobile social networking platform, Hamaari Vaani, that uses mobile network connectivity to reach persons with disabilities in remote rural areas to build a community to help find information on welfare schemes, education and employment and more importantly dignity.
Accenture’s Tech4Good projects use advanced technologies to help solve critical challenges facing business and society. For instance, the company collaborated with The Grameen Foundation India, using technologies from AI to augmented reality, to help disadvantaged people improve their financial literacy to enhance their financial and social well-being. In collaboration with Club Egalité, Accenture Labs in Sophia Antipolis, France, is developing a virtual-reality game that helps teen students explore future-proof jobs and develop critical skills for the digital economy, with the goal of encouraging an interest in STEM careers.
Accenture Development Partnerships works across government, business and civil society, applying business and technology solutions to build capacity and strengthen programs for development organizations around the globe. For example, Accenture collaborated with the Spanish Ministry of Employment and a consortium of nonprofit partners and corporations in 2013 to create Emplea+, an online program that helps marginalized individuals develop technical, digital and soft skills needed for employment.
“The opportunity to improve lives requires collaboration across business, government and non-governmental organizations,” Nanterme said. “As leaders weigh new technologies and applications, we all must ask ourselves: Does this benefit the next generation? If the answer is yes, it’s the right thing to do.”
To capture the opportunities arising out of new mobility trends and to bring organizational focus and alignment, Tata Motors today announced the appointment of Shailesh Chandra to lead the Electric Mobility Business in addition to his current responsibility. He has been promoted as President- Electric Mobility Business & Corporate Strategy, with immediate effect and will continue to be a member of the Executive Committee. Creation of this new business vertical will enable Tata Motors to deliver on its aspiration of providing innovative & competitive e-mobility solutions.
“Tata Motors is optimistic about the future of Electric vehicles and would play a leading role in the electric mobility evolution in the country. We will also leverage on the capabilities of other Tata Group companies to develop the full ecosystem and fast track the adoption of e-mobility.” said, Guenter Butschek, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Tata Motors.
Shailesh has played an instrumental role in leading the project teams to deliver the EESL project and has been closely working with some of the Group companies and other ecosystem partners in his current role.
Commenting on the announcement, Shailesh Chandra, President- Electric Mobility Business & Corporate Strategy said, “It is an exciting responsibility and I keenly look forward to drive Tata Motors’ vision of proactively developing the e-Mobility ecosystem in the country and leveraging this new opportunity for the company.”
Tata Motors is committed to the Government’s vision for electric vehicles by 2030 and will work in a collaborative manner to facilitate faster adoption of electric vehicles and to build a sustainable future for India.
Strongly cementing its position as a preferred Managed Services Provider, Progressive Infotech The Managed Services Provider has been included in the ‘Magic Quadrant Perspective’ based on its market performance and by corroborating claims with references as well as independent analysts.
Magic Quadrant (MQ) refers to a chain of market research reports issued by the global research and advisory firm, Gartner. It relies on the proprietary qualitative data analysis techniques leveraged by Gartner to depict market trends vis-Ã -vis direction, maturity, and participants.
Progressive Infotech is an India-centric, global Managed Services Provider that has been fueling business innovation through the power of cloud, digital & DevOps by managing end-to-end IT infrastructure including cloud, on-premises, and hybrid infrastructure. Progressive Infotech has more than two decades of in-depth industry experience and provides NextGen Managed Services and Digital Transformation Services. NextGen Services consist of Service Desk, Workplace Management, Hybrid Data Center Services, Network Management, Security Management, Application Performance Management, and DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service). On the other hand, Digital Transformation Services include Analytics, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, IoT (Internet of Things), Enterprise Content Management, Digital Workplace Management, Mobility, and DevOps.
On the development, Prateek Garg, Founder and CEO, Progressive Infotech said, “At Progressive Infotech, we are focused on providing unsurpassed services to our customers. We are delighted to know that our constant efforts have yielded the desired market results and have now garnered us this prestigious recognition. We strongly believe that this has been because of each and every member’s contribution to the organization and to our client’s success. The recognition will undoubtedly boost our collective motivation and help us deliver superlative customer satisfaction that the brand has become synonymous with.”
Progressive Infotech is hailed as the first managed services provider of AWS and Microsoft Azure in India. It is a CMMI Level 3 company that has more than 75 solution architects, over 200 consultants, and a clientele of more than 200 businesses.
