CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) organized a western U.P. Annual meeting on “Going Green: A Business Sense” on 11th March, 2016 at Hotel Radisson Blue, Noida. Mr. Gyanendra Kumar, Assistant Professor (Civil Engineering), Dronacharya Group of Institutions, Grater Noida attended the meeting.

Session - I (10:00 - 12.00 noon)

The session was inaugurated by Mr. Mukund Vasudevan Chairman, CII Western U.P. Zonal Council, Country Head - India Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Pvt. Ltd. During his inaugural address Mr. Vasudevan insisted on using green technology for future sustainability.

Mr. Anurag Bajpai, Director, Planning & Sustainable Design - Green Tree Building Pvt. Ltd. emphasized that his company has pan India presence and the concepts and the ideas used are world renowned. Mr. Bajpai stressed on the use of sustainable design that is environmental friendly and human centric. Mr. Manish Kumar, Executive Vice President - Jakson Engineers Ltd. started with energy conservation and saving note and expressed that it is not difficult to conserve the resources. Mr. Kumar insisted on the concept of zero waste building and conservation of energy plays an important role in the making of such buildings.

Mr. Shreekant Somany, Chairman, CII - Northern Region & Chairman and Managing director Somany Ceramics Ltd. started with some facts and figures on green buildings in India. Green buildings in India have proved that 30 - 40% energy can be saved with the holistic approach towards sustainability. The stakeholder should be equipped with technical know - how for planning and designing intelligent green buildings to meet the future need of energy.

Mr. Chandra Prakash Gupta, Vice Chairman, CII WUP Zonal Council and Managing Director - Ambica Steels Ltd. focused on today’s scenario- growing industrialization happening across the globe, due to which there is growing strain on the finite natural resources. Mr. Gupta further added that prudent use of resources and going the energy efficient way becomes an imperative to ensure a sustainable tomorrow. Going the energy efficient way is not only good to the planet earth but also good to the company.

Session - II (12:30 - 3:00pm )

The theme of the session was “Green Workplace – Does it really cost you high?” Mr. Puneet Agrawal, Counselor, Indian Green Building Council laid the stress on Green building workplace and how to convert the existing building into Green Buildings. Mr. Agrawal said that Green workplace building can have tremendous benefits, both tangible and intangible. The most tangible benefits are the reduction in water and energy consumption right from day of occupancy. The energy savings could range from 30 - 40% and water savings around 20 - 30%. The intangible benefits of green building workplace include enhanced indoor air quality, good day lighting, health, well - being and safety of the employees.

Overall crux of the session was Green office building which cost nothing extra but the benefits are numerous. The national GDP is expected to grow at about 8% and the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the national GDP being quite sufficient at over 25%, more and more factories would be set up in the country. So if all these buildings are planned on the principle of green building workplace concept then there will lot of saving in terms of energy utilization and sustainable development. While the growth is imminent, it is imperative that the development should happen in an environmental sustainable manner.

The session motivated participants to look for ideas that will convert the existing buildings into Green buildings and design new buildings with innovative concepts that would be totally environmental centric at the same time comfortable to the human beings.