IGBC’s annual flagship event, The Green Building Congress 2015 (GBC 2015), was held at Gandhinagar on November 19-21. It evoked excellent response from stakeholders across the world – thought leaders, State Government officials, developers, builders, architects, consultants, users and students. Based on India’s new initiative of 100 Smart Cities and 400 Amrut Cities, the 3-day international conference on Green Buildings & Green Built Environment focused on ‘Green, Smart & Healthy Cities’. Leading national and international experts converged at Gandhinagar to share their
thoughts and perspectives. 

Curtain Raiser 

Setting the tone for the 3-day international event was the Curtain Raiser on November 19, where Green Crusaders shared their experiences. Panel discussions were held at the Curtain Raiser with construction industry leaders. IGBC’s Special Recognition Awards were presented to India’s Green Champions. Prem Kumar Taneja, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Gujarat delivered the Chief Guest’s address and presented the awards. An MoU for Strategic Partnership for Sustainable Development was inked with Gujarat Technological University (GTU). The Partnership aims at mutually benefi cial international cooperation in the areas of science, education, culture and sustainability.

Inaugural Session
Punamchand Parmar, Principal Secretary (Forests & Environment), Gujarat addressed the inaugural session on November 20. He emphasized the
increased stress on limited resources, and the need to create designs that could contribute towards a Green City. Green is about improving the quality of life, he underlined. D. Thara, Municipal Commissioner, Ahmedabad said that Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is working towards a sustainable and effi cient power and water management system for the city without compromising on the city’s growth. Hari Sankaran, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), highlighted that a Smart City has to be a Green City first.Green Cities will offer new employment opportunities and enable employees to appreciate the value of finite resources. He added that the mega project of GIFT
City is India’s first major Green Smart City; parts of GIFT City are already occupied and operational. When completed, it would create about 80,000 direct employment opportunities and similar number of .indirect employment opportunities. IL&FS arranged the delegates’ visit to GIFT City.
In his theme address, Dr. Prem C. Jain, Chairman, IGBC highlighted that India, with over 3.14 billion sq ft, ranks second in the world for its registered green building footprint. IGBC’s vision is to facilitate 10 billion sq ft by 2022, to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence. Sameer Sinha, Co-Chair of Green Building Congress 2015 and Chairman, IGBC Ahmedabad Chapter, underlined that Green Building Congress is one of the key initiatives of IGBC. His Group, Savvy Infrastructure, has walked the talk by  having all their commercial and residential projects IGBC Platinum rated. Jayesh Hariyani, Co-Chair, IGBC Ahmedabad Chapter, said that IGBC would work closely with all stakeholders in helping India emerge as one of the global
leaders in green buildings.

Inking of MoU with GIHED
IGBC and the Gujarat Institute of Housing and Estate Developers (GIHED) pledged to jointly promote Green Buildings in Gujarat. They aspire to facilitate 10 million sq ft of green building footprint in Gujarat in the next three years.

Launch of Rating Systems
Five IGBC Green Building Rating
Systems were released:
1. IGBC Green Cities
2. IGBC Green Metros v 1.0
3. IGBC Green Residential Society
4. IGBC Green Campus
5. IGBC Green Interiors

International Exhibition
A three-day international exhibition, featuring over 100 innovative and futuristic Green technologies, was inaugurated on November 19.

Awards to IGBC Rated Projects
150 project team members were awarded IGBC plaques and certificates under various IGBC Green Building Rating Systems.

2ndASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) 

The second ASEM was organised on November 20 under the leadership of the Ministry of External Affairs. The objective was to forge linkages and
enhance relationships between Asian and European countries, and to explore new growth opportunities for all in the Green sector.

Concurrent Sessions
November 21 was marked by concurrent sessions on Green Homes, Green Existing Buildings, Green Interiors and Green Schools. Dr. K U Mistry, Chairman, Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), reiterated IGBC and GIHED sign MoU the state’s commitment to promote green buildings. The GPCB office in Gandhinagar runs on 100% solar power and is the first IGBC gold rated green building in the state. Dr. Prem C. Jain highlighted IGBC aspirations to reach young minds by facilitating 1,000 Green Schools by 2017 under the IGBC Green Schools Rating System. Green Schools also sensitize children to be environmentally responsible.

Green Your School and Architectural Design Contests
The following schools were awarded prizes under Green Your School Contest:
• Gandhi Public School, Odisha
• Kendriya Vidyalaya AFS, Begumpet, Hyderabad
• Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Chennai

The following colleges were awarded under Architectural Design contest:
• Jadavpur University, Kolkata
• VIT’s PVPCOA, Pune
• Sarvajanik Education Society’s College of Architecture, Surat.