The joint research initiative will focus on developing open-source and science-based ‘sustainable’ solutions for India’s real estate sector.

Gurugram: In a move to provide India-specific cost-effective and sustainable building materials technologies to the domestic real estate industry, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd (MLDL) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) today launched the first-ever Centre of Excellence (CoE). Energy-efficient building stock in India stands at less than 5% today; the CoE will leverage the “state-of-the art” research techniques, tools and performance measurement solutions to boost the development of green buildings in the country. This joint research initiative will focus on developing open-source and science-based solutions for India’s real estate sector.

The CoE will aim at developing a robust and coherent database for market-ready, scalable and energy-efficient materials and technologies. It will also work towards preparing policy briefs for central and state ministries to promote ‘green’ development that can transform India’s housing industry and thereby help reduce the country’s carbon footprint. Research output will be validated on the field prior to dissemination of databases, guidelines and standards to the real estate and building materials industry. The research output, which will be available in the public domain, will aim at wider adoption of its recommendations by developers, architects and individual home owners.

“India has the opportunity to be the world’s largest laboratory for doing things differently – be it the future of urbanisation, or mobility, or climate change. The Mahindra-TERI CoE embodies our focus on sustainability beyond just business – towards creating a larger urban stakeholder ecosystem that can power a transformative ‘green shift’ across India’s cities and towns,” Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra Group, said while inaugurating the CoE.

TERI director general Dr Ajay Mathur, emphasised the need for cost-effective, greener yet cheaper building technologies and materials suitable to Indian climatic conditions, that also provide better comfort and ensure low energy consumption. He said that the information and knowledge sharing enabled by the Mahindra-TERI C0E would facilitate developers to make informed decisions towards resource-efficient designs. “Research undertaken at the CoE would be a huge step towards enabling the developer community to upscale the supply of green buildings,” he added.

Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd’s MD Anita Arjundas, added, “As a pioneer of sustainable urban development in India, we believe that lasting and widespread innovation demands a collaborative approach encompassing multiple stakeholder communities. The Mahindra-TERI CoE will positively influence the Indian construction industry to develop innovative and sustainable solutions, thereby building a robust green supply chain ecosystem.”

The CoE will adopt a tiered approach to implement, review and ensure deliverables. A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), comprising industry leaders and practitioners, will provide technical oversight to research activities. The newly-launched CoE in the city is SVA-GRIHA 5-star rated and incorporates various sustainability principles and design strategies espoused by the CoE