How Sustainable is a Conventional Building?

Abstract

India is one of the largest energy utilizing countries, China and United States of America being the first and the second respectively. Developed countries have already adopted mandatory reduction in energy utilization per GDP. But India has not fixed any such targets though the target of achieving 175 GW of clean energy is in the process. Building or construction industry is a major consumer of energy and therefore there is a scope for reduction in energy consumption by adopting green building policies by new and existing buildings. In India, IGBC and GRIHA are the organizations which certify buildings whether green or not, based on many parameters. These parameters aim at reducing the load on the environment. One such important parameter is energy, including energy consumption, alternate ways of producing energy. Every building can be close to a green building to a little extent. This paper attempts to assess how close a conventional building is to a green building based on IGBC standards.