TERI organises '2018 Sustainable Buildings R&D Summit’ to discuss the roadmap for ‘Innovations for the Built Environment'

March 8, 2018
Bangalore Summit

Bangalore, March 8, 2018: TERI, a leading think tank dedicated to conducting research for sustainable development in India and the Global South, organised a two-day 'Sustainable Buildings R&D Summit' in Bangalore to pave the way for research and innovations around the built environment. It showcased technologies and best practices, such as pre-cast construction and radiant cooling technologies, implemented by pioneering organisations to save resources in design, construction, and operation of large infrastructures.

The Summit provided a platform to the research outputs available with various institutions across the country that will help in supporting the transformation of built environment into sustainable development. The various panel discussions and plenaries at the Summit identified key research areas that are essential to make habitats affordable. The two- day summit also saw inter-discipline partnerships and industry collaborations with academia to address the various barriers of integrating sustainability to building and urban systems. Further, policy briefs would be developed based on the conclusions of these discussions, providing scientific weights to policy formulation, financial incentives, and regulations.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Anjum Parvez, Secretary - Urban Development Department, Govt. of Karnataka, said, “Sustainability is a priority interest for the Government of Karnataka,and low carbon policies on energy efficiency and green buildings are vital for a competitive and creative economy. With an aim of working together on tackling climate change and making the shift to a low carbon global economy, we recently started the Indira canteen in Karnataka and used pre-fabricated buildings that helps to reduce pollution. The passed recycle and reuse policy of fresh water will impose industrials to use reused water for industrial purposes. We have also developed region-based energy plants in the cities of Mysore, Mangalore, Gulbarga and Bellary which will convert waste in-to energy. For the first time in Karnataka, every house is going to be a ‘building by law’ focusing on construction sustainability, water and waste management. This Summit is an opportunity to discuss the progresses made by us and discuss lessons we have learnt so far.”

Speaking about the current imperatives of sustainability, Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI, said, “Environmental sustainability should not be compromised when implementing social and economic reforms. Today, the relevance of energy efficient buildings has assumed greater significance in the light of fast depleting energy resources, growing urbanization, and environmental pollution multiplying manifolds. There is an urgent need to adopt efficient and environment-friendly technologies in new and existing building. We aim to use this Summit as a platform to showcase research based architectural designs, cutting-edge construction technologies, and pioneering cooling technologies to make sustainability financially viable.”

TERI works extensively in the field of climate protection, and has set up various action programmes to combat climate change through urban planning. Its reports provide key guidelines to planners while carrying out urban planning for new locations/satellite towns around Bangalore. TERI has also carried out an analysis of the potential and feasibility of the real estate market in Nepal for adopting affordable, climate resilient construction technologies. The Centre has also created a Sustainability Index for building construction materials used in the ecologically sensitive Himalayan region of South Asia.

TERI-Southern Regional Centrehas been organizing annual events in South India to showcase developments in the sustainable building sector. In the past, the recently concluded Summit has focused on innovations in sustainable buildings, green data centres, sustainable facades, sustainable neighbourhoods. This year's theme explored a wide variety of issues, including, the roadmap for sustainable development, with a core focus on the built environment, best practices/projects that can be implemented to save resources in design, policy framework based upon economic benefit analysis for the ULBs, and financing models for sustainable housing.

About TERI

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is a leading think tank dedicated to conducting research for sustainable development of India and the Global South. Established in 1974, TERI has become the pre-eminent institution for research, discussion and thought leadership on environmental governance and sustainable development.TERI is ranked globally as one of the five most impactful think tanks by the International Center for Climate Governance. The Institute is committed to the application of thought that drives action in the direction of tackling climate change.

For further details, please contact:
Edelman: Sneha Dev - 9958000706 | Sneha.Dev@edelma

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Sustainable development
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Radiant cooling technologies
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