Sustainable Building Practices Shaping the Future of Real Estate

Kripadyuti Sarkar, Group CIO, Ambuja Neotia

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In an exclusive interview with Kripadyuti Sarkar, Group CIO, Ambuja Neotia, he highlights the transformation process that real estate developers and raw material providers are undergoing on the path towards a sustainable future. He has 22 years of experience in leading digital transformation initiatives across numerous well-renowned organizations such as the Adani Group, Reliance and Xerox.

In your view, how are sustainable building practices changing the way real estate developments are planned and constructed?

Until the last decade, buildings were constructed using brick and mortar with manual labour, sometimes assisted with heavy machinery like cranes. There was no room for IT services amidst this established process until the last decade. However, currently, to maximize the throughput and adherence to sustainability norms, IT is implemented heavily in every step of development. While monitoring was carried out manually, drones are currently being deployed for this role. The manual activity at present is akin to the role of a sports referee.

For safety purposes, CCTV cameras coupled with AI are being leveraged for determining the best security and environmental practices. Being mindful of carbon footprint, the industry is adopting solar technologies and are building infrastructures keeping rainwater harvesting in mind in a bid to reduce ground water consumption. Post COVID, the adoption pace increased and all the aforementioned technologies gained traction.

What are the most impactful green technologies being integrated into new real estate developments, and how do they contribute to sustainability?

Real estate is a carbon-dense industry. Construction equipments are operated with fossil fuels. The government of India is targeting to make this industry carbon neutral by 2050. The government has mandated a few of the operations that organizations must look into for reducing their carbon output. It can be boiled down to two aspects, water and energy.

The first activity that is done in a bare land is the erection of a storage unit that is built in to act as a reservoir for the water that is being harvested via rainwater harvesting. And secondly, for the energy requirements, the boundary of any construction site is marked with solar panels. The energy generated here is utilized for all the construction activities that take place onsite. The industry is targeting 80% of energy requirements being fulfilled by solar power by 2030-2031.

The adoption of sustainable materials is essential for eco-friendly construction. What role do sustainable materials play in green building projects, and how do they compare to traditional materials in terms of performance and cost?

Conventional frames are made out of aluminum, whose extraction is a carbon emission-intensive process, so in the construction of green buildings, the aluminum frames are substituted with materials that are not harmful during the construction process. For example, conventional door frames are being replaced with wood frames, and the role of material management teams has become apparent in sourcing sustainable materials for construction. An excellent example of this is Bangalore’s latest Kempegowda International Airport Terminal 2, which uses a bamboo beam to build a lot of structures.

While the cost may be on the higher side compared to traditional materials, considering the overall perspective of sustainability and carbon-neutral objectives, consumers would generally be right with a minuscule increase in the cost per unit if it meant savings in the long run, in terms of performance though green materials offer better performance compared to traditional materials while it costs 3%-7% more than the conventional counterpart. At the end of the day, we are sustainable if the ecosystem is sustainable.

How is the real estate industry embracing the principles of the circular economy, and what challenges need to be addressed to make this approach more widespread?

Real estate is a core industry that touches all strata of society, irrespective of economic class. A Real estate project is always circulating among various stake holders ranging from vendors supplying raw materials to engineers responsible for managing and delivering the final outcome. Capital is constantly on the move to all spheres of the economy while accommodating the labour costs.

By definition of the circular economy of real estate, anything that is constructed undergoes a 360-degree round trip across all facets of society. A criticism here is the overlooked damage that is caused to the surroundings. Consumption of resources in setting up new infrastructures consumes a massive amount of water, timber and energy, which can permanently disable the surroundings of the upcoming structure. With the stringent laws being enforced, it is more apparent to establish a circular economy with all the stakeholders involved so we can usher in a sustainable future.

The future of real estate is undoubtedly leaning towards sustainability. What is the future outlook for sustainable building practices and green technologies in the real estate industry?

The future of real estate is undoubtedly geared toward sustainability. With focus shifting towards green materials over conventionally carbon intensive materials, energy requirements being met with renewable sources and the goal of delivering the best possible outcome with the assigned bare land instead of opting for deforestation.

All in all, the industry is moving towards adopting green practices with lesser dependency on traditional resources with energy needs being met with renewable energy sources. Finally, innovative technologies are being deployed to ensure the safety of the workers and to delegate harmful tasks to their machine counterparts.

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