Green factory is a buzzword in Bangladesh and India as both apparel manufacturing hubs are focusing a lot on the same. Just last month it was announced that Bangladesh now has 150 green garment factories which is highest globally. Similarly in India, green factory is the top priority for upcoming setups as 3 companies confirmed to have green factories.
Most of the factories have Leadership in Environmental and Energy in Design (LEED) certificate by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). An important question arises here as to why green factories in India are focusing on overseas certification while India has its own certifications available. With the advancement of green building movement in India, the manufacturing industry has shown immense interest in having a holistic green design and construction framework for upcoming factory buildings.
There are various Indian green building certifications available such as Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) and ASSOCHAM GEM rating. These are applicable as per building typology such as commercial offices, residential, factories and a variety of other buildings. And it is pertinent to mention here that the IGBC Green Factories rating system, which is part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) that was formed two decades ago, is the only rating system that specifically addresses sustainability in industrial buildings.
To unlock the potential of rating green factories, it is important to sync the continuous up-gradation of technologies to the green rating program to keep pace with the standards.
Green factory is the process of forming structures that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from excavation to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction.
As far as overall differences between Indian and leading overseas certifications – in terms of parameters, time consumption, scores, methods, or prices – are concerned, Siddharth Jain, Associate Fellow & Area Convener, Sustainable Buildings Division, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Delhi says, “In the present scenario, for green factory building rating systems, only IGBC rating system (No specific rating is available worldwide for Factories) is available and it is based on the performance of the materials and available technologies. This rating system also emphasises on the development of energy-efficient, water efficiency, health & well-being and other environmental factors.” He further adds that the rating system evaluates specific credit points using a prescriptive approach and other credits on a performance-based approach. The rating system is evolved so as to be comprehensive and at the same time user-friendly. The programme is fundamentally designed to address national priorities and quality of life for factory workers.
Siddharth also says that it is also a fact that by getting international certification, the facility gets global recognition but simultaneously if facilities goes with Indian certifications, then it will automatically comply with national energy and building codes.
The global acceptance, as well as the image of Indian certifications regarding green buildings/factories, is also good as GRIHA is recognised as India’s own green building rating system in India’s INDC submitted to UNFCCC.
An important point here is the buyers’ push as most of the green factories in garment manufacturing belong to mainly export houses and overseas buyers always prioritise the international certification. Nimish Dave, CEO, The Idea Smith, Gurgaon says, “Compared to international certification, Indian certifications are less acclaimed as international ones have an image of premium certification.”
It can be mentioned here that US’ LEED’s development grew from the formation of USGBC in 1993 while India’s IGBC was formed in 2001.
The good thing is that few of the Indian companies are also adopting certification of IGBC like Kolkata-based Earthbags Export is Eastern India’s first green factory in MSME category.
Anurag Himatsingka, MD of the company tells, “None of our buyer asked us why you adopt Indian certification rather than international one. I feel that as far as apparel companies adopting LEED certification is concerned, it is primarily to follow their global competitors as both of them mostly work with same buyers.”
Role of consultants with expertise in green building is highly important in this regard as they are like influencers deciding the certification, especially when there is lack of awareness regarding various certifications.
- Elavarasan, Senior Project Manager- En3 Sustainability Solutions, Chennaisays, “IGBC is much better as its ratings systems are according to all five climatic zones as per the conditions in India while LEED of USGBC has a global standard for all countries, it is like universal.”
Benefits of Indian certification
- Cost-effective
- Prepared specifically for Indian climate
- Easy to coordinate
To increase the use of Indian certification, especially in the garment industry, there is a need to establish benchmarks for the Indian certifications in the industrial sector. The associated monetary benefits – improved working environment and low environmental impacts adapted through applied water, energy, and material conservation measures with improved indoor air quality and workers’ health are some key factors that can be considered for evaluation. In addition, effective manufacturing and production unit can be considered to improve the material flow across various sections of the garment industry leading to lower wastage, quicker process flow and hence improved productivity.
TERI also has a Sustainable Buildings (SB) division that has vast experience in the buildings sector for providing green design assistance to design teams at conceptual stage of projects. The division offers services for enhancing the design of buildings and selection of climate responsive building materials. These interventions optimise the building systems through resource efficiency and reduced operational costs, ultimately improving the environmental footprint of the building. It has also helped develop the indigenous rating for green buildings called GRIHA, (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) which has been adopted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and supported as a national rating system for India. This rating covers new constructions, large developments and existing buildings. Apart from consultancy, SB also conducts regular training programmes for green buildings, energy conservation and energy efficiency and sustainable habitat to facilitate the implementation of Indian certifications.
