The Taj Palace Hotel was host to 500 attendees as all stakeholders from the construction industry came together for the Smart Green Summit organized by Saint Gobain and the Economic Times in New Delhi. Though the event revolved around construction industry, there were several interesting technological take backs for the Apparel Industry.
With two Ministers present at the event, nonetheless there were no promised incentives for sustainable development.
While Anant Geete Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises restated the PM’s statement at UN COP21 Summit and fair resistance to adapt to green technologies for the economic disadvantage, promised government help in mere words and nothing was announced that industries can benefit from specifically.
Babul Supriyo Minister for State for Urban Development humored the audience but stuck to the point that there lies a rigid structure and to avail a benefit must first understand the federal structure.
The textile and apparel industry which employs the maximum number of people, remains in need of schemes and grants that can help uplift the industry. The cost of water treatment is not currently economical and it is an arena that much needs the funding from the government to make it feasible for the industry to turn into desired ZLD facilities.
Also Read – Government of India Rolls Out ‘ZLD’ Norms for Textile Industry
Low carbon, eco architecture and holistic design approach are concepts that the industry can adapt into new expansion plans.
Intelligent facade and design that takes advantage of the sun giving light in varying degrees at different times of the day while light fittings assure necessary light when it cools down at evenings.
Examples were presented wherein the sunlight is taken advantage of for lighting but the window design accommodates the light reflection on computer screens during different times of the day, which keeps the productivity up for the staff. There seems to be enough examples and concepts prevalent that the new expansion in the apparel industry can adapt to, innovating the workplace to give better productivity. If the merchandising offices, the buying offices that are often stressed, were to gain the natural lighting, it is not incorrect to assume that better results on product delivery, sampling and customer service can be attained.
James Edward partner of Fosters+ Partners brought in his presentation interesting examples of how daylight in the work space can benefit productivity.
Quoting that there has been an 8.5% improvement James gave many examples of how effectively the same has been achieved.
Also highlighted were facts that timber captures CO2 and in case of fire the inner part remains protected.
Vidur Bhardawaj, Director the 3C Company presented some excellent examples of how Sustainable Design using modern technology has conserved natural resources.
Energy efficiency being the key to sustainable architecture he showed the Shunya project- a net zero energy home. He also showed examples of how 85% energy requirement has been reduced due to sustainable design and using old shipping containers converted into energy efficient homes. It is not hard to imagine how such energy savings can benefit the apparel industry and such innovative design engineering is examples that the apparel industry can emulate and benefit from. He brought in his presentation examples of Solar Ark, nanotechnology and self cleaning TIO2 coated glass that senses dirt and cleans itself. Aerogel best insulation material and Biomimicry being used to design buildings like the dragonfly’s wing, which allows sunlight to pass through where the building skin works like nature’s skin. Paints and sprays that are inspired from self cleaning lotus leaves.
Dr Nigel spoke of noise affecting personal productivity and how the office space can be designed to accommodate different needs so that there is a more friendly work environment for all stake holdings.
While the industry is advancing to smart textiles, taking advantage of innovative smart architectural designs in factory can add to the bottom line in many tangible and intangible ways.
