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GIL, now spun into a ‘Green Business Enterprise’, will provide design and consulting services to individuals and organizations to help them adopt complete sustainability in their construction and allied projects. GIL comes fortified with the 14 years and over I million sq feet of Award Winning Green and Sustainable architectural experience of BCIL. It is also powered by a research lab that is involved in research and development of technologies that are central to the GIL offering.
GIL will impact investments worth Two Billion Dollars on Green Buildings and Innovative Building Management Systems in India, in the next 3-4 years. Sustainable Buildings and envelopes of up to three million sq. ft. is likely to benefit from GIL, helping them transcend beyond architecture into effective resource management.
GIL will offer solutions that will enable individuals, corporates, builders and SME industries to develop sustainable communities or achieve efficiencies in Energy, Waste or Water. Speaking to newsmen here today, Mr. Chandrashekhar Hariharan, CEO, BCIL said, “The key to sustainability in built spaces is management of a combination of six factors – Materials, Air, Water, Waste, Energy and Bio-mass. These are GIL’s six strands of sustainability and we have considerable experience in these areas. GIL has for long been the research arm of BCIL and has even managed a few projects for BCIL in the role of a Project Management Company (PMC). In fact most innovations from GIL is tested in-house at many of our (BCIL) own building projects”.
Individuals will benefit from GIL’s architectural solutions based on the microclimate of the location, needs of family, aesthetics, and the incorporation of sustainable technologies. GIL also offers advice to the home-owner on every facet of home building: choosing the contractor, building materials, fittings and fixtures; cost estimates; ideas on aesthetics and interiors and advice on intelligent gadgets that could make a home more efficient.
The suite of services for corporations, small and medium industries include complete Waste Management from garbage collection to disposal, (and even generating cash from waste), bio-mass planning, and the very important Energy Management. Energy management services, centers around – HVAC planning, indoor and outdoor Lighting, choosing energy technology (solar, wind, bio-mass); the focus being on achieving Energy Efficiency. GIL also offers complete ‘Design and Build’ options for various projects like Schools, Resorts, Hospitals, Housing enclaves and Eco-tourism projects.
GIL services are also available to BCIL’s fellow builders and developers. The thinking being that, creating a ‘Green Revolution’ in urban living requires widespread adoption of sustainable methods. There is evidence of growing awareness about sustainable methods, enunciated by the fact that the CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) promoted Green Business Centre estimates the potential for Green Building Material and equipment to be about 400 million USD by 2010. And this is counting only the buildings which would go for Green Building Ratings.
All Builders and Developers who want to incorporate sustainable technology practices in their buildings can use GIL as a partner. Complete architectural design and drawing services can be outsourced to GIL. The service cores of building can be completely designed and built by GIL. If the project is at the planning stage, GIL can even add valuable inputs on facets like building materials, the building envelope itself, and the aesthetics. GIL will also enable Green Building Ratings aspirants to achieve compliance. The GIL promise here is the development of buildings that are durable and user friendly on maintenance.
Across customer categories, GIL offers solutions in Water Management: including Water Harvesting, Storage and distribution, Treatment and re-use of waste water, Waste Management: including Segregation, Re-cycling, Re-use and Disposal, Biomass Planning: including Ground Level Landscaping, Upper Level Greens, Land and Microclimate Assessment, Intelligent and Automated Systems.
In Air & Energy Management, GIL offers solutions that empower clients. Indoor air quality is today a matter of concern for many buildings because it has a direct impact on the health and productivity of residents / employees. GIL offers HVAC systems that use non-ODS refrigerants and even has fresh air modes that offer air management without refrigerants. GIL has also developed A/C systems and designed noiseless ventilation units powered by renewable energy systems. In addition, continuous innovation at the Research Lab has also meant that GIL today offers a suite of products that can directly go into a building; A/C’s, Refrigerators, Geysers, EE Lighting, etc.
Across all categories of services and across verticals the guiding philosophy for GIL is ‘Mainstreaming Sustainability’. According to Mr. Saumitra K Chatterjee, Head of Innovations, GIL, “We have the larger goal of promoting ‘Green Living’ across communities. Mainstreaming Sustainability or making sure that sustainability is not just practiced in limited pockets is an important agenda for GIL. We will therefore use technologies and methodologies that can be practiced by all and, in most cases, afforded by all”.
Today, the market space is highly fragmented and skewed towards individuals and organizations which can afford to invest in high-end sustainable technologies. The GIL difference will be seen through cost effective solutions that are close to conventional market costs. Economic Sustainability is driven through savings in terms of Operation and Maintenance (O & M) costs over a long time on water, energy and other resources.
The GIL philosophy of sustainable living and a fair sampling of its product and service mix are in action in BCIL properties like T-Zed and BCIL Collective. The commercial launch of GIL is aimed at taking the philosophy and capability to all those who desire it and thus promote sustainable living on as large a scale as possible.
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