12th GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) Summit
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Environment
In news
The Vice President of India recently inaugurated the 12th GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) Summit.
Organised by: GRIHA Council from Hyderabad.
Theme: Rejuvenating Resilient Habitats.
Purpose: To serve as a platform to deliberate on innovative technologies and solutions which shall help in creating robust mechanisms for developing sustainable and resilient solutions for the benefit of the entire community.
The Vice President also launched the SHASHWAT magazine and the book ’30 Stories Beyond Buildings’ during the event
Key takeaways
According to the World Green Building Council data, buildings and construction account for 39% of energy-related CO2 emissions in the world.
India called for accelerating the process of total de-carbonization of the built environment.
It was also opined that roof cooling should be an area of priority for all.
In India, over 60% of roofs are made from metal, asbestos, and concrete – thus trapping heat inside buildings and contributing to heat island effect in urban areas.
Cool roofs can lower indoor temperatures by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius as compared to traditional roofs.
It was also observed that the implementation of Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) has not been uniform across India.
The states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were appreciated for taking a lead in this regard.
Important value additions
Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA)
It is the national rating system of India for any completed building construction.
GRIHA is recognised as India’s own green building rating system in India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Created By: It was conceived by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and developed jointly with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
GRIHA Council has developed the Building Fitness Indicator (BFI) tool – a free-to-use self-assessment tool that allows organizations to measure the preparedness of workplaces to prevent exposure to COVID-19.
