Remarks by George Deikun, USAID India Mission Director at the Green Building Congress 2006: International Conference on Green Buildings, Hotel Grand Ashok, Bangalore

October 13, 2006

It is a privilege to be here to participate in the inaugural function of the Green Building Congress 2006 and would like to congratulate the Government of Karnataka (GoK) and the Confederation of Indian industry (CII) on this initiative. The participation of His Excellency the Chief Minister of Karnataka (Kumaraswamy) today is a testimony to the interest that he and the state government have in advancing energy conservation. I am also very pleased that we are joined by Mr. Anil Baijal, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India.

I would also like to recognize and thank Mr. Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Center and Mr. R. ParasuRaman, Chairman, Indian Green Building Council & Vice Chairman, World Green Building Council. I would also like to thank the organizers of today’s event, Mr. M. Lakshminarayana and Gopallakrishan of CII and Dr. Prem C. Jain, Chairman, Green Building Congress 2006.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the agency I represent, is honored to have been involved in this congress since the first Green Building Congress in 2001. Our partnership with the CII-Green Business Center is longstanding. The joint effort to plan and develop this important Conference is just one of many examples of U.S. and Indian cooperation in the energy and environment sectors.

Meeting energy needs in a sustainable manner is one of the most important challenges of the 21st century. Energy is central to economic development and there are human health and environmental risks associated with the unsustainable use of energy.

The U.S. and Indian common desire to promote clean and efficient energy and to protect the environment has guided many of our past and present joint initiatives. As part of the U.S. – India Energy Dialogue launched by President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year, a Power and Energy Efficiency Working Group has been established to promote information and technology exchange on energy efficiency between our countries. The Green Business Center itself grew out of the visit to India of former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2000. The concept of the Green Business Center was further developed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and the CII in partnership with USAID.

Over the past five years this partnership has led to a range of collaborative activities on energy and the environment. Today, the GBC is one of the country’s leading centers in energy, environment and climate change. As a leading change agent, it interacts with many private and public stakeholders and provides environmental services such as green technology audits, green process certification and social audits. It serves as a platform to showcase innovative “green technologies” in this part of the world.

Not even a decade back, if you had asked someone if they could imagine living in a green building the answer would probably have been, “You mean my house painted green?” Today, there would be no such misunderstanding. In the United States, interest in environmentally responsible or “green” buildings is booming. The U.S. Green Building Council, launched in 1993, now has more than 6,500 member organizations and nearly 4,000 buildings certified as green buildings.

In both the U.S. and India new directions in architectural design integrate solutions to environmental issues with fundamental building design. Exciting new areas such as the “zero energy movement” link green development with worker productivity. The idea that a building can produce all its required energy on site – or even produce more energy than it consumes – is best captured in the “zero energy movement.” In the U.S. several buildings have participated in a zero energy effort led by the U.S. Department of Energy. These buildings are still connected to the standard electric grid and may have natural gas connections. However, the key difference is that these buildings use solar, wind or biomass energy to offset any fossil fuel consumption.

For some companies, building green is a choice. For many more, implementing green strategies is more of an obligation. Turning bricks and mortar into optimized assets can give companies a competitive advantage. Many forward-thinking U.S. companies have discovered that a properly designed and well operated facility can contribute to the mission and bottom line goals of an organization by reducing operating costs and improving productivity. Studies show that when office workers are satisfied with their environmental conditions and can work in greater comfort, they will be more productive.

Many case studies have documented how efficient lighting, heating and cooling have measurably increased worker productivity, improved sales per square foot, reduced absenteeism and improved the quality of work performance. Productivity gains from energy-efficient designs are as high as 6 to 15 percent. These productivity gains far exceed the energy savings. Gains in productivity have now become one of the key drivers for the green building movement along with the health and well being of a building’s occupants. What is good for employees is also often good for the environment, especially if we are speaking of energy efficiency.

I am impressed at the agenda and the expertise that is assembled here today. Experts from all corners of India and a few from the U.S. will be discussing green buildings and their industry standards. No doubt, many of these will be used as guidelines by Indian architects and builders as India begins to incorporate clean and efficient energy solutions into building construction, maintenance and management.

I am also pleased that representatives of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) are here today. The USGBC is a national coalition with members from all segments of the building industry including architects; engineers; product manufacturers; building owners; environmental groups; universities and federal, state and local governments. It is well known globally and in India for launching the building industry standard for green buildings – the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design in rating system, known to many as LEED.

I understand that the LEED certification is sought after by building owners in the U.S. and elsewhere since it is expected to increase the value of a building. There are over thirty buildings coming up in India actively seeking LEED certification. I also know that there are already three LEED Platinum buildings in India – the CII-GBC in Hyderabad - the first - and the ITC and WIPRO Buildings in Gurgaon. These are among the world’s largest commercial green buildings. Building “green” communicates a very strong message about commitment to sustainable energy development – having it certified verifies that commitment.

The USAID program in India is committed to advancing sustainable energy development in India, whether it is in sharing best practices in green building, promoting market-based energy efficiency services, accelerating the pace of renewable energy development or in commercializing clean technologies. Together with partners in India, USAID has launched a number of projects whose goals include:

• developing market-based financing and policy solutions to address energy efficiency;
• buidling institutional capacity to design policies and projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
• promoting strategies to reduce energy losses and improve the quality of the “last mile distribution of electricity” to consumers.

Recently we have expanded our cooperation to include the development and implementation of energy conservation building codes for Indian buildings. With the intent to broaden and deepen our engagement, we are also working closely with the Ministry of Power, state governments, utilities and the private sector in a public-private partnership aimed at establishing energy efficiency centers of excellence in India.

One such center that is being established in Bangalore is the Lights Museum and Energy Center (LIMEC). LIMEC is being set up is a partnership between the State Government of Karnataka and the Ministry of Power with technical support from USAID. LIMEC will serve as a Regional Energy Efficiency Center and will advance awareness on demand-side management and end-use energy efficiency, promote illumination technology cooperation and transfer, serve as an information resource for lighting technology and engage with stakeholders on public education and policy change.

I understand that the LIMEC will be in a green building that demonstrates the art of lighting with innovation in technology, architecture and design. We look forward to working with the Government of Karnataka and our partners to make LIMEC a reality.

In closing, I would like to once again thank the organizers, CII-GBC and the Govt. of Karnataka for providing me this opportunity to speak at this very exciting and forward thinking event. Hopefully, this Congress will help building industry leaders to more expeditious and thoroughly incorporate energy and environmentally sustainable business practices and technologies into their endeavors.

Thank You.