REPORT ON CIRCULAR BUILT ENVIRONMENT, HIGHLIGHTS FROM ASIA
LAUNCHED AT UN COP26 CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE 		 
Sustainable Building Division at TERI was selected as the Asia representative by the UN One Planet Network’s Sustainable Building Construction (SBC) to develop the Circular Built Environment, Highlights from Asia: Policies, Case Studies & UN2030 Agenda indicators (2021) Report recently launched at the United Nations COP26 Climate change conference. It is a deep dive into the SBC state of play for the circular built environment in six countries; China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The report covers good practice case studies, policies at different life cycle stages, and analysis of UN2030 agenda indicators through a global survey. It further attempts to select, customize and develop relevant circularity recommendations and indicators for the built environment to build back better (post covid 19 recovery) and improve quality of life by decreasing emissions, increasing resilience, and providing local jobs.
 
  SUPPORTING PUBLIC POLICY COHERENCE
 

TERI and ECBC Cell Ladakh had conducted a three-day workshop-cum-training programme on the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) & the Eco-Niwas Samhita (ENS) for building sector stakeholders, e.g., administrators, government officials, architects, engineers, developers, builders, municipal officials etc. from 6th-8th October and 12th-14th October 2021 at Leh and Nubra respectively in association with Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and PDD-Ladakh. There were 27 trained personnel/engineers/architects from various organizations that attended the programme. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Nubra, Shri. Lakshay Singhal was the guest for the closing ceremony. In continuation, a two-day workshop-cum-training programme was organised from 26th-27th October 2021 at Kargil which was attended by 73 trained personnel/engineers/architects from various organizations.
 
 
 
 
 
  LAUNCH EVENT AND 2 DAY WEBINAR SERIES ORGANISED
FOR THE RELEASE OF GUIDEBOOKS AND TOOLKITS UNDER MTCoE
 
Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. (MLDL) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) jointly hosted a launch event on 22nd November 2021 for the release of ‘Guidebooks and Toolkits under Mahindra-TERI Centre of Excellence (CoE)’ with a special focus on disseminating the innovation & outcomes of the project and creating awareness amongst the built environment professionals.
 
 
The launch event was conducted at Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi in presence of Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA, Government of India; Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI; Mr. Arvind Subramanian, MD & CEO Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Ltd. (MLDL); Dr. Winfried Damm, Head Indo-German Energy Programme (IGEN), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH; Mr. A.R. Unnikrishnan, Chairman, Glazing Society of India (GSI); Mr. Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, Sustainable Habitat Programme, TERI; and other dignitaries from various organizations.
 

Mahindra Lifespaces and TERI also announced the commencement of Phase-2 of research efforts at the CoE and signed the MoU, which will continue to focus on developing science-based solutions for India’s construction industry.

The event also saw the kick-off for the project “Multi-pronged Approach to Promote Use of Energy Efficient Glazing in Indian Context”, which is envisaged under the aegis of MoU signed between TERI and Glazing Society of India (GSI) in February 2021.
 
As a follow-up to the Day-1 event, a two-day webinar series on 23rd & 24th November, 2021 was conducted to introduce and demonstrate the guidebooks and toolkits intervened by a panel of experts.
 
 
 
 
 
  VISIT BY OFFICIALS TO MTCoE LAB
 
Various dignitaries along with their teams visited the MTCoE lab to understand the on-going testing of opaque and transparent building material’s thermal properties in the lab using state-of the-art equipment and technologies. Mr. Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, Sustainable Habitat Program, TERI and his team provided a walk-through tour of the CoE along with demonstration and also acquainted with the various sustainability principles and design strategies espoused by the CoE building.
 

Visit by H.E. Dr. Ralf Heckner, Ambassador, Embassy of Switzerland on 21st October 2021

Visit by H.E. Freddy Svane, Ambassador, Royal Danish Embassy on 3rd December 2021
 

Visit by Mr. Chalapathi Rao, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on 22nd October 2021
 
 
  SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS DIVISION, TERI ATTENDS ‘THE GRIHA EVENT 2021’
 
Sustainable Buildings Division team at TERI with Mr Sanjay Seth, CEO, GRIHA Council & Senior Director, Sustainable Habitat Programme, TERI and H.E. Mr Freddy Svane, Ambassador, Royal Danish Embassy in India at the ‘The GRIHA Event 2021’ held on 10th December 2021
 
  OPINION ARTICLE
 
Climate: What can be done about India’s energy and resource consumption?
By Mr Deepak Singh Rana and Ms Tarishi Kaushik
 
 
India is the world’s third-largest producer and consumer of electricity, behind only China and the United States. This speaks volumes about the current energy consumption in the country and its expected growth in the future. As far as water consumption is concerned, the widening gap between water demand and supply in various cities is already alarming, and is expected to get more severe in the years to come. Retrofitting the existing buildings with more water and energy-efficient systems, sustainable and innovative technologies, renewables integration, and improving the end-user behavior can help achieve the saving potentials.
 
Sustainable Building (Delhi), TERI
Core 1B, Third Floor
India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road
New Delhi – 110003
Email: sbmail@teri.res.in
Tel: 011-24339606, 011-46444500
www.teriin.org/buildings