Conscious Trends Report | 2024

Building a Climate Conscious India

Scalable solutions for a low-carbon built environment

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Climate change poses immense risk to the economy, society and biosystems.

India, being highly vulnerable to weather extremities, must urgently focus on climate change mitigation and resilience.

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↴ Solutions of Scale
↴ Way Forward
↴ Recommendations

Decarbonising the built environment and urban systems is a pressing priority

While there is acknowledgment of the challenges, the gap between knowledge, awareness and action remains vast, requiring impactful and scalable interventions.

City Cool: A Sustainability Challenge

City Cool: A Sustainability Challenge:

Take the ‘City Cool’ challenge to see how our collective actions can help reduce urban temperatures through passive cooling solutions.

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Solutions of Scale

Interventions at four different scales

Decarbonising India's building sector by 2050 is achievable through solutions categorised into four intervention scales.

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Urban Scale

Solutions that create impact when implemented across a given urban geography.

Innovative urban form and design

Green Corridors

Cool Rooftops

Innovative urban form and design

Green Corridors

Cool Rooftops

Material and Design Scale

Reducing embodied and operational carbon by adopting low-carbon materials and lean and passive design practices.

Low carbon concrete and walling materials

Lean and Passive Design Approaches

Low carbon concrete and walling materials

Lean and Passive Design Approaches

Building Scale

Cutting edge technology solutions replace or enhance existing building energy systems.

Smart and renewable technologies

Radiant cooling with renewable integration

Retrofitting with high-efficiency systems

Retrofitting with energy management systems

Smart and renewable technologies

Radiant cooling with renewable integration

Retrofitting with high-efficiency systems

Retrofitting with energy management systems

Consumer Scale

Solutions that drive behavioural change in consumers by using nudges, awareness generation, and technology.

Renewable energy utilisation through prosumers

Leveraging mass media for consumer education on Net Zero Emissions houses

Renewable energy utilisation through prosumers

Leveraging mass media for consumer education on Net Zero Emissions houses

Solutions that create impact when implemented across a given urban geography.

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Barcelona’s Superblocks concept

Innovative urban form and design

Superblock is a 400 m x 400 m mixed-use layout where the inner streets are closed off, while the traffic skirts around the buildings’ outer perimeter.

Impact Created

If implemented as planned, the 503 superblocks will help:

24% reduction in air pollution
$45M reduction in annual health costs
5.7% increase in green cover
664 premature deaths avoided

Medellin’s Green Corridors

Green Corridors

Medellin’s Green Corridors use nature-based solutions to address heat and air quality. By 2022, the $16 million programme reduced temperatures, improved biodiversity, and supported employment for underprivileged people.

Impact Created

By 2021, the plan had helped achieve:

893,000+ trees planted
2°C reduction in avg. temperature
75+ underprivileged people employed
~161,000 kg CO2 / year absorbed

Telangana’s Cool Roof Policy

Cool Rooftops

Cool roofs reduce heat gain by reflecting sunlight and absorbing less solar energy. Telangana’s Cool Roof Program mandates them for large buildings, aiming to save electricity and enhance sustainability.

Impact Created

Aim for the next 5 years:

300 sq kms of cool roofs
~600M Units(GWh) of electricity saved

Material and Design Scale

Reducing embodied and operational carbon by adopting low-carbon materials and lean and passive design practices

LC3, hollow clay and AAC blocks

Low-carbon concrete and walling materials

LC3 or Limestone Calcined Clay Cement blends cement with calcined clay, limestone, and gypsum, offering a sustainable, low-emission alternative. Other walling materials like hollow clay blocks and auto-claved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks can also improve energy efficiency.

Impact Created

40% of emissions associated with cement production can be reduced with LC3
60-70% lower thermal transmittance and embodied energy

Smart Ghar, Rajkot

Lean and passive design approaches

Smart Ghar, Rajkot, is a residential housing project that ensures thermal comfort through affordable materials and passive design strategies. Features include sustainable materials, natural ventilation, and optimised opaque building envelopes.

Impact Created

5°C reduction in peak summer room temperature
2.7 times increase in comfortable hours (under 30°C) annually

Building Scale

Cutting edge technology solutions replace or enhance existing building energy systems

Coral HQ 39, Bangkok

Smart and renewable technologies

The Coral Headquarters incorporates advanced technologies and IoT systems to optimise indoor comfort, while using free cooling from outdoor air to reduce mechanical cooling needs.

Impact Created

70% reduction in energy demand
30% of energy needs generated on-site using solar PV systems
Net-zero status achieved

Gainwell CAT office, Greater Noida

Radiant cooling with renewable integration

The three-storey building completed in 2018 spans 3,000 m² featuring a climate-responsive, low-energy cooling system. It integrates IoT technologies for passive and active free cooling.

Impact Created

100 kW Solar PV System
40% of energy needs generated on site
Low Energy Radiant Cooling System

UN House Lodhi Estate

Retrofitting with high-efficiency systems

The UN House in Delhi underwent energy retrofits, enhancing efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It achieved LEED Platinum certification and a GRIHA 4-Star Rating, setting benchmarks in sustainability.

Impact Created

48% reduction in energy-related emissions.
LEED Platinum certification with a 87/100 sustainability score.
Recognised with the National Energy Conservation Award in 2020.

Project Virya by Apollo Hospitals and Smart Joules

Retrofitting with energy management systems

Project Virya, initiated in 2021, enhances energy efficiency through advanced system upgrades, intelligent automation, and sustainable operations management. The energy efficiency retrofits in Apollo hospitals include efficient chillers, LED lighting, heat pumps, and intelligent energy monitoring systems.

Impact Created

Goals for to achieve in 10 years:

235 million kWh energy saved
290,000 tons of CO2 emissions reduced

Consumer Scale

Solutions that drive behavioural change in consumers by using nudges, awareness generation, and technology.

Powerledger

Renewable energy utilisation through prosumers

Power Ledger enables peer-to-peer energy trading in Bangkok’s T77 precinct, enhancing solar generation and energy efficiency. In India, a pilot with the Government of Uttar Pradesh has demonstrated the potential of rooftop solar trading in a neighbourhood.

Impact Created

1.5X increase in daily solar generation across Bangkok's T77 precinct, going from 4 building partners to 7.
Pilot project in Uttar Pradesh supporting P2P energy trading rollout.

Multiple Ministries in Japan

Leveraging mass media for consumer education on Net Zero Emissions houses

Four government ministries in Japan joined forces to promote climate-friendly building policies, educating citizens on Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB), Passive Cooling, and Nature-based solutions.

Impact Created

Focuses on reducing energy bills and achieving net zero energy homes.
Engages citizens through Manga and stand-up comedians.
Promotes climate-friendly building policies nationwide.

Way Forward

Stakeholder Convergence for Action and Impact

Urban Scale

Provide policymakers and urban planners with frameworks for radical yet pragmatic urban designs that include affordable, sustainable solutions for low-income settlements.

Design and Material Scale

Collaborate with cement producers, material innovators, architects, and builders to reduce embodied carbon and enhance sustainability.

Consumer Scale

Encourage behavioural nudges and awareness to reduce energy consumption during the building use cycle.

Building Scale

Guide builders and construction players to integrate design and technology solutions across all stages of a building’s lifecycle.

Recommendations

Stakeholders can prioritise these recommendations based on their impact and level of control.

Analysing challenges and contexts helps foster broader stakeholder adoption of the proposed solutions.

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Parameters for prioritisation

Technical Expertise: Scientific research, engineering, and system design for solutions

Technological: Simulation and visualisation software, tools for measurement of solutions

financial: Investment, costs, and financial incentives to support solutions

dissemination: Knowledge and information sharing about solutions

skilling: Capability building through training, education, and development programs

Technical Expertise

Technological

financial

dissemination

skilling

Research Team and Authors: Himanshu Dixit, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW); Raj Kumar Balasubramaniyan, Integrative Design Solutions (IDS), Kanagaraj Ganesan, IDS; Karthik Ganesan, CEEW; Manna Elizabeth Sam, IDS; Sonal Kumar, CEEW

Design and Development: Revisual Labs