The policy landscape in India adeptly manages the developmental aspirations of providing for housing and other infrastructure needs through initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). Meanwhile, challenges posed by rising temperatures and heatwaves are being addressed through the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP). There is also a concerted effort to drive decarbonisation with initiatives like the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), the upcoming Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Code (ECSBC), and the Eco-Niwas Samhita (ENS). 

However, a notable gap exists with regard to policies addressing embodied carbon, i.e., the carbon footprint embodied in materials used in a construction. This poses a roadblock to comprehensive emission reduction in the sector. This gap assumes significance especially in view of the anticipated surge in new construction over the coming decades.

The construction industry in India is undergoing remarkable expansion, constituting more than 30 per cent of the country's overall electricity consumption. The current pace of development indicates that India is adding 300,000 sq ft of commercial floor space daily, projecting one of the most substantial growth periods in commercial and residential construction over the next 20 years, which will escalate energy demands along with cumulative emissions (direct and embodied), which are projected to reach 90.85 GtCO2-e (Giga tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent) between 2020 and 2070, which exceeds India's allocated carbon budget by 2 per cent.

“With the way capitalisation and industrialisation is happening, we have to look for alternatives. As renewable energy slowly takes centrestage, one of the ways would be energy conservation in buildings. These are codes that not only help the house last longer, but also conserve energy,” said Xerxes Rao, Urban Planning head at Urban Management Centre, Ahmedabad.  

Gujarat being one of the states that hasn’t yet notified the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017, there are findings that suggest that even after the Chief Minister's recent notification — providing incentives to green certification and penalties for evaders — it would fare much better if the regulation is mandated

A 2017 study conducted by Joint Global Change Research Institute finds that driven by the urbanisation and construction boom in urban areas, total floorspace in Gujarat would increase by over 4 times, with urban residential and commercial buildings growing by around 7 and 8 times, respectively. Floorspace expansion, driven by increasing income and demographic change, drives building energy consumption.

The study also mentioned that Gujarat's building sector would see a high rate of electrification. The share of electricity use in Gujarat's total building energy consumption would rise from 13 per cent in 2010 to around 60 per cent in 2050. This rapid electrification would also be accompanied by fuel switching in urban and rural buildings, through a gradual phase-out of traditional biomass for cooking and water heating, towards adoption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity. Electricity is the primary source of energy for commercial buildings, as most energy services in such buildings, like ACs, lighting and appliances consume electricity.

The study states that in addition to energy codes, green building programmes also help improve building energy efficiency, as the energy efficiency of green buildings is assumed to be much higher than that of ECBC compliant buildings. “Although green building programmes have raised the number of high-efficiency buildings, they generate a limited amount of savings, because the total number of green buildings is relatively small," the report said. 

Even with an increase in incentives for green certification, it is clear that a simple increase in the number of green buildings, which won't ever be a huge number due to their higher costs, would not be enough. Hence, introduction of ECBC and making it compulsory for the building sector by including it in the Common General Development Control Regulations (CGDCR) is important. 

How ECBC Can Drive Compliance

“The general development regulations should have a provision mandating buiding codes. For example, it could be a chapter within Ahmedabad’s upcoming Master Plan. Once mandated, builders and residents can be convinced about the durability and conservation advantages, if a new construction follows the mandate. For guidelines like ECBC or URDPFI (Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation) to be effective, states need to design Acts and statutes around them. If these guidelines are a state's prerogative, which is the case now, then the state governments should make them part of their development codes,” Rao added. 

The foundation of India’s energy efficiency framework stems from the Energy Conservation (EC) Act of 2001. Central to this structure is the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), which has introduced and implemented several energy efficiency programmes targeting the buildings sector, encompassing both commercial and residential structures — the ECBC for commercial buildings and the Eco Niwas Samhita (ENS) for residential buildings — as well as a ratings system that certifies buildings on the basis of their energy efficient design and operation. 

The 2022 amendment to the EC Act has empowered state governments to play a more active role in India’s energy transition, including powers to amend and implement Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Codes (ECSBC), levy fees, establish budgets, manage dedicated funds and set energy consumption standards for promoting the efficient use of energy.

The ECBC was updated in 2017 to streamline the design and operation of commercial structures, with the primary objective of reducing their energy demand and consumption. It establishes the baseline energy standards for newly-constructed commercial buildings with a connected load of 100 kW or more, or a contract demand of 120 kVA or more. The effective implementation of this code not only ensures energy efficiency, but also provides designers with flexibility to efficiently design buildings across various components, ensuring that while meeting minimum efficiency standards, there is room for creativity and innovation. In the process, it also enhances occupant comfort through the adoption of passive design strategies and daylight integration.

As people become richer, demand for energy services also changes. Air conditioning and appliance use are the dominant energy services in commercial buildings in Gujarat. Energy use for AC and ventilation in commercial buildings would increase by 16 times from 2010 to 2050, and make up around 40 per cent of commercial building energy use in Gujarat by 2050. In residential buildings, although water heating and cooking still constitute a substantial share of energy use, AC usage is expected to grow rapidly. In 2050, energy use for ACs is projected to account for 14 per cent and 23 per cent of consumption in rural and urban residential buildings, respectively.  

Once adopted by Gujarat, ECBC has the potential to shape the state's energy landscape. Its effective implementation and high compliance would reduce Gujarat's building electricity use by around 20 per cent by 2050, taking cumulative electricity savings to around 419,800 GWh. This in turn, could help the state avoid adding 11,800 MW and 1,34,400 MW of cumulative electricity capacity, from 2010 to 2030 and from 2010 to 2050, respectively, notes the 2017 report.  

“Over the past decade, so many organisations and codes have come up, that we now need a consolidated statute. The Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) can be the mediator to funnel it all down into property tax incentives or a discounted development charge for green builders. Even this can be staggered and designed on an annual basis, or as a deposit that can be returned. Although the optics are absent at this moment, a planned generation of demand and creation of a market can be easily done. At least the new development can be greener. Without incentivisation, this can’t happen. Energy efficiency has to be part of the climate action plan of Ahmedabad." said Rao.

(This is the concluding part of the series. For earlier installments, see here and here)