ITC Windsor – First Hotel in the World to achieve LEED Zero Carbon Certification

ITC Hotels, the world’s largest chain of hotels with the maximum number of LEED Platinum Certified Properties has been accorded yet another distinction by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council), making ITC Windsor, Bengaluru the first hotel in the world to achieve the LEED Zero Carbon Certification. ITC Windsor is powered by its own wind turbine generators and uses innovative energy efficient technologies such as electrical boiler, induction burners and other renewable energy. Read More

Satellite Vu raises $5m for high-resolution thermal satellite insights to support the green industrial revolution

Satellite Vu has raised a $5m seed round led by Seraphim Capital to launch the world’s first satellite constellation of miniature satellites capable of imaging the thermal footprint of any building on the planet every 1-2 hours. The constellation is enabled with high resolution IR cameras to record heat signatures of a natural and built environment located anywhere in the world. The data of the heat signatures will help to identify and implement energy efficient reforms in an energy wasting building. The constellation of satellites is due to be launched in 2022. Read more

CII IGBC launches ‘Mission on Net Zero’ on World Earth Day

Indian Green Building Council  launched the mission on net zero to facilitate a swift transition for India to become one of the foremost countries to achieve net zero by 2050. As part of this mission, more than 250 leading organizations in building sector have committed to achieve Net Zero status for their new and existing buildings. The Net Zero movement can encompass Energy, Water, Waste and Carbon.  Read more

ASHRAE released draft on Standard method for evaluating building performance on Net Zero – Energy & Carbon

The first public review draft on “Standard method for evaluating zero net energy and zero net carbon building performance” is released by ASHRAE on April 2021. This BSR/ASHRAE Standard 228P shall be used to identify if a site has achieved zero net energy and zero net carbon status by accounting the energy/carbon flow into a site boundary, which is to be less than /equal to the outwards energy/carbon flow during building/site operation for net zero. This standard will cover existing buildings, new buildings, groups of buildings, or portions of buildings. Evaluation with the help of this standard can identify if a site is meeting the requirements of zero net energy or zero net carbon. Read more

Net-zero emissions in India’s energy systems by 2050 highly challenging: Report

According to a recent report by TERI and Shell titled ‘India: Transforming to a net-zero emissions energy system’, India needs a suitable policy and innovation driven context to deploy clean energy technologies on a massive scale to reach a net-zero emissions energy system by 2050. It added that this would require more and faster deployment of large-scale solar, wind and hydropower to enable greater electrification across the country. The report said that adoption of economic mechanisms such as carbon trading and pricing to facilitate reallocation of capital and resources to support commercialization of new fuels and technologies and resorting to carbon sequestration to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 would be necessary steps. Read more

Germany to spend $7.2 billion in 2021 to boost energy efficiency in buildings

Germany is supporting steps to increase energy efficiency in buildings, with subsidies and incentives, including programs to modernize existing buildings with better insulation and more efficient heating systems, worth 6 billion euros ($7.2 billion) this year. Read more

SANEDI unveils an app to guide users through a lighting energy audit

The first of its kind in South Africa, South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) has tailored an app especially for the local market to improve investment decisions around energy use in lighting of buildings across the country. It will be available for download in early 2021.  Read more

DDA approves draft ‘green development area’ policy for sustainable development

The DDA (Delhi Development Authority) has approved a draft policy to provide an integrated framework for development of lands falling in the designated green belt and Low Density Residential Area (LDRA) as per the Master Plan of Delhi 2021. The policy provides a comprehensive framework defining minimum land area required for green development, i.e. for Grade 1 category, the minimum plot area required is 600 sqm; for Grade 2 it is 4,000 sqm; and 10,000 sqm for Grade 3, the statement said. The mandatory wooded area shall be increased as per the grade change, with a minimum 45% of the plot area, in case of Grade 3 development, it added. Read more

The Benchmarks Countries Must Hit to Reach Net-Zero Emissions

The global public needs simple benchmarks to gauge progress towards net zero emissions as per Paris Climate accord over the next five or 10 years, without waiting to check final results at mid-century. Bloomberg Green launches the Carbon Benchmarks series to analyze how countries plan to eliminate their net emissions. Read more

ADB, Japan to strengthen cooperation on clean energy in ASEAN region

The MoU between ADB and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan will strengthen cooperation between the two organizations under the Cleaner Energy Future Initiative for ASEAN (CEFIA).The cooperation will focus on the areas of renewable energy, energy conservation and efficiency, and other technologies that will facilitate the transition to low-carbon energy for South-East Asia. Read more

Two new International Code Council online code tools released

The Global Building Codes Tool provides information about the building codes and standards used in countries around the world. Users may select a country from the world map to view information about the respective building safety regulation agencies and the building codes and standards referenced and enforced within that country. The second one in partnership with FLASH and ISO is a U.S code adoption database A one-of-a-kind tool, the database displays which codes are adopted within each state/jurisdiction and provides context and links to access further code information. Read More

India and IEA signs MoU on Strategic Partnership Framework

IEA and the Government of India entered into a Strategic Partnership on 27th January, 2021, to strengthen their collaboration across a range of vital areas including energy security and clean energy transitions. The signing of the Framework marked a major milestone in global energy governance that could eventually lead to IEA membership for India. IEA is working with major economies around the world to enhance energy security and to help accelerate their clean energy transitions. Read more

Knowledge Centre – Passive Strategies

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