Brookfield Properties’ Ecoworld and Goldman Sach’s 150 Outer Ring Road achieve high performance in water efficiency under the LEED green building program
Bengaluru: In accordance with the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program, both Ecoworld, managed by Brookfield Properties, and Goldman Sach’s 150 Outer Ring Road have achieved high scores under the rating system’s water efficiency credit category. Both projects have undertaken various measures to recycle and reuse water in their facilities and make changes that would create less pressure on the environment, specifically taking into consideration the issue of water scarcity in Bengaluru.
LEED, administered by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), is the most widely used green building program in the world with more than 107,000 registered and certified commercial projects across 182 countries and territories. India is currently the fourth largest market in the world for LEED and the state of Karnataka itself was ranked second in the Top 10 States for LEED in India in 2019, which ranks Indian states in terms of cumulative gross square meters (GSM) of LEED-certified space. To date, Karnataka has 327 LEED projects, covering 1.2 billion gross square feet (GSF) of space.
LEED certification is rewarded based on a points system and projects can earn different certification levels: Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79 points) and Platinum (80+ points). Those pursuing LEED earn points across several credit categories including integrative process, location and transportation, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental equality, innovation and regional priority. The water efficiency category includes strategies such as reducing outdoor and indoor water use, building-level water metering, optimizing process water use and water metering.
With over 14 buildings spanning across 45 acres, Ecoworld is one of the largest corporate spaces in South India. Its entire campus initially achieved LEED Gold certification in 2011 and has recently recertified to LEED v4 GOLD in 2018, demonstrating a continued commitment to improving both sustainable operations and the wellbeing of occupants.
Brookfield Properties is also tracking the performance of 11 of the certified buildings on the campus through the Arc performance platform, a total area of 6.45 million square feet, with an average water score of 80 out of 100. In the pursuit of a high-water score and their use of LEED, Ecoworld has been able to recycle 100% of wastewater through a renewed sewage treatment plant, of which the treated water is, in turn, used for irrigation. In total, the campus recycles about 93,145 kl of water every year.
Goldman Sachs’ 150 Outer Ring Road – spread across 10.5 acres, with three interconnected buildings Wings A, B and C and 1.2 million gross square feet of office space – is LEED Platinum, the highest level of certification under the LEED 2009 rating system. The campus has several water-efficiency measures such as a 700,000-liter storage tanks that harvests and recovers rainwater and 100% recycling of grey and black water through sewage treatment plant that results in 50% reduction of fresh water requirements. The state-of-the-art water treatment and purification plant consists of multiple water filtration systems including electro-dialysis reversal system, reverse osmosis plant, UV lighting, chlorine disinfection and carbon filtration for drinking water. Goldman Sachs is also tracking water usage data at the project in the Arc platform. This initiative to reduce consumption and wastage of water is part of the Goldman Sachs’ global sustainability commitments and a constant effort to provide a healthy and productive workplace environment for employees.
Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, Managing Director, Southeast Asia and Middle East, GBCI India said, “Bengaluru is one city that is increasingly witnessing contributions from sustainability leaders to go green. Interest and awareness about healthy workspaces both before and during the pandemic and the potential to measure and improve sustainability performance has given rise to a growing number of green building programs in the region. Ecoworld and 150 Outer Ring Road have been strong advocates for LEED and their strict adherence to the rating system’s green parameters have enabled them to meet their sustainability goals, while also helping keep their corporate spaces and employees safe and healthy. Their contribution towards saving and recycling water is commendable and if all corporates were to try to achieve this, the city could find itself in a situation where it’s no longer water stressed but instead water positive.”
Alok Aggarwal, CEO and MD, Brookfield Properties, said: “Environmental, social and governance excellence is core to how we conduct our business across the globe. In sync with this vision, we constantly strive towards operational efficiency and optimal utilization of natural resources to reduce our carbon footprint. At Brookfield Properties, we have always kept the safety of our occupants, and employees at the forefront of our operations and are aligned towards providing everyone with a safe and clean environment. Achieving the high performance in water efficiency under the LEED green building program is a testimony of our initiatives’ effectiveness and encourages us to continue improving and innovating our services and operations in sync with the evolving business dynamics.”
