Our company has pioneered the affordable housing segment in India by understanding and addressing the unmet needs of the customers with limited access to formal banking in semi-urban and rural India. Soon it emerged as a lender of choice for first-time homebuyers in the affordable housing segment.
As a responsible corporate citizen, we understand and appreciate that though the affordable housing segment in India is growing at a fast rate, this expansion will put undue pressure on our country’s ecology and resources. With this awareness, our main concern is to embark on a journey to create greater awareness and expand the scope of green housing in India, particularly in self-built units.
Though environment friendly practices have been growing in the construction sector, there has been a critical gap in addressing the financing needs of green homes in the affordable segment. This is the gap we have been trying to bridge.
Our enterprise conducted a survey of select households in the year 2021 and discovered that there was a complete lack of awareness about environment friendly housing in this sample segment. Subsequently, we also discovered that when awareness is generated people tend to show keenness towards green housing. This creates an opportunity for organizations like us to build a business case for higher penetration of green housing in India.
Since 2020 we have, in partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, done some pioneering work in defining Green Housing in the Indian context, created a model to support beneficiary-led construction of green homes and organized a series of seminars to create greater awareness and acceptance in the construction industry eco system. Titled ‘Green Samvaad’, these seminars are being organized for builders, architects, masons, and building contractors with the objective of them adapting the green practices in their area of work.
As this is an unchartered terrain in India, we, in consultation with IFC, adopted seven-prong criteria consisting of simple yet innovative features such as usage of environment-friendly bricks, exterior window shading, roof insulation, low-flow water fixtures, solar power, and five-star rated electric equipment.
We have deployed our in-house technical team comprising of civil engineers to train our strong frontline field team who, in turn, are creating greater awareness among our customers.
Further, we have achieved a groundbreaking milestone by releasing a joint market research report with IFC. The report highlights the compelling business case for affordable green housing finance in India, showcasing the potential for transformative impact on both the industry and the environment.
In addition, this partnership with IFC brings a certification mechanism for green homes on EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies), a platform which allows property developers/ homeowners to get their properties certified as a Green Home.
MD and CEO
Aavas Financiers Ltd.
To provide further impetus, our business has offered a 0.5% rate benefit once a property is certified as a Green Home. This initiative is aimed at encouraging more and more homeowners to shift to green housing solutions.
We will continue to evangelize this concept, as we believe that to build a sustainable tomorrow it is imperative that we use an environment friendly approach in the construction industry.
Our company pledges to tirelessly work in this direction till we bring environment friendly home construction practices into the mainstream. This is the only way we can create a sustainable future for the next generation.
