The construction industry is the biggest consumer of non-renewable resources. It, by its very nature, consumes vast quantities of Energy, Steel, cement and water and thereby, over time, became a big emitter of CO2 – the biggest impediment for a sustainable, environment-friendly future. The global construction sector amounted to 5.7 billion tons of CO2 in 2009, contributing 23% of the total CO2 emissions produced by global economic activities[1]. The alarming situation and the case for green construction and sustainable building material is best understood when you realize the construction sector carbon emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, at a time when they need to be rapidly falling. Fashion industry plays a major role as well in helping global economies reach their sustainable goals. Only 60% of garments are currently sold without a markdown. With fast fashion capturing the millennials, overproduction of garments is a bigger factor for fashion industry. Raw material mix (through greater use of recycled fibre) plays a major role in emissions abatement for the fashion industry which can also help in transforming from linear economy model to the closed loop recycling model for the industry. Figure 1 shows the Greenhouse gas emissions sector by sector.
However, with the world taking notice and various global organizations, led by the United Nations, setting up environment goals, it is now becoming imperative for the construction and real estate industry to look at alternate, sustainable resources and move towards green products and sustainable buildings. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by all UN Member States in 2015 are a call to action to protect the planet. The adoption of these Goals bought some focus on sustainability and we could all see some positive actions being taken, albeit in pockets. But this is just the beginning.
COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdown again brought our unsustainable lifestyle into focus. The pandemic accentuated the crisis and made many of us sit back and think of the consequences of reckless living. It bought to the fore, once again, the importance of sustainable lifestyle which included green products, green buildings and the need to step back and take a hard look at how we are depleting the environment and not really focusing on the perils of climate change. With COVID 19, we are forced to spend 100% of our time indoors.
Sustainable Buildings
The focus on Sustainable Buildings and Sustainable Building Material arises from the uncomfortable fact that today, Buildings are the largest source of carbon emissions. With large swathes of the population continuing to migrate to urban centres, the demand for housing is growing and this, in turn, if not checked, will threaten our existence like never before.
It is not very difficult to integrate sustainable building material, use renewable energy, natural light, passive architecture principles etc to ensure that we are minimizing the carbon footprint.
How is Visaka Industries Limited promoting sustainability?
Visaka Industries Limited was founded in 1981. Today, it is a leading business conglomerate with interests in cement roofing sheets, fibre cement boards, sustainable yarn, and solar energy. As a company, it is trying to make the world a better place by focusing on sustainable technologies, products, and services. By entering into business lines such as cement fibre boards, sustainable yarn, and solar roofs it is ensuring that it remains relevant in the future where sustainability and eco-friendly technologies, products and services will be preferred by consumers and favourably looked upon by millennials, investors, and regulators.
The pandemic and its devastating effects have further strengthened Visaka Industries Limited’s resolve to focus on sustainable development and work with eco-friendly products. Consequently, each of Visaka’s products is crafted to meet sustainability demands.
Visaka products are designed & manufactured by keeping in mind the SDGs. Visaka constantly works to create an impact on SDGs 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15. The water used in the manufacturing of Vnext fibre boards are recycled and reused. As a leader in the field of cement fibre boards, Visaka works to provide innovative solutions in its research & development department to arrive at new and environmentally friendly technologies.
Visaka’s Vnext cement fibre boards, are an eco-friendly substitute to materials like plywood, gypsum boards, and sand/water-based construction. Since its launch, Vnext has been used extensively by architects, interior designers and building construction engineers for both external and internal uses. Today, Vnext boards are being used in applications like False ceiling, Partition, Mezzanine, Roof Underlay, Kitchen Cabinets/Shelves & Doors; in the Industrial and Residential (Builders) Segment for the false ceiling application / grid ceiling; for External Cladding and Gate Cladding; and, for all prefabricated application, PEB Structure, and LGSF Walls. Some of the key sustainable features of Visaka’s Vnext Fibre boards are:
- Use of Fly ash – post-industrial recycled content of 20-30%. By use of fly ash in its products Visaka industries helps in promoting circular economy.
- The Vnext fibre boards are 100% recyclable.
- Low thermal conductivity of the product helps in reducing energy consumption due to HVAC.
- No carcinogens used in the manufacturing. This helps in maintaining good Indoor Air Quality and better health of occupants.
- Use of natural fibres as raw material for construction.
- Zero liquid discharge approach during production saving around 11 lakh liters of water.
- Excellent and very viable alternative to wood and plywood
- Green Pro certified.
- The use of Vnext boards has many positive environmental impacts. Vnext boards helped save over 5 Lakh trees from deforestation, amounting to over 1 Lakh ton CO2 emission reduction.
A one-stop, eco-friendly turn-key solution for all construction needs – to build homes, office, industrial and other spaces from scratch to finish.
In 2018, Visaka Industries Limited introduced ATUM, the world’s first Integrated Solar roof. ATUM generates electricity and is a completely integrated, seamless solar roof made with poly or mono-crystalline solar cells and cement boards – a highly durable roofing material making it world’s first solar panel which can be directly used as a roof. Patented in India and South Africa, ATUM has been installed in multiple locations in India and abroad. Some of the key sustainable features of ATUM solar roof are
- Reduces the need for higher space by integrating solar PV as part of the roofing material.
- One-of-a-kind product which helps in achieving sustainability goals of an organization/Individual.
- Easy to install and helps in reducing Heat Island Effect.
- Helps meet India MNRE renewable energy goals.
- Zero liquid discharge approach during production
- ATUM roof helped offset millions of tons of carbon emissions that would be produced by coal/hydro power production
ATUM has also been certified by the Campbell Corporation, to take a uniform load of 780 lbs per sqft, a snow load of 2200 lbs, and the jointing mechanism is a patented leak proof system as per American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM) standards. It is a roof which is class A fire rated and designed to take wind speeds of over 150kmph making it hurricane proof.
In 1992, Visaka Industries Limited diversified into textiles, introducing Wonder Yarn, a sustainable yarn produced from use of a fibre (plastic) which is causing major environmental pollution all over the globe. Fashion industry accounts to almost 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018, about 4 percent of the global total. The wonder yarn makes use of the discarded PET bottles for its fibre requirement which helps in providing a greater and improved material mix. Approximately 8 million pieces of plastic ends up in the oceans every day. Wonder Yarn till date has roughly consumed around 116 million used PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles. Plastics have a 6% share of Global oil consumption. By making use of the discarded waste (like PET bottles), Wonder Yarn helps in millions of metric tons of CO2 equivalent abatement every year. Some of the key sustainable features/impacts of Wonder Yarn are:
- Reduces the need for virgin fiber.
- Helps in reducing water pollution.
- Helps save life of land and life on water.
- Helps reduce the plastic pollution, which is costing the global economy (fisheries, agriculture & recreational & tourism activities) roughly $2.5 trillion every year.
- Eliminating plastic pollution helps increases the capacity of oceans carbon intake.
- 116 million PET bottles recycled.
- Global Recycled Standard (GRS) & Recycled Claim Standard certified (both RCS 100 & RCS blended).
- Promoting the industry towards operating model based on closed loop recycling.
- Zero liquid discharge approach during production
Bottomline
Sustainable buildings & sustainable clothing made from sustainable raw materials is really the need of the hour. It not only helps in reducing environmental impact, but it also helps in energy conservation, reduction of waste besides being cost effective. Visaka’s R&D department is currently focusing on finding alternatives to reduce environmental footprint of the products and also in transition to circular economy. Sustainable products and adoption of sustainable practices is a must, and if the construction and fashion industries follow suit, chances are that it could prove to be a game-changer and our planet could still have a chance.
Reference:
- Lizhen Huang, Guri Krigsvoll, Fred Johansen, Yongping Liu, Xiaoling Zhang, Carbon emission of global construction sector, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 81, Part 2, 2018, Pages 1906-1916, ISSN 1364-0321, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.06.001.
- (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032117309413)
