GreenBuild 2012 - The largest conference on green buildings

The absence of the next version of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system did not at all seem to dampen GreenBuild which held in San Francisco from November 10-17 2012. GreenBuild is the world’s largest conference about green buildings and is organized each year in November by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The LEED rating system administered by the USGBC is now prevalent in several countries including India and a new version is released every third year. 2012 was originally planned to be one of those years.

Among a multitude of themes, what emerged as a consensus was the importance of political will which is required to make the world greener. The opening plenary which included over 30,000 attendees was addressed by a series of leaders: from politicians to the CEO of twitter. Another interesting topic that emerged was related to the recent hurricane Sandy. Experts believe the hurricanes have recently increased in their intensity and frequency  due to climate change.

Energy-security was also discussed extensively. Technological advancements have afforded exploration of  gas and oil resources that were inaccessible earlier. However, the overall feeling for green building professionals was optimistic. Experts shared their vision on how green could still remain attractive in an environment where fuel security is of less concern than it used to be a few years earlier.  Synergies between economics, finance and green development were projected as the emerging trends. Various aspects of real estate, in particular, were discussed in detail. Green leasing, maintenance, development and ownership of green properties and, case studies of successful green real estate projects and were presented.

realism.IN closely tracks the developments at GreenBuild. Green real estate is one of the major focus areas at realism.IN. In addition to developing India-focused educational module on sustainable real estate, realism.IN is soon to launch an affordable preparatory module for IGBC AP exam preparation. The module contains a 1-hour lecture video, mock online exam (with scores and answers) and other relevant materials. In addition, realism.IN researchers  have also been actively involved in scientific research about green real estate. For example, a recent paper (published in the Journal of Sustainable Real Estate) by a realism.IN researcher argues that green rentals may act as a hedge against bad economic conditions. IN addition, realism.IN has also produced several white papers related to sustainability.

Webinar: Investment in 'Green' Real Estate

MARCH 31st (SAT) | 11:00 AM (India Time) | 45 Minutes

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realism.IN brings to you an unparalleled opportunity to learn from the global experts of green real estate. In this webinar, you get to attend a live online session conducted by Professor Norm Miller of University of San Diego. We also include a panel of Indian green experts with IIT pedigree and solid industry experience who will share valuable insights on green projects and investments. The session will cover the challenges and rewards of buying, selling, leasing green properties. The panel will also discuss their development process.

The event is free of cost. However, seats are limited and available on first-come-first-serve basis only.
So, CLICK HERE TO REGISTER today!!

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About the Panelists

 Dr. Norm Miller

(Global Thought Leader in Green Real Estate)

Panelist. Dr. Miller is the director of the MSRE Program, Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate in Sand Diego, USA. He initiated the Journal of Sustainable Real Estate, a unique journal bringing together cutting edge research on the intersection of real estate finance and green development. He also worked as the VP of CoStar Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:CSGP) which is the number one provider of information, marketing and analytic services to commercial real estate professionals in the United States. His text book titled "Commercial Real Estate Analysis and Investment" is the leading real estate investment analysis book across the globe.

Dr. Avlokita Agrawal

(Green Design Expert)

Panelist. Dr. Avlokita Agrawal holds several years of work experience in the green building design industry in India. While working with Asahi India Glass (AIS) as the head of their green and architectural design division she was the front face of Asahi's technical representation at various national forums like IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) among others. She is well versed in the ins and outs of green building certification in India along with the challenges and rewards of the process. She acquired her doctoral and bachelor's degree from IIT Roorkee.

Minu Agarwal

(Head of Sustainability at realism.IN)

Moderator. She holds several years of green design and consulting experience of international projects as a consultant with New York and Atlanta based engineering firms. She holds an MS in Sustainable Design from Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelor's from IIT. One of her key areas of work is cost benefit analysis that is an inherent part of green design.

Brand new online platform for realism.IN

realism.IN is pleased to announce a state-of-the-art online platform for its patrons (which includes you)!

Thanks to the tireless efforts by Vinod Singh, the Head of Technology at realism.IN and his team, the online contents of realism.IN will be managed through a sophisticated online system. Now, the subscribers will get free access to specific sections of the online contents by simply creating an account with realism.IN. "With the new content management system, our subscribers can create and update their online profiles", says Vinod, "and once logged in, they will get direct access to our rich free contents base on clicks of the mouse. This means that they will not need to fill online forms to access such contents."

realism.IN is an emerging thought leader in the Indian real estate research and education domain. The research team at realism.IN fills the huge knowledge gaps in the real estate sector that has always haunted India. The team which consists of real estate professors and professionals offers India focused real estate knowledge which is theoretically sound and practically useful to sustain a matured real estate sector in India. realism.IN offers a team of experienced IITians, and NITians with real estate specific PhD, MBA, Masters and bachelors degree who blend the U.S. standards of real estate research and education with the local characteristics of Indian markets.

In a spirit of indigenous knowledge building, realism.IN frequently publishes white papers, research reports, opinion editorials, blogs, interviews which are available at free of cost. In addition, realism.IN also works on specializes research papers, reports and eLearning materials that intend to cover the Indian real estate sector in its entirety at affordable prices. The new online platform should be released by early February 2012. Stay Tuned!

Why does Chennai have the largest number of certified green buildings?

This exclusive white paper from realism.IN analyzes the different market forces that are at play in promoting LEED certification for green buildings in India. Is the demand for green buildings growing organically or is it a differentiation strategy adopted by developers? Why is the number of certified buildings so high in Chennai? These questions are pondered upon, by looking at the type of buildings going for certification in Chennai. Click here to download for free. Once you submit the form, you will be given a link to download the file.

This white paper has benefited from contributions made by Anurag Bajpai (Head of technical division at Green Tree India) and Ruju Rathod (Project Head at Edifice Consultants India).


Image: Ranking Indian states by the number pf LEED certified buildings