Green Building, ECBC and Rating Systems' for CPWD officers was held from 20th to 22 July 2020. The training was attended by 48 architects and Engineers from CPWD

Day 1: The programme commenced with a session by Rajneesh Sareen on sustainability in the built environment. The officers were sensitized on the need for a new paradigm in design and construction of buildings in the wake of COVID-19 that also aligns with environmental sustainability.  Mr. Sugeet Grover introduced integrated green design and passive design features to the participants, the topics ranged from site selection, climatic data interpretation, natural topography to design elements at building level such as orientation, shading, ventilation, daylighting and material properties.

Day 2: Ms. Sonia Rani oriented the officers on to the CPWD's Green Habitat Accomplished Rating or GHAR which was released in April 2019 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. This latest rating system incorporates passive design elements, materials properties, health and safety parameters and others that reflect CSE's advocacy and training CPWD has been receiving for years now. This session was the first of the many orientation programmes entrusted to CSE on GHAR under the MoU signed between the two institutions. All the projects constructed in future by CPWD will have to use and be registered under GHAR only.

A case study of Anil Agarwal Environment training institute was described in the next session by Mr. Sugeet Grover, explaining in detail the features that make it a low impact development and introducing the latest features such as drip irrigation and kitchen gardens for a self-sufficient campus. The session drew parallels between the practices adopted during AAETI's construction and the ones mentioned in CPWD's GHAR rating system.

Day 3: Mr. Rajneesh Sareen in his session elaborated energy management and its optimization by using tools such as Building Management System. He discussed ECBC for energy conservation in buildings with a focus on equipment while Mr. Sugeet introduced Eco Niwas Samhita 2018 - energy coservation code for residential buildings. Ms. Mitashi Singh in her session discussed fundamentals of water management and efficiency in campuses. Ms. Sonia detailed design principles for rainwater harvesting and decentralised wastewater treatment in buildings and concluded the programme.

With each session closing with a Q&A, there was active participation by the officers in all the discussions.