The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been a pioneer in mainstreaming resource efficiency through various programs and schemes for over a decade now. With the State of Maharashtra’s decision in 2016 to mandate green building certification for government buildings, government officials across various departments in Pune were the first to express interest in learning about EDGE and getting trained on the EDGE software.
An innovation of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, EDGE is a green building certification system focused on making buildings in more than 130 countries more resource-efficient. The EDGE program comprises a free web-based software application, a universal standard and a certification system.
To meet the EDGE standard and achieve certification, a design team or project owner uses the EDGE software app to demonstrate that their building achieves a predicted savings of 20 percent in each of three areas: energy use, water use and embodied energy in materials—as benchmarked against a standard local building. Watch a demonstration of how to use the EDGE software.
As a global certification provider of EDGE, GBCI administers EDGE certification in over 120 countries around the world. GBCI is also the exclusive certification provider for all EDGE buildings in India.
Endorsing EDGE
In November 2017, we announced that PMC and GBCI had established a strategic alliance to promote green building within the municipal area and to encourage new and existing building projects to register under GBCI’s green business programs, including LEED and EDGE. Additionally, as per the latest amendment to the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR)-2017, PMC also announced the following FSI* incentive for EDGE-certified projects:
|
Level of EDGE certification |
Additional incentive FSI on basic FSI (%)* |
|
Above 30%-30%-30% efficiency in energy, water and embodied energy |
3% |
|
Above 40%-40%-40% efficiency in energy, water and embodied energy |
5% |
|
Above 50%-50%-50% efficiency in energy, water and embodied energy |
7% |
*FSI stands for Floor Space Index. It is the ratio between the area of a covered floor (built-up area) and the area of the plat (land) on which a building stands The higher the FSI, the more area that may be constructed on the given piece of land.
This means that projects achieving more than 30 percent predicted savings in energy use, water use and embodied energy using EDGE precertification may receive between 3 and 7 percent additional FSI. In case the project is unable to achieve the minimum level of predicted savings as per precertification at the time of final occupancy, a penalty equivalent to twice the land cost for the incentive FSI for the rating not achieved shall be imposed on the developer, by PMC.
Furthermore, builders and developers may also use EDGE as an investment-planning tool to calculate the ROI for their resource efficiency strategies. They may use it to project savings including energy, water and greenhouse gas emissions savings. EDGE is powered by data, and its advanced database understands a developer or building owner's local climatic conditions and building usage. It serves as one of the most inclusive tools in the market, making resource-efficient buildings become available to all.
Incentivizing green buildings through EDGE also helps the State of Maharashtra achieve objectives set forth within Maharashtra’s State’s Climate Change Adaptation policy that focuses on 14 major sectors, including energy and environmentally friendly cities, where EDGE adds value by quantifying carbon emissions offset by a particular project.
The pool of EDGE Auditors, especially in Pune, shall form an integral part of the EDGE certification process, and will conduct site audits as part of the EDGE certification process, together with PMC officials, as needed. The EDGE Experts in Pune and surrounding regions contribute to the State’s preparedness to execute the green building clause within the DCPR- 2017.
Poorva Keskar, Director VKe, and an EDGE Auditor in Pune, commented, “Water, energy and materials are three of our most important resources. If used optimally, we can conserve these precious resources and help make our buildings, communities and cities become more sustainable. Incentivizing EDGE in Pune will promote resource efficiency across the city, give an enormous boost to the construction of green buildings in Pune and steer market transformation.”
Interested in learning more about the incentive? Contact PMC.