Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Council kicked-off the 10th GRIHA Summit by launching GRIHA for CITIES rating, in the presence of Harinder Sidhu, Australian High Commissioner to India, Prof Ian Jacobs, President and Vice Chancellor, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia, and many other dignitaries. The GRIHA for CITIES rating has been structured as a framework for sustainable development of a city, to be achieved by measuring ‘greenness’ of existing as well as proposed cities. The rating sets performance benchmarks for key resources such as energy, water, and waste, and evaluates performance in areas such as smart governance, social wellbeing, and transportation.
On the sidelines of the inaugural, GRIHA signed two Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs); one with Global Association for Corporate Services (GACS) on training and awareness on green buildings and the second with Public Works Department (PWD), Govt of Maharashtra, on green rating for 1608 existing buildings in Maharashtra. Dr Ajay Mathur, DG, TERI, said, “India and Australia are the two countries which share the same climate. But Australia is the only country with the similar climate that has an active energy-efficiency programme.”
Harinder Sidhu, Australian High Commissioner to India, said, “Government has an important role, but it needs the combined effort of the private sector and the academia. Research institutions, such as UNSW and GRIHA Council, help in connecting and incentivising government to make the enormous contribution to this goal of sustainable urban future.”
