India marches towards Smart and Sustainable Development

0
1489

(L-R) Rishi Kapoor, Parvesh Sharma, Nitin Gupta, R Subramanian, Sonali Bhagwati, D. Vishwanath (L-R) Ronitaa Italia Dhanu, J. Mayer, Reena Saini Kallat, Tisca Chopra

Delhi – December 02, 2015: Delhi saw eminent speakers and thought leaders come together for a series of strategic discussions to converseabout the various aspects of creating a Sustainable Habitat. Smart Green Summit and Awards 2015, an ET Edge initiative brought together leaders such asShri. AnantGeete, (Honourable Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Govt. of India), Babul Supriyo(Minister of State for Urban Development), Mr. Anand Mahajan, (General Delegate for India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh, Saint-Gobain) and international speakers namely J. Mayer H, Dr. Nigel Oseland, James Edwards and Peter Griffins, among others.
The celebration comes at the onset of 350th anniversary of Saint Gobain and its success story. “Saint-Gobain believes that it can play an important role in shaping the future by designing, manufacturing and distributing building and high-performance materials, which provide innovative solutions to meet the challenges of growth, energy efficiency and environmental protection. On our 350th anniversary, we aim to strengthen this commitment even further by becoming the reference for sustainable habitat in India and doubling our business in the country in the next few years.” says Mr. Anand Mahajan, General Delegate for India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh, Saint-Gobain.
The event was a platform to discuss a more “disruptive” form of innovation needed to bring about significant and systemic change. Shri.AnantGeete, (Honourable Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Govt. of India) said, “The world today is alert about environmental factors and sustainable development. Just like Narendra Modi enlightened at the Climate Change Summit, I would reiterate that we need to understand our responsibility towards environmental changes today and work towards development keeping sustainability in mind. This will help us transform into a developed and Green nation.”
Delivering comfort in a sustainable way through design is an essential element today. Simon Griffiths, (Executive Principal, Aedas) elaborated, “There are always going to be gaps and holes that need to be filled when it comes to planning a city. To develop a city sustainably will take time. We can start to add layers to the city, whether old or new, but maybe the right way of city planning is not to expand outwards, but to consolidate. Rather than consolidate, densify current cities.”
Speaking about the event, Mr. Deepak Lamba, President, Times Conferences Limited, said “Smart Green 2015 is a platform that addresses the most pertinent need of the hour. Sustainability and innovation is an initiative to be taken with utmost priority and what’s imperative is for it to be taken up in a novel manner. With changing patterns of behaviour, we spend more time indoors than outdoors. Consequently, it is important to create a design which is conducive to our senses and takes heed of our surroundings.” The Summit, in the second halfalso honoured organizations and individuals who have been championing the cause of a sustainable habitat and addressing it through their work.