GITAM bags the prestigious IGBC Green Champion Award for encouraging green education initiatives

Visakhapatnam : The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has bestowed the Green Champion Award, its most prestigious honour, to GITAM (Deemed to be University) for being an ‘Institution encouraging IGBC Green Education Programme’ through its Green Built Environment course for M.Arch students at GITAM.

The award comes in recognition of GITAM’s efforts to embrace sustainable goals and for having the potential to inspire others, thereby advancing the Green Building Movement in India. The Green Champion Award was received by Professor K. Mohan, Director, GITAM School of Architecture at IGBCs’ flagship event, the 20th Green Building Congress, in Hyderabad.

After an MoU that GITAM and IGBC signed earlier this year, a course titled Green Built Environment was introduced as a subject of study for the M.Arch students at GITAM. With a course in Sustainable Architecture already being taught at the institute since 2017, it solidified GITAM’s position as a leader in adopting and promoting green practices in architecture. GITAM has had an active student chapter of IGBC since 2016 which has been regularly conducting seminars, competitions and other awareness programs on adopting sustainable practices.

More than 40 students have so far been trained by the GITAM School of Architecture to become IGBC Accredited Professionals and 28 faculty members are IGBC Accredited Professionals.

While accepting the award, Professor K. Mohan, Director of the School of Architecture, explained, “Our aim is to slowly approach net zero and to accomplish this, a number of green initiatives are being promoted at the University campus like the use of innovative waste management, solar panels, energy reduction techniques in the use of water, energy-efficient lighting fixtures and many others.”

The on-campus vegetation, which comprises different trees, ground cover and shrubs, has been a part of their research on how vegetation can reduce urban heat. The findings have been presented in many international research papers and conferences. They have also started working on a unique project for geo-tagging all the trees and plants on the campus which would help visitors and students get acquainted with the varied flora at the university campus.