If Dubai's Burj Al-Arab hotel with its billowing sail is changing world architecture, wait till the India Tower, currently under construction on Mumbai's marine row Queen's Necklace, gets into business in 2010. At 300 m, it may not match Burj in height (321 metres) but it will stand tall for doing it the right way. It will be powered by a solar chimney, use recycled raw materials such as aluminum, steel, tiles (made of recycled glass and minerals), bamboo products, non-toxic paints, fly ash - cement (a byproduct of heating coal) and have a green roof. All waste water will be reclaimed, no lights will come on during the day, there will be natural ventilation and rainwater harvesting. And if our tallest building is going to be the greenest, then it speaks volumes of our commitment as a people to sustainable development. At present, the building sector in India is growing at a staggering 30 per cent, double compared to five years ago. It is the third largest consumer of energy after industry and agriculture. Says Niranjan Khatri, general manager, WelcomEnviron Initiatives, ITC Ltd, which, along with IT giants Infosys and Wipro, are spearheading the green building movement in India. "Apart from making profits, our sole responsibility is to enrich the lives of others. It is not only important to design a building that uses zero energy and produces zero emissions, but one that also minimises all energy use and damage to the environment, irrespective of the fact that the energy may come from renewable resources, solar power and wind turbines." The ITC green building is LEED platinum rate and is the biggest in terms of areas with 1,70,000 sq ft acres of land. But Pioneers had a problem. They just cannot rest on their laurels. They have to lay the guidelines, which others can emulate, Otherwise, you are nothing but a quirk of human endeavour. So when the CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre came up in Hydera- bad, it had followed norms laid by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). And when the global panel certified the Green Centre as the world's greenest building in 2003, Indian industry decided to codify their norms. But in the process of doing that, they realised they had to adapt them to home conditions. Thus was born the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) ratings, created by the Indian Green Building Council and Godrej-CII, It includes safety of employees, emphasis on water conservation, sewage treatment plants, lighting and passive cooling. Green buildings are easier to maintain in terms of facility management due to reduced requirements, such as use of natural light, reduction of heat gains and the use of energy-efficient, reliable fixtures. Overall energy consumption falls by 50 per cent and lighting by 80 per cent when compared to a normal building. CFLs are only used where sunlight cannot reach. Admits Vidhur Bharadwaj, designer of the Wipro Technology Centre in Gurgaon, "It's only after incorporating the concepts of green architecture from start to finish - with three months extensive research on energy simulation as per our day-to-day needs - that we learnt the benefits." Bharadwaj holds the distinction of designing a green building -- the new Wipro Technologies Development Centre in Gurgaon, spread over 1.2 acres for 1,300 occupants, that has been felicitated by the US Green Building Council with a Leeds Certified Platinum rating. The centre's courtyard design is inspired by the traditional inward looking haveli plan that performs varied functions -- designed to form a light well, it acts as a micro-climate generator, thus reducing energy consumption; mutual shading of the courtyard walls keeps them cooler than outside walls; a big water-body and vegetation in the middle of the courtyard reduces its temperature by evaporative cooling. "Free cooling method or blowing natural air that passes through air filters is used for the building, again saving on electricity by not using air-conditioners," says Bharadwaj. The centre's green building AAC walls, insulated rooftops and terrace gardens that again reduce the solar gain of the building. Further, grass concrete pavers on the outside surface of the building area reduce storm water run-off and decrease the heat-island effect caused by asphalt pavers. Also, the terrace gardens at various levels and the grass concrete pavers help to filter sediments and pollutants from storm water before it reaches the rainwater-harvesting pits. Luckily, according to Khatri, we are blessed with the best of natural resources, the tropical sun and replenishing rain. Some of the materials and equipment are already available in the country like fly-ash, recycled aluminum and bamboo-based products. "However, there can be a huge business opportunity if untapped materials like composting toilets, albedo roofs and waterless urinals are used," says Suresh. And going by Indian ingenuity, we could well emerge as the planet's heroes.