Carbon neutrality and net zero emissions will dominate the business at Mahindra Lifespaces going forward. All the new buildings to be built by Mahindra from 2030 onwards will have net zero emissions, a top official from the company said.
Arvind Subramanian, managing director and CEO, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited told FE that going forward all the sites that the company chooses for projects will be evaluated on the basis of whether it will be sustainable development. The company’s development targets will also feature in that perspective.

“Our targets will factor in our choice of where to do developments. As we look at sites, it will be an important aspect to our evaluation criterion as it has to be a site that lends itself to bringing a sustainability product, if we cannot do that we will probably pass on that site,” Subramanian said.

He said that about 40% of carbon emissions and energy consumption comes from buildings, which is why the construction industry needs to take the lead in reducing emissions. “As a rapidly urbanising country, it is something we just have to address and we cannot skirt around the problem. We would like to be leaders in that,” he said.

As part of the initiative, the company has also launched India’s first Net Zero Energy residential project called Mahindra Eden, in Bengaluru. Subramanian said that the company has worked on the design and materials used in a manner that will lower the energy consumption by 33% compared to a traditional building.

“We included things like studying the sun path and the wind flow to make sure the building orientations take the maximum advantage of the natural sun path. Light and ventilation are maximised so customers do not need as much air conditioning in the building. Also, materials like high reflective paints on the roof and the external walls will ensure less heat coming into the building. Specialised glass will be used in the balconies and windows with the same objective that thermal ingress in the building is reduced, among other initiatives,” he said.

In addition, the residual energy, which is 67% of the comparable buildings will be entirely serviced through a combination of on-site renewable energy system—hybrid wind and solar systems, and the rest will be through purchase of green power from the distribution system.

According to Subramanian, with this development, the company has set foot on net zero energy journey, while net zero water and waste remain to be cracked. “We have a line of sight to make all our projects net zero energy, similarly work needs to be done to get to net zero water and waste. Today, in Mahindra Eden we are at about 74% water recycling and getting to 100% will be a steep climb and will be the direction going forward,” he said.

Along with energy, water, and waste efficiency, the project is designed to be ‘Nature Positive’, preserving the biodiversity of the area. The project has been designed with more than 85% open space.

Subramanian said that the move towards sustainability will not be cost prohibitive and the savings made will cover the capital cost. “There was a fear that moving to net zero energy will be prohibitive from cost perspective, but as it turns out the cost will just be 5% higher from a construction perspective. Also, the pay back period on each of these elements is two to three years. Energy savings we get from the hybrid wind-solar system will pay for the capital cost in two and a half years,” he said.

Pricing of the projects will also not be significantly different as a result of these initiatives. He added that the customer choices are also shifting as they become more aware of their carbon footprint. “We are seeing across categories—EVs for example and two-wheelers, where customers are saying this actually matters and I am willing to make my consumption choices based on sustainable products,” he said.