Sustainability Initiative

Some Technologies Used By K Raheja Corp In Green Buildings

NET ZERO CONCEPT BUILDINGS

(ZERO ENERGY AND ZERO WATER CONCEPTS)

Net Zero Concept developments are dependent on renewable sources to generate as much energy as they consume. Developments that produce an excess of energy are called ‘energy-plus buildings,’ and constructions consuming mildly extra energy than they produce are called ‘near-zero energy buildings. The energy measurement is over the course of a year. One of its many features is that it does not rely on any external source for energy and water. Usage of renewable sources of energy like solar panels and wind turbines etc., are a part of technologies used to achieve net-zero status. The extended haul benefits of energy-saving compel companies to perceive it as an excellent investment.

RENEWABLE ENERGY THROUGH SOLAR PV PANELS

Solar photovoltaic (PV) modules produce electricity from sunlight to feed into the primary electrical supply of a structure. Slashing the need for fossil fuel generation, the growing grid-connected solar PV sector is excellently catering to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions & is a pure & pollution-free form of power generation.

DRY WASTE COMPOSTING

The composting plant reduces waste in an environmentally sound fashion. Aerobic conditions control the dry and wet waste composting process of biological decomposition of organic waste by bacteria, fungi, and other organisms. It provides a natural way of recycling waste to produce valuable organic fertilizer. Furthermore, the efficient composting system can produce high-quality soil amendment and has a long list of options for end uses.

GLAZING

Glazing is another strategy to minimize heat in a building by deploying Low ‘e’ double glazed glass. These window frames contribute to a more pleasant interior environment, lower energy costs, and a brighter, cleaner, and healthier environment.

REPLANTING

Replanting is replacing trees and other greenery that may have been lost during construction to reduce the project’s environmental impact. By soaking up the undesirable polluting effects from the air, replanting has a significant noteworthy positive impact on the residents’ quality of life.

LOW–EMITTING MATERIALS

It’s critical to use low-embodied-energy local and recycled materials. Low-VOC paints, adhesives, and sealants are better for the environment and indoor air quality and are advised for use around people with environmental sensitivities when used in smaller amounts or not at all.

ORGANIC FARMING

The highly effective soil amendment generated by the Dry Waste Composting plant enables the Organic Farm to grow. The farm grows a wide range of small plants and trees that contribute to the overall project’s aesthetic.

LED LIGHTS IN COMMON AREAS

The genuine saviors in the field of energy efficiency are light-emitting diodes or LEDs. Lighting accounts for a significant portion of total electricity usage. LED lights have several advantages over traditional incandescent and CFL lamps, including lower power consumption, high efficiency, and long life. They deliver maximum luminaires, i.e., more light for less power. K Raheja Corp installed LED lights in all shared spaces of Mindspace campus projects, such as landscape, lift lobbies, street lights, and entrance lobbies, among other things.

SEWAGE TREATMENT

The process of erasing pollutants from wastewater, mainly sewage, is known as sewage treatment. To remove these residues and produce environmentally safe treated wastewater, it uses physical, chemical, and biological processes. This treated water can be used for flushing, gardening, and HVAC technologies. As a result, the demand for municipal potable water will be reduced. Sewage treatment plants with high-class technologies such as MBBR and SAFF have been installed in all individual buildings on the Mindspace campus.

INTEGRATED BUILDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (IBMS)*

IBMS automates the unified control of a building’s heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and other systems. Building automation focuses on improving security, occupant comfort, building system efficiency, energy consumption, and operating costs, as well as prolonging the life expectancy of utilities. IBMS from international brands and benchmarks such as Siemens, Honeywell, and Trane have been installed in all Mindspace buildings to improve building competently.

RAINWATER HARVESTING

Collection and storage of rainwater into natural reservoirs or tanks or the infiltration of surface water into subsurface aquifers by recharging pits is done by rainwater harvesting. Geological strata say all the buildings of Mindspace, rainwater harvesting in terms of either tank or recharge pits have been engaged. Landscaping & flushing is done using rainwater.

COOLING TOWERS AND HEAT RECOVERY WHEELS – TERRACE

Cooling towers that are CTI certified and consume less energy, as well as heat recovery wheels that use waste heat to pre-cool air, ease the workload on the HVAC system, and save energy.

WATER EFFICIENCY

HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) are features that distinguish today’s modern constructions from modern homes and buildings. Air that has been warmed, cooled, or dehumidified passes through a series of ducts and is distributed throughout the house. A core HVAC system is the most productive and quiet way to cool up an entire home. Water-cooled screw chillers with a high coefficient of performance and environmentally friendly refrigerants should be used in HVAC systems. Controlling variable air volumes at designated areas and AHUs, cooling towers, pumps, and jet fans with variable frequency drives are monitored by a consolidated IBMS. Heat Recovery Units are linked to AHUs to minimize the chiller’s cooling capacity. A Demand Control Ventilation system with CO2 sensors is required for improved IAQ. The main goal is to reduce the building’s electricity usage from the power network, which is influenced by fossil fuel-based thermal power and thus contributes to lower pollution emissions, including GHG emissions. Many users are turning to daylight and occupancy sensors for common area lighting, as well as LED lighting for energy conservation.

HVAC AND ELECTRICAL

(HEATING, VENTILATION, AND AIR CONDITIONING)

Significantly larger conservation and water recycling attempts should be aligned with efforts to increase water capacity. Low-flow facilities, sewage treatment via recycled water reuse for flushing and landscaping, and decent drip and high-efficiency sprinkler irrigation must be addressed. Technological advances in green building concepts help end-users save money on energy and water bills and help developers establish a reputable corporate image. The Indian government is providing special incentives, such as fast-track approval for green building projects, which will undoubtedly assist developers in starting and finishing projects on time.

Community Upkeep

LAKE RESTORATION

Assisting the government in redefining the lakefront of Durgam Cheruvu.

They bless us with a lot more than we can pay back. These healthy lakes and their shores offer environmental benefits while influencing the quality of life and strengthening the economy. K Raheja Corp commits to transforming Hyderabad’s iconic Durgam Cheruvu Lake with TSIIC and GHMC.

THE DURGAM CHERUVU MAKEOVER

With a glorious past, The 150-acre’ secret lake’ is said to be built by Qutb Shahi kings between 1518 and 1687 to supply water to the citizens of the Golconda fort. “The lake is geographically situated on a higher level than the Golconda fort area and could serve the fort’s water needs,” historian Mohammed Safiullah says. It was so dependable that during the Mughals’ eight-month siege of Golconda, the entire city’s water requirements were fulfilled by this lake.”.
A hi-tech city with a meaningful waterfront environment is our aim. Our structure was erected in 2017 to add meaning to the lake and its neighborhood whilst catering to social enhancement and urban revitalization.
The envisioned objectives are as follows:

• Develop an operational and seamless waterfront framework
• To make sure the originality of the city’s fabric is undisturbed.
• To preserve the biodiversity of the lake and its neighborhood.
• To move to an ecologically sensitive carbon footprint approach.

The lake is being transformed into a space that offers facilities for health and fitness, entertainment, adventure activities, and restoring its scenic beauty based on the existing flora and fauna and ancient rock formations.
K Raheja Corp has walked forward to assist local councils in creating a more equitable environment by revamping the lake in phases with this initiative.

WORKER WELFARE

Workers are provided with medical care and a mobile crèche with all necessary amenities at all construction sites. The K Raheja Corp. is responsible for the schooling, wellness, hygiene, and meal of the workforce’s children.
In an ongoing approach to strengthening people’s lives, K Raheja Corp has paired up with Mumbai Mobile Creches (MMC) to initiate three daycare centers at the Group’s construction sites in Airoli, Juinagar, and Chandivali. MMC is a 45-year-old non-profit organization that operates a daycare center on construction sites to provide a safe and clean workplace for children of site workers. MMC also encourages parents to enlist their kids in school so that they can access education. K Raheja Corp has been supporting MMC by providing infrastructure as well as operational expenses for all three centers to support this noble cause. Around 150 families will benefit from this initiative.
This mission has provided a myriad of opportunities for the site workers’ kids, allowing them to compete with the privileged. Furthermore, MMC has allowed homemakers to work and support their families without having to worry about leaving their children in an unsafe environment. To allay the mothers’ fears, K Raheja Corp has built the center adjacent to the construction site, allowing them to visit their children or breastfeed the babies.
Parents and their children applaud The Mumbai Mobile Creches project and site supervisors, who have noticed a significant increase in worker productivity as a result of being closer to their children.

TRAINING AND SKILLING

Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world – Hillary Clinton.
And at K Raheja Corp, we focus a substantial part of our efforts on women from underprivileged communities through our training and skilling initiatives. We provide seminars in areas that allow them to enter the organized labor field in order to make them self-sufficient and independent.

Apparel Training Center, Andhra Pradesh

This institution, a K Raheja Corp initiative, trains women from distant communities in diverse skills that complement the textile business. These enable them to become economically independent and to have a secure future. A comprehensive training center with trained faculty provides a complete 45-day training program, followed by a 15-day on-the-job training program and post-placement services. Training is centered on the high demand from the garment sector in the Hindupur area, where the skilling facility is located. A comprehensive and thorough training program will cover the following topics:

• Machine operations and workplace awareness
• Soft skills and life-skills
• Paper exercises to practice to get machine control
• Stitching activities using machine and hand
• Ensure product quality and finishing through intensive training of skill
• Maintenance of work area, tools, and machines
• Maintain health, safety, and security at the workplace
• Comply with industry, regulatory and organizational requirements

Following satisfactory completion of training, assessments are conducted based on learning outcomes that are rated. After successfully completing the course, each trainee is awarded a course completion certificate, which allows them to be hired through campus recruitment and become part of the wider organized workforce. It also helps them to get a loan to start their own business.

Women Skill Training Program In Partnership With Ngo – Save The Children

K Raheja Corp has partnered with NGO Save The Children to give training and skill support to young underprivileged women from the Navi Mumbai area of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as part of our ongoing effort to improve the lives of women in the workforce. The project’s goal is to teach life skills and increase employability while shifting the focus from vulnerability to empowerment.
A skill training center was established as part of the project in Sanpada village, Navi Mumbai. Women who are both in need and dedicated to making a positive change in their life are identified through extensive mobilization operations in surrounding slum regions. Successful performers are emerging from the curriculum, which addresses requirements in facility management and beauty and health, and are being placed in reputable firms with starting wages ranging from Rs. 10000 upwards. For these women, who never imagined a life other than that of a housekeeper, entering the organized sector is both empowering for themselves and a big benefit to their families.

EDUCATION

Under the umbrella of Sadhana Educational Society, K Raheja Corp supports the following educational institutions:

• L. S. Raheja College of Arts and Commerce
• Smt. Kapila Khandvala College of Education
• Malti Jayant Dalal High School

Teaching Tree

K Raheja Corp’s efforts to provide marginalized children with a brighter future through high-quality education.
Teaching Tree by K Raheja Corp is an initiative based on the belief that education is a sound investment and the most formidable tool for improving our planet. As the name implies, the program strives to provide quality education to children of daily wage laborers from very low-income families in order for them to have a meaningful and dignified future. The program began with a reputable partner NGO, Teach For India, and has now grown to include a number of other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have made significant contributions to education.
In collaboration with its NGO partners, K Raheja Corp provides greater training and exposure to technology to the instructors of these schools. In turn, the teachers have a positive impact on the students. Employees and clients from large MNCs are also encouraged to contribute non-monetary support through Mindspace. Through initiatives such as the book collecting drive, old computer collection drives, and art exhibitions in which children demonstrate their natural skills in the field of art inside Mindspace. Employees have volunteered to teach these children in their workplaces. Mindspace, with its significant financial resources and Teaching Tree’s commitment to this cause, has achieved notable success by influencing the lives of thousands of youngsters, and the company is committed to increasing these numbers.
Annual events include the Book Donation Drive, Employee Volunteering, and the Teaching Tree Carnival, among others.

The Teaching Tree: Book Donation Drive

The book drives have led to the establishment of six libraries in the schools for the students.
2016: The Book Donation Drive was the foundation for Teaching Tree’s first community engagement effort. This drive accepted books of all kinds, from already read storybooks to notebooks, for these young and impressionable minds. To assure responsiveness to this drive, the students were given a chance to address the Mindspace community through an incredibly heartfelt letter, allowing the audience a window into their life, wants, and aspirations, as well as the help they require. To make purchasing books easier, Group Company and Crossword Bookstores partnered with the event. They were present on-site, offering discounted volumes to individuals who wanted to acquire new books for these discerning students. Employees of K Raheja Corp and our Clients at Mindspace opened their hearts and shared books.
2017: Because of the overwhelmingly positive response to Teaching Tree’s – Book Donation Drive in 2016, Mindspace was encouraged to host it again in June 2017. The collecting drive, which was open to previously read books, new storybooks, and notebooks, was a community involvement activity in which clients of the Mindspace Business Park, as well as employees of K Raheja Corp, participated. The books were donated to the non-profit Teach for India, which used them to build new libraries and renovate existing ones in schools in need.
In the presence of outstanding actress Bhanu Sri, a live tree-shaped book rack imitating the Teaching Tree sign in full bloom was revealed. Receiving a variety of intriguing books was a delight for the kids, who were particularly enthusiastic about the storybooks. The residents of Hyderabad, as well as the employees of Mindspace Business Park, gathered to support the two-week effort.

Employee Volunteers

Volunteering with students is encouraged among employees. They can teach, sing, dance, assist them with a tricky subject, or simply sit and engage in an intriguing conversation with them. Employees have volunteered to devote time to teaching these children at their individual schools, leading and mentoring them toward a fulfilling life.
The prominent engagement of employees in this CSR program is due to K Raheja Corp’s unique HR policy, which pays employees who volunteer a few hours of their official work time.

Teaching Tree Carnival

The Teaching Tree Carnival is a yearly event that is part of K Raheja Corp’s ‘Teaching Tree’ CSR project. Students and staff of the business park look forward to the Carnival, which has already had two successful runs.
The Central Recreation Garden of Mindspace in Madhapur (Hyderabad) transforms into a Carnival in the true sense during the first part of the calendar year. The garden features a beautiful display of student-made artifacts, both craft and art. A lovely show enchants Mindspace’s 80,000+ employees as well as the general public. The Carnival represents new beginnings for marginalized children, allowing them the opportunity to express their natural talent, which frequently goes undetected due to their poverty. This Carnival served as a wake-up call to other businesses to provide unwavering support to worthy kids.

NUTRITION PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world!
And we’ll start right here with nutrition initiatives for kids from Save The Children. At its Bandra Kurla Complex headquarters in Mumbai, the company addresses the nutritional needs of differently-abled children from the Special Care Center. The Special Care Center is a school for children who are deaf or have intellectual disabilities. These kids are from one of Mumbai’s weak and most vulnerable neighborhoods, and nothing makes us happier than seeing their cheerful faces after a delicious lunch!