GMDA to assess carbon footprint of office hubs

GURUGRAM: The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has started a survey to assess the carbon footprint of the city’s major commercial hubs — Udyog Vihar, Cyber City and DLF-4. GMDA will also study different factors such as the number of people per building, vehicles used, consumption of electricity and diesel, and pollution levels in these areas.

Once these figures are collected, they can be used to estimate the carbon footprint, GMDA officials said.

For the measurement of air pollution levels, the civic body will use its recently-installed, low-cost air quality monitors.

“We have asked our geographic information system (GIS) team to start mapping buildings in commercial areas and ascertain the values of various factors for calculating the carbon footprint. Once we have an idea of the current carbon emission in these areas, we can start on a plan to bring it down,” GMDA additional CEO M D Sinha said.

The team will also study green areas and solar power potential in the commercial hubs. “We have started with assessing the rooftop solar power potential of every building in these areas so that we can work towards utilising clean energy sources,” Sinha added.

Talking about the energy needs of commercial hubs, he said they will also work with the organisations operating in these areas, as well as discom Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), to understand the power needs and the deficit between the supply and demand. “If there is a significant difference between the supply and demand, companies have to rely on diesel for electricity, which adds to both the carbon footprint and air pollution. In such cases, we can ask the discom to provide uninterrupted power supply,” the additional CEO said.

The issue of irregular supply of electricity in these areas has also been raised by industry bodies several times, who have pressed upon the point that in the absence of uninterrupted power supply, they are forced to rely on polluting diesel gensets.

In the recent pre-budget consultations with chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, many organisations had highlighted environmental concerns.

Once the team has evaluated the carbon footprints, they will work with the stakeholders concerned to draw up a list of long-term feasible solutions.

For instance, diesel autos in these areas can be replaced by electric vehicles, companies can be asked to introduce shuttle services for their employees to bring down the number of cars per building, green areas can be increased and roads can be vacuumed to reduce dust pollution.

“Once we have identified the major concerns, we can work with the organisations to bring down the carbon footprint as well as the pollution levels. Our preliminary talks with the companies have evoked a positive response. If we have a successful pilot run in one sector, we can eventually scale it up,” Sinha said.