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New Indian Express
12-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Thiruvananthapuram city corporation to introduce NZCRB action plan to tackle climate change, pollution
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major move to tackle climate change, the city corporation has unveiled a first-of-its-kind blueprint — Net Zero Carbon and Resilient Buildings (NZCRB) — to make the city's environment energy-efficient, climate-resilient and with a low-carbon footprint. The action plan, the officials say, is designed to drastically reduce carbon emissions across a building's lifecycle, right from design and construction to its demolition, all the while helping it withstand the impacts of extreme weather. The action plan also recommends establishing an NZCRB Cell within the corporation to coordinate activities and ensure its long-term integration. The document has been drawn up by the civic body in collaboration with sustainable experts and research organisations, including WRI India, the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE), and the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). As part of it, the civic body will introduce innovative climate-responsive materials and technologies for construction, including heat pumps, high-performance glass and walling systems with low thermal resistance, to promote sustainable construction. 'Our city is expanding rapidly. Subsequently, the number of building construction approval requests in all 23 local bodies have also gone up. To address this rising energy demand, the corporation has made public buildings solar efficient, with a cumulative installed capacity of 17MW. This was done under the solar cities programme,'' explains corporation secretary Jahangir S. 'We are committed to moving towards net-zero carbon emissions in the building sector. For this, we are working on a climate budget for the city,' he adds.
The Hindu
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Net-zero carbon footprint goal: Thiruvananthapuram Corporation formulates NZCRB action plan report
The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has prepared its Net Zero Carbon and Resilient Buildings (NZCRB) Action Plan Report as part of various ongoing efforts of the civic body to address climate change issues. NZCRB are structures designed to minimise their environmental impact and enhance their ability to withstand climate-related challenges. Such highly energy-efficient buildings can either produce their own renewable energy or purchase renewable energy, to offset their energy consumption, towards the goal of achieving a net-zero carbon footprint. Developed by the Corporation, with WRI India as knowledge partner, along with architects and experts as part of the working group, the NZCRB plan outlines 20 actions for reducing carbon emissions across the entire building lifecycle — from design and construction to operation and eventual demolition. Key actions Some of the key actions suggested include the development of a database on carbon content of building materials, designing and implementing a green procurement policy, integration of NZCRB principles in urban planning, and including city master plans and building the infrastructure and capacity for better end-of-life carbon management of buildings. Beyond reducing carbon emissions, the plan offers other benefits such as lower urban heat island effects, improved air quality, long-term energy and infrastructure savings and local green job creation. It also proposes a dedicated steering committee to oversee implementation and track progress. The action plan was released at an exhibition and dialogue titled 'Towards a Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Built Environment for Thiruvananthapuram' on Thursday. The event was jointly organised by the Corporation, WRI India, the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE) and the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). The exhibition spotlighted more than 10 innovative climate-responsive building materials and technologies, aimed at strengthening low-carbon construction. From new age heat pumps and high performance glass to walling materials with low thermal resistance, the exhibition showcased strategies to reduce whole life cycle carbon in buildings while ensuring thermal comfort.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Green building roadmap rolled out in T'puram
Thiruvananthapuram: In a major step toward sustainable and climate-resilient urban development, Thiruvananthapuram's blueprint for net zero carbon and resilient buildings (NZCRB) was launched on Thursday. Speaking at the event, city corporation secretary Jahamgeer S said, "Thiruvananthapuram is expanding rapidly both vertically and horizontally. The 23 local bodies in the district have reported a significant rise in building construction approval requests. To address the increasing energy demand, we have equipped public buildings with solar power systems, achieving a cumulative installed capacity of 17MW under the solar cities programme. We remain committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions in the building sector and are now working on a climate budget for the city." NZCRB refers to buildings designed to reduce environmental impact and withstand climate-related challenges. These energy-efficient structures either generate renewable energy onsite or source it externally to achieve net zero carbon emissions. The plan, developed by the City Corporation with WRI India as a knowledge partner and inputs from architects and experts, outlines 20 key actions to cut emissions across the entire building lifecycle—from design and construction to operation and demolition. Proposed measures include creating a database on the carbon footprint of building materials, implementing a green procurement policy, integrating NZCRB principles into urban planning and city master plans and improving infrastructure for managing end-of-life building emissions. In addition to reducing emissions, the plan offers co-benefits such as lower urban heat island effects, better air quality, long-term energy savings, infrastructure efficiency, and local green job creation. It also recommends forming a dedicated steering committee to oversee implementation and monitor progress. The initiative comes at a crucial time, as the global building sector accounts for 36% of final energy use and nearly 40% of energy-related CO₂ emissions. In India, buildings and construction contribute about 32% of national greenhouse gas emissions. With urbanisation set to reach 40% by 2036, cities like Thiruvananthapuram face growing pressures to plan sustainably.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Just a matter of time, says Priyank Kharge on lifting bike-taxi ban in Karnataka
Bengaluru: Amid continued debate over the recent bike-taxi ban in Bengaluru and other parts of the state, information technology minister Priyank Kharge Thursday struck an optimistic note, suggesting that the return of bike-taxi services is inevitable. Speaking at Enroute: Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) Challenge, organised by Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India along with WRI India here, Priyank said: "With bike taxis, it is just a matter of time ... we are working around it. Just because we don't have a policy doesn't mean we can stifle innovation." The minister's comments offer a ray of hope to commuters and mobility startups, hinting at the possibility of a regulatory framework that welcomes innovation instead of resisting it. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru The bike-taxi ban was imposed by the transport dept with effect from June 16 following a high court directive and lack of policy framework on regulating the mode of transport, which had become popular among Bengalureans. While bike-taxi operators blamed the dept for buckling under pressure from the autorickshaw lobby, ordinary commuters questioned: "Why can't the govt come up with a new legislation that is in sync with technology-driven mobility solutions instead of sticking to archaic rules?" Mirroring commuters' sentiment, Priyank recalled the early days of online cab aggregators: "As soon as Ola and Uber became popular, we initially banned them. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 500만원 코인투자금 있다면 '이것' 시작해라! 나우투자그룹 더 알아보기 Undo But they approached me and said, 'Sir, how can you ban innovation?' That's when we realised these services could actually complement our ecosystem." In fact, the minister's remarks came in response to former MP Rajeev Gowda's description of the bike-taxi ban as a regressive move. Gowda had stated: "We need to be tougher in how we deal with various lobbies and pressure groups. Nobody wants to hurt auto drivers. But on the other hand, as a city of two-wheelers, if bike taxis are working, the ban may not be a positive progressive move. It may actually be regressive."
The Hindu
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Winners of STAMP innovation challenge announced
The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), and the Electronics City Industries Association (ELCIA), in collaboration with Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and WRI India, have announced the winners of the Station Access and Mobility Program's (STAMP) innovation challenge. The winners, selected from a pool of 32 applications, are CommuteVerse, Nippon Koei, Orbit Wallet, and Tummoc. They will receive a combined grant of $100,000 to demonstrate their solutions. Pilot demonstrations are set to be rolled out in August 2025 in and around Electronics City. The initiative attempts to leverage behavioural science and technology to help public agencies lower emissions, reduce traffic congestion, and encourage commuters to shift from personal vehicles to shared and sustainable modes of transport. Developing mobility interventions The broader STAMP initiative was launched in 2016 by Toyota Mobility Foundation and WRI India to promote better multimodal integration with the metro. The innovation challenge, as part of the broader initiative, was launched on April 11, 2025, inviting startups, technology firms, and solution providers to co-develop scalable mobility interventions that can increase metro ridership, especially in last-mile segments. It focused on solutions incorporating gamification (offering rewards and incentives for choosing low-carbon commuting options), real-time nudges (deploying contextual, time-sensitive messaging to promote shared and efficient mobility) and inclusive access (improving first- and last-mile connectivity, affordability, and safety using commuter-centric behavioural cues.) 'In this iteration of STAMP, we aim to demonstrate how behavioural science can be seamlessly integrated into transport planning to create practical commuter-first solutions that are sustainable,' said Pras Ganesh, Executive Program Director, Toyota Mobility Foundation Asia. 'Through this challenge, we have seen innovative ideas that can encourage community focused decision-making, and are excited to see these solutions piloted in a real-world setting which sets the stage for replication across Bengaluru and thereafter in other cities,' he added. Winners CommuteVerse BLR is a mobile-based platform designed to create a gamified commuting experience by aligning individual behaviour, employer participation, and transit system feedback, while Tummoc offers features that allow users to discover, plan, and pay for daily commutes involving buses, metro systems, suburban trains, and last-mile services through a single platform. Orbit Wallet integrates transit, payments, and access services into a single card and mobile application. Nippon Koei Business Partners Co., Ltd. (Singapore Branch), part of ID&E Holdings, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, collaborates with regional mobility platforms on road safety initiatives and has developed a 'Healthy City Framework.' Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow, Integrated Transport and Road Safety, WRI India, noted that the challenge offered a data-driven, locally relevant, and scalable model for effective public-private collaboration . The finalists will receive tailored tools for pilot design, business model development and stakeholder engagement, access to mentors, experts, and government stakeholders, and financial support for prototype development and implementation.
