Green Railway Station Certification

Why is in news? Visakhapatnam railway station receives ‘Green Railway Station Certification’ with highest Platinum rating

Visakhapatnam railway station of East Coast Railway has been awarded the ‘Green Railway Station Certification with highest rating of Platinum' by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for adopting green concepts thereby reducing the adverse environmental impact.

Visakhapatnam is one of the few railway stations to get this prestigious certificate. Visakhapatnam secured 82 out of 100 points in six environmental categories.

The Environment Directorate of Indian Railways, with the support of the IGBC, has developed the Green Railway Station rating system.

It addresses national priorities such as water conservation, handling of waste, energy efficiency, reduced use of fossil fuel, lesser dependence on usage of virgin materials and health and well-being of occupants.

Visakhapatnam railway station performed well in categories such as sustainable facilities, health, hygiene, energy and water efficiency, smart green initiatives, innovation and development.

Indian Green Building Council:

The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was formed in the year 2001.

The vision of the council is, "To enable a sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in the sustainable built environment by 2025".

The council offers a wide array of services which include developing new green building rating programmes, certification services and green building training programmes.

The council also organises Green Building Congress, its annual flagship event on green buildings.

The council is committee-based, member-driven and consensus-focused.

All the stakeholders of construction industry comprising of architects, developers, product manufacturers, corporate, Government, academia and nodal agencies participate in the council activities through local chapters.

The council also closely works with several State Governments, Central Government, World Green Building Council, bilateral multi-lateral agencies in promoting green building concepts in the country.