Apollo Group is among the pioneers in healthcare services in the country. The group has also been taking the lead in embracing sustainable practices as much as possible for its new developments. Testimony to this is Apollo Proton Cancer Centre (APCC) in Chennai being awarded the IGBC Platinum certification under IGBC Green Healthcare Facilities-v1-New Healthcare Facility rating system from IGBC. The project space has implemented various sustainability and green measures within its building and campus. En3 Sustainability Solutions were the sustainability consultants for this project and as Deepa Sathiaram, Executive Director, shares: “The brief was to design the building to be energy-efficient and green, and achieve the IGBC Platinum rating.” She elaborates on the various eco-friendly initiatives undertaken in this project. Excerpts: At the design stage As the sustainability consultants for the project, we started working on the designs right from the early design stage, which helped us incorporate various green requirements into the project. One of the key challenges for a healthcare project is the high energy intensity of various equipment used. In this case, it was being a first-of-its-kind high-end Proton treatment centre and there were several energy intensive equipment planned. In addition, these equipment need high levels of temperature and humidity control systems, which again consumed high levels of energy. So, our effort was to try and design systems such that we meet the required thermal conditions but using as minimum energy as possible. The green approach Several green designs and technologies have been used in the project including high efficiency HVAC systems, low power consumption fans, solar hot water systems, insulated roof, energy-efficient lighting and controls, which have all helped in reducing the energy by over 27 per cent compared to ASHRAE 90.1 baselines and over 30 per cent compared to conventional healthcare projects. Additionally, measures to reduce water use by over 26 per cent compared to baselines and use of low-carbon materials and technologies have all helped the project meet its various sustainability goals. High on energy-efficiency The lighting design has been done to maximise visual comfort with minimum lighting power density of not exceeding 0.50W per sq ft, reflective roof with under deck insulation and low power consumption fans to reduce cooling power consumption, as well as solar powered hot water system. More than 50 per cent of the areas achieve maximum day lighting (illumination levels of minimum 110 lux) for energy-efficiency and more than 20.5 per cent of the total project area (excluding building footprint) is covered with green open spaces to promote biodiversity. Of the total landscape area, more than 87.1 per cent of the total green open space is designed as patient centric healing garden. The project is also supported by energy-efficient chiller machines with better part load performance, selection of high-performance glass that lets in less heat, variable frequency drives in pumps, cooling towers and AHUs which regulate the energy consumption depending on occupancy, efficient lighting design with the use of LEDs. By considering various active and passive elements, the project has achieved an EPI of 343 kWh per sq m per annum. Saving water The project has reduced potable water use by more than 26.10 per cent from the calculated baseline design fixture performance requirements established by IGBC through the installation of low flow sensor-based urinals, hand-wash faucets with aerators, kitchen faucet with aerators and low flow showers and water efficient water closets. Hundred per cent of the storm water runoff is collected and reused within the premises itself. The project has installed sewage treatment plant to treat 100 per cent of the grey and black water generated onsite and the same is re-used post treatment for irrigation and HVAC makeup purposes. Material matters Use of sustainable building materials such as high recycle content, green pro certified products and utilisation of rapidly renewable materials (with life cycle < 10 years) and certified wood based materials have been considered in this project. The project has also used low-VOC paints, adhesives and composite wood without urea formaldehyde to reduce the indoor air pollution and provide a healthier environment for all its occupants. For sanitisation and hygiene The sanitisation and hygiene features comprise comprehensive solid and chemical liquid bio-medical waste management systems. It also includes recycling programme for recyclable wastes and wet waste. Proper filtration systems, pressure, purification, isolation, anti-bacterial panelling and cladding and coatings and entryway systems are installed to reduce infection control within the hospital premises. Site selection and planning Hundred per cent of the total exposed roof areas are covered with high albedo material to reduce the heat island effect as much as possible. The car parking spaces provide electric charging stations for alternative fuel vehicles and are also covered to reduce heat islands. This is located on the previously developed space with access to more than seven basic amenities that are within walkable distance of 1km from the building entrance to reduce the land development impact from automobile use. Future add-ons The green measures that have been implemented in the project are those in design and construction. Apart from this, in order to ensure that the building continues to operate green throughout its life-cycle, we need to embrace sustainable practices, policies and measures in the ongoing building operations and maintenance, track the building’s performance on a continuous basis and making improvements and enhancements from time-to-time to ensure that the building continues to operate as a green building. Building operations, maintenance and management will be key to ensuring the building is continuing to perform at the highest level and is on par with international benchmarks. Costs and payback In most green projects, there may be some additional costs incurred for implementing certain green measures, especially those for energy-efficiency. But this additional investment typically has a well-defined payback of three to five years. If we look at the 50-year life-cycle cost of the building, it can be seen that the initial cost of putting up the building is roughly only 15-20 per cent while the remaining 80-85 per cent costs are operation and maintenance costs, retrofit and replacement costs. So if we have to invest initially a bit more to design an efficient green building, this is hardly anything given that green buildings can in the long-term help reduce O&M and retrofit costs.