SmartCity Kochi Wins Award for its Go-Green Efforts

SmartCity Kochi, a joint venture company formed by the Kerala government and Dubai Holding, has won an industry body’s award for ecological sustainability in recognition of the IT township’s go-green efforts that save energy, conserve water, recycle waste, avoid plastic and promote overall cleanliness.

Known to be the best of the best within the facility management sector, the honour – FM Excellence Award for 2019- 2020 – comes from the Infrastructure, Facility, Human Resource and Realty Association (iNFHRA) that enables government and industry bodies to deliberate on policy issues.

Aiming to promote high standards among its members and encourage best practice in the industry to improve positioning and competitiveness, the organisation also interacts with international partners to promote globalisation and economic development of the Indian industry.

SmartCity Kochi Infrastructure Pvt Ltd was shortlisted for the award along with other majors such as Bosch, Ramanujan IT City, and Yamaha Motors, considering their contribution to green energy, water management, and environmental management, a release issued by the iNFHRA said.

SmartCity Kochi CEO Manoj Nair, while hailing the iNFHRA award, as a great honour and recognition, said the 2016-founded special economic zone gives high priority to sustainable energy and other green initiatives in all its projects.

It is not just about developing infrastructure and buildings, we are into protecting the environment. That is the need of the hour and each one of us has to do one’s part, he added. SmartCity Kochi has established a 564-kWP rooftop solar photovoltaic plant with the objective of reducing dependency on conventional sources by at least 10 percent.

A rainwater harvesting tank of capacity 400 KL is in place even as the treated water is fully used as per the norms of the State Pollution Control Board. Also, aerators are used in taps to optimise water usage.

Further, SmartCity Kochi has set up ODS (ozone depletion substance) restriction, banned single-use plastics and promoted digital advertising platforms, besides having installed organic waste composting and rooftop gardening.

The iNFHRA awards for 2019-2020 were supported by major international property consultants such as CBRE South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield, Jones Lang LaSalle and Knight Frank India Pvt Ltd as outreach partners.