Sustainable real estate development is imperative for India's future as rapid urbanization and population growth place unprecedented demands on the housing and infrastructure sectors. The current scenario in Indian real estate presents a mix of challenges and opportunities. Urban sprawl, inefficient resource utilization, and inadequate waste management are notable issues contributing to environmental degradation. High-energy consumption and a lack of emphasis on green building practices exacerbate the carbon footprint of developments. Furthermore, water scarcity and improper waste disposal are critical concerns. Addressing these challenges requires a paradigm shift towards sustainable development practices, integrating eco-friendly designs, energy efficiency, waste reduction, and water conservation. Embracing green technologies and adopting stringent environmental standards in construction can pave the way for a more sustainable and resilient real estate sector in India. This shift not only aligns with global sustainability goals but also ensures long-term viability and a healthier living environment for the growing urban population.
Embassy Taurus TechZone (ETTZ), a collaborative venture by Taurus Investment Holdings and Embassy Group, stands as a pioneering endeavour in Kerala's real estate landscape. The COO of Embassy Group, Aditya Virwani, and R Anil Kumar, COO of Taurus Investment Holdings India Real Estate Advisory LLP, shed light on ETTZ's strategic vision, focusing on sustainability, environmental responsibility, and community engagement within the real estate sector. Their insights, encompassing corporate social responsibility, eco-restoration projects, and the role of partnerships in transformative development, offer a glimpse into the organization's commitment to reshaping Indian real estate with a sustainable and community-centric approach. For a comprehensive understanding, delve into the detailed interview featuring these industry leaders.
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Q. Can you provide an overview of Embassy Taurus TechZone's strategic vision and objectives in the broader context of real estate development and its role within the Taurus Investment Holdings and Embassy Group?
A. Embassy Taurus TechZone (ETTZ) is an asset jointly developed by Taurus Investment Holdings. It is Embassy Group’s first foray into the Kerala market. ETTZ is a part of the Downtown Trivandrum project, a mixed-use development with seamless integration of commercial, retail, entertainment, and hospitality experiences. With the demand for Grade A commercial real estate and thriving business ecosystems expected to witness soaring growth in Kerala driven by Trivandrum’s booming IT, ITeS, and BPM (Business Process Management) sectors, ETTZ is poised to meet this demand with its future-first, state-of-the-art, and sustainability-centric office spaces.
Q. How does the organization integrate and implement policies related to sustainability, environmental protection, and community engagement in its real estate projects, and what impact do these policies have on the overall development approach?
A. As part of our overall development approach, we aim to work towards increasing our use of renewable energy, reducing the energy consumption footprint of existing facilities, offsetting residual emissions, investing in improving energy efficiency, and partnering with our key corporate occupiers, suppliers, and vendors to develop joint action plans towards reducing emissions. Further, we aim to work with our corporate occupiers to make the most of our scarce resources and collaborate to enable economic and social benefits for the communities around us. We believe that our ESG focus is in line with the broader goals of our global corporate occupiers. This gives us a significant competitive advantage in our business.
Above all, we reach out to local leaders, collaborate with knowledgeable non-profits, and work with the government to maximise the impact of our expertise towards addressing the magnitude of our challenges.
Q. What motivated Embassy Taurus to initiate the 'Go Green' eco-restoration project in collaboration with the Indian Racing League and the Forest Department, Kerala?
A. Protecting our climate, our air, and our water poses a daunting challenge as development accelerates. In our corporate environment responsibility (CER) Action Plan, we are focused on making a measured, sustained positive impact in communities and on the environment. We were extremely excited when the Principal of Team Godspeed Kochi of the Indian Racing League (IRL) reached out to us with the idea of a Go Green campaign, where a tree would be planted for every lap taken by his racing team. The Forest Department, Government of Kerala (GoK), joined as a partner, and it was up to us to fuel this eco-restoration drive with a speed twist. Shortly, we will be showcasing this initiative through a visual expression under the Kazhakootam Flyover to remind our stakeholders of how we can live in harmony with nature.
Q. Can you provide details on how the company plans to engage local communities in the eco-restoration project, specifically in spreading awareness around issues like air pollution, road safety, waste management, and prevention of drug abuse?
A. Creating wealth through engaged stakeholders and working in harmony with nature is the bedrock of our philosophy. Our vision for Trivandrum manifests this belief.
We are doubling up our engagement with Trivandrum through a slew of CER initiatives that will make a lasting impact through 1) better waste management practices, 2) enabling sports as a life choice, and a powerful antidrug statement. 3) sensitising children and the public about air standards, promoting Go Green campaigns, and eco-restoration 4) building awareness about road safety and safe driving practices.
We scouted for committed NGOs passionate about these causes, did our diligence, and offered to team up with them. This led us to partner with Green Worms, Team Godspeed Kochi and IRL, and The Little Flower Football Academy (LIFFA), Trivandrum. Green Worms has been engaged in waste management since 2014 and is today a Circular Economy Transition Company. The tie-up with GodspeedKochi, an F3, F4 racing team of IRL, along with DoF and GoK, is our first burst of support for eco-restoration, and our baby steps to sensitising folks on air quality and road safety. Another organisation, LIFFA, that we have tied up nurtures and coaches the untapped potential of youths of the coastal villages, moving them away from the dragnets of unemployment, drug abuse, etc. and raising them as shining role models for the community. Founded in June 2015 as a residential football academy, LIFFA has produced 13 players who represented the Kerala State team and 36 players who represented the Trivandrum and Pathanamthitta district teams across all age groups.
On the anvil are plans to bring back the lush greens of Trivandrum and its surroundings and to rejuvenate the local ecology and biodiversity through the nurturing of native species.
Q. How does Embassy Taurus approach sustainability, innovation, and community development within its real estate projects, and what principles guide its operations in the IT/ITeS sector, particularly in the context of Taurus Downtown Trivandrum and other associated developments?
A. As the real estate industry continues to progress towards sustainability, there is a need for greater collaboration, transparency, and innovation to create a greener and more equitable future for all. This allies with the overall approach of Embassy Group and Taurus Investment Holdings, to uplift the communities around our projects. We hope to engage IT/ITeS companies in collaborative CSR projects within the business park.
Both the buildings within Embassy Taurus TechZone will be LEED Gold-rated and offer quality, sustainable, and energy-efficient workspaces. The project is an efficient infrastructure integrated with elevators, generators, HVAC, and life safety systems. The buildings are RPWD (Right to Persons with Disabilities) Act compliant and will be certified by the British Safety Council.
Q. Can you elaborate on the role of Embassy Group in shaping and supporting CSR initiatives within the real estate development sector, and how does it align with the group's overall vision and values?
A. Embassy Group believes in nurturing and contributing to the economic, social, and environmental development of the communities around which it operates. We work largely in the areas of providing education, health, and infrastructure support to our government schools across India, as well as creating an ecologically sound replicable model Gram Panchayat in North Bengaluru to propagate sustainable waste, water, and soil management.
We believe that in-depth societal impact cannot take place in a silo. Driven by this idea, we advocated for collaboration in corporate social responsibility. In 2016, we introduced a unique platform known as the “Corporate Connect Programme,” which champions partnerships between corporates, the government, and non-profits with the aim of achieving social development.
As a real estate developer, we are in a unique position to collaborate with the corporate occupiers of our business parks towards a shared vision for our communities. A key example would be our partnership with our corporate occupier, ANZ, and NGO partner, Bangalore North Round Table Trust, to construct a brand new school for the Govt. Model Primary School, Thanisandra, in Bengaluru. This is the third government school build project we’ve undertaken with ANZ. To date, we have collaborated with over 40 partners on 70+ projects in the spaces of education, health, infrastructure, and COVID-19 relief. We encourage other real estate developers and corporates to advocate for collaboration within the CSR space, as it will enable us to achieve much more than we would by ourselves.
Q. How does the organization balance its commitment to eco-restoration projects with its business interests and obligations in the real estate and IT/ITeS sectors?
A. Eco-restoration and business interests are not mutually exclusive. A robust ESG programme is a necessity in today’s business climate, with socially conscious investors and other stakeholders interested in a company’s stance on certain socio-economic factors, sustainability, and corporate governance. Further, it provides long-term value for this business while mitigating negative effects on the environment and society.
Balancing a commitment to eco-restoration projects with business interests in real estate and IT/ITeS requires a strategic and integrated approach. With that in mind, we aim to create a holistic framework that puts sustainability at the very core of our business and all its functions. Throughout our business parks, we are committed to providing health- and well-being-focused workplaces for all our stakeholders, including our occupiers and employees, while also adhering to globally recognised sustainable and wellness standards.
Q. Can you share insights into Taurus Investment Holdings' global perspective on corporate responsibility, especially in the realms of commercial and residential real estate development?
A. Corporate social responsibility on a global level calls for protecting People, Planet and Progress, which translates into the facets of ESG. The differentiator for Taurus is its multidiscipline expertise. By empowering and combining the strength of in-house experts in the fields of multifamily, office, logistics, and renewable energy, we have created targeted, scalable investment strategies in 30 countries on three continents for our partners. And at the core of it are our ESG principles.
At Taurus, we believe that the prudent management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues forges a better business and a better world.
Taurus also understands the urgency for real estate owners and operators to assume a larger responsibility in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and intends to steer the sector’s efforts to tackle climate change. We do realise that ESG is not a standalone process. Also, as a conscious steward of our investors’ capital, Taurus recognises the critical role real estate plays in the commerce and wellbeing of the communities we serve, in addition to the importance of care and respect for employees and business partners alike.
We have therefore adopted a multi-pronged approach. While we actively identify material ESG issues and incorporate ESG standards into our business, we also persistently refine programmes across all levels of our governance to ensure that:
- We will, to the fullest extent possible, take into consideration ESG dimensions in our investment analysis and portfolio management processes.
- We will endeavour to sustain our pioneer status in the evolution of ESG practices within the real estate investment management industry.
- We will seek to evolve the ESG narrative through our thought leadership and continuously improve our own ESG oversight and metrics tracking.
- We will communicate our ESG goals and progress against these goals to our owners and partners as part of our commitment to transparency and accountability.
Q. How does the partnership with Team Godspeed Kochi and the Indian Racing League align with Embassy Taurus’s broader objectives, and what impact does it aim to achieve through this collaboration? How can such collaborative mechanisms, including NGOs and other social sector stakeholders, expedite the efforts of the organisation?
A. As participants in the government’s vision, we at Embassy Taurus are keen to contribute through responsible and transformative development, besides doing our bit of CER activities.
Collaboration mandates the coming together of people who have the skill, the means, the time, and that shared vision that turns beneficiaries into advocates, and it loops into one sustained transformative process. We do realise that sustainable development is an ongoing process and not a single event, and it necessitates strong and enduring partnerships among stakeholders who believe in that one vision and shared goals. So collaboration is key.
The Go Green initiative, along with Team GodSpeedKochi and IRL, is a one-of-a-kind campaign that has at its heart our responsibility to keep the environment green, combined with charting development and business in harmony with nature and in concurrence with our vision for Trivandrum. Racing is a niche and high-performance sport. When they come forward to do their bit to green the environment, it is a declaration about how important this beautiful blue planet and its well-being are to those connected, even to racing. They want to give back to Mother Nature, to the clean air, and to the generations to come.
Q. As the company looks to the future, how does it plan to integrate sustainability and CSR practices in its upcoming real estate projects? Furthermore, what role does the organization envisage playing in advancing environmental responsibility within the industry through its initiatives?
A. Sustainability and CSR will continue to play a vital role in our existing and future real estate projects. With our CSR and broader ESG focus aligning with those of our global corporate occupiers, this has been a competitive advantage and a strong differentiator. Overall, the Indian commercial real estate sector is still at a nascent stage of adopting a holistic and structured ESG framework. By assuming a leadership role in this context, we have the opportunity to set the tone for reshaping ESG best practices in Indian commercial real estate.
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