in practice
Charu Dwivedi
the process will break down. Also, the finance department has a system in place for measuring and reporting financial performance, so it’s the logical place to manage carbon reporting. In the real estate sector where you come from, what are the best practices worldwide? Can the Indian real estate sector work towards reduced emissions? Some countries are more advanced in addressing energy and sustainability issues than others, but it is hard to say one regions practices are better for everyone else. It’s a balancing act between nearterm resource needs and the recognition that we can’t go on depleting those resources forever. That balance is going to be different in different places. There are some concepts that hold true everywhere, though. Greater transparency almost always will lead to greater awareness and ultimately better practices. Having a consistent framework is also important, which is why we favour organisations like Greenprint Foundation and the Carbon Disclosure Project Cities programme that can help provide a common ‘language’ for sustainability. Our business is commercial real estate, where the common language often centres on LEED. There are many ways to enhance energy and sustainability in a building, and some of them may be better for the environment than LEED certification, but LEED is an easy way to recognise a building as green. LEED started in the USA but is now recognised in dozens of countries, including India. The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) administers LEED in India, where more than 63 million sq ft of space has been certified and owners of another 800 million sq ft have started the certification process. There are also Energy Benchmarking Standards in India. To compare commercial buildings on various indices derived from energy use data of a sample set of
“Measuring and reporting the data doesn’t directly reduce carbon, but it reveals who is and who is not meeting their goals, just as financial reporting tells us where we stand on revenue and profit goals” more than 860 buildings. These provide a transparent and verifiable standard to benchmark the energy performance of buildings. How will some of these steps help reduce carbon footprints? Ultimately, reducing carbon is about reducing energy consumption, or shifting to non-polluting energy sources like solar and wind. Reducing energy is something everyone can do. Workers can power down their computers at night. Building managers can operate heating and air conditioning systems more effectively. Building owners can invest in automated systems that help
buildings run more efficiently. Corporate leaders can invest in teleconferencing systems to reduce the need for air travel. Cities can create incentives and mandates to encourage efficiency. You need to have engagement at all these levels to achieve real success in reducing carbon emissions. The proper role of the CFO is to ensure that engagement occurs at all levels of the organisation and in every department. Measuring and reporting the data doesn’t directly reduce carbon, but it reveals who is and who is not meeting their goals, just as financial reporting tells us where we stand on revenue and profit goals. january 2012
CFO india
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