ASB wins LEED's Gold rating for Green Buildings

Thiruvananthapuram- Asian School of Business (ASB), Kerala's premier B-school, has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's (LEED) highest Gold rating for its state-of-the-art green campus.
After a rigorous evaluation process, ASB became a LEED Gold Certified Campus winning the required base points. With this, ASB has become the first educational campus in Kerala to achieve this prestigious certification - a hallmark for energy efficient and self-sufficient sustainable buildings.

ASB has won the certification under the New Construction program of LEED-India, which is the green building rating system that helps to guide and design high-performance commercial buildings. Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) is the certifying authority.

Mr. George M Thomas, Patron, ASB, and Mr. Biju S Nair, Project Manager, ASB received the award from Mr. C N Raghavendran, Chairman, IGBC, Chennai Chapter.

Expressing happiness over this feat, Mr. George M Thomas said, "By going green, ASB has had both tangible and intangible benefits. Power consumption has reduced by 20 per cent and consumption of potable water has come down by 30 per cent. Enhanced health and safety of the students and faculty, heightened comfort and productivity are some of the other benefits."

A typical ‘green building' demonstrates energy saving, water saving, reduced soil waste, lower green house gas emission, enhanced indoor air and environment quality besides less use of virgin materials by conserving natural resources.

Photo Caption - Mr. George M Thomas, Patron, Asian School of Business (ASB) receiving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's (LEED) highest Gold rating Award for green buildings from Mr. C N Raghavendran, Chairman, Indian Green Building Council, Chennai Chapter. Mr. Biju S Nair, Project Manager, ASB is also seen.

Spread over sixteen acres of land along the Trivandrum-Kollam National Highway, the campus was designed by Singapore-based multinational architectural services provider CPG Consultants. Jones Lang LaSalle, a leading agency in energy and sustainable services, provided the project management and green building consultancy.

Mr. G Vijayaraghavan, Member, Kerala State Planning Board and Member Secretary, ASB, said, "Efforts for this achievement began from the stage of site selection, and continued into the master planning and final finishing of the building. We have encouraged the use of construction materials with high recycled content. Even in landscaping, we have gone in for low water consuming local plants such as yellow showers and areca palms."

Some other highlights behind the construction of campus, which houses dedicated blocks for academic activity, library and hostel, included erosion and sedimentation control measures to reduce the negative impacts of water and air quality; limited earth work and clearing of vegetation; and implementation of rain water harvesting, among others.

Prof S Rajeev, Director, ASB, said, "Our campus is a brilliant demonstration how eco-sensitivity and high-end technology can be seamlessly brought together. All of us at the institution take pride in this achievement."

Access to the campus is electronically controlled. Wi-Fi connections allow anytime and quick access to data in the campus that has a built-up area of 1.25 lakh sq. ft. ASB offers the AICTE-approved two-year Post Graduation in Management. Activities for creating a managerial mindset (ACMM) such as presentations, management games and quizzes are an integral part of this full-time residential programme.