Eco-friendly efforts earn SmartCity Kochi iNFHRA’s FM Excellence Award

Kochi, March 17:  SmartCity Kochi won industry body iNFHRA’s FM Excellence Award 2019-2020 in the category of 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 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 amongst its members and encourage ‘best practice’ in the industry to improve positioning and competitiveness, the organisation also interacts with international partners to promote the 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 environment management.

SmartCity Kochi CEO Manoj Nair, while hailing the iNFHRA award, as a “great honor 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 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 per cent. 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 optimize 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. iNFHRA aims at representing on all national and local bodies to be able to convey industry viewpoints, as also communicate and debate issues relating to public-private partnerships for economic development.

The 246-acre SmartCity Kochi is a joint venture company formed by the Kerala government and Dubai Holding.