Press Release, Mumbai, 23 August, 2022:
Xynteo, a purpose-driven advisory firm, has launched the Build Ahead Coalition, a business-led alliance bringing together key industry majors –JLL, Godrej Construction, Lodha, JSW Cement, Stichting SED Fund and Shell India.
An industry-first coalition, Build Ahead aims to bring together multiple stakeholders from the construction value chain in India including producers, consumers, financiers, and technology providers to accelerate the use of low carbon building materials, with the goal to support India achieving its net-zero targets by 2070.
Commenting on the announcement, Sandeep Sethi, Managing Director, Work Dynamics – West Asia, JLL said: “We are extremely proud to be a part of Build Ahead to help support the transition towards India achieving a low-carbon future. With the coalition, through collaboration with other partners, we will be able to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment and support the Prime Minister’s pledge of net-zero emissions for India by 2070.”
The coalition is formed to pursue three key goals:
- Enhance the adoption of low-carbon building materials through increased awareness, defining application-based standards and developing common definitions of low-carbon materials
- Improving access to new decarbonisation technologies and finance needed to enable manufacturers of building materials to reduce emissions from the production of these building materials
- Advocating enabling policies to support increased procurement and production of low carbon building materials
Vipul Kumar, Managing Director, Xynteo said: “Today, the world faces an unprecedented climate crisis, necessitating urgent action to limit global warming as compared to pre-industrial levels. The cement and concrete sectors are critical parts of the construction value chain and contribute significantly to the carbon footprint of the built environment. We are proud to launch Build Ahead, bringing together key cement producers, construction companies, technology enablers and financiers. Our goal is to accelerate decarbonisation across the construction value chain towards net-zero emissions and encourage collaboration between industry players and the broader ecosystem to create measurable impact and support the country to meet its climate change goals.”
Over the recent years, the Indian cement sector has made significant progress in adopting ways and practices to reduce carbon emissions towards becoming one of the most energy-efficient sectors in the world. Yet, the mounting climate change crisis necessitates further efforts to reduce global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, including emissions from cement, concrete, steel, and other building materials, as well as emissions from the design, use and end-of-life phases of the construction and infrastructure sectors. To achieve net-zero emissions, the whole value chain needs to collectively commit to adopting low/zero carbon building materials.
To achieve this vision, forward-leaning business leaders in the Build Ahead Coalition will work together to support first movers and de-risk investments to scale innovative decarbonisation technologies and low-carbon building materials by facilitating better access to diverse sources of enabling finance. Through collective action and collaboration, Build Ahead endeavors to reduce embodied emissions through accelerating the demand for low carbon building materials.
Commenting on this launch, Nitin Prasad, Chairman Shell companies in India said: “The Build Ahead coalition aligns with Shell’s Powering Progress strategy. As one of the founding members of the coalition we hope to work with and assist partners in exploring potential low and zero carbon technologies. Our goal is to accelerate the construction value chain towards net zero emissions, by fostering collaboration and thought leadership.”
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About Xynteo
Xynteo is a purpose-driven organisation that helps businesses find new ways to grow by shaping their cultures so they think and act differently; creating innovative, regenerative business models to compete and thrive; and helping clients embrace radical cross-sector, cross-border collaboration so they can tackle systems. Our partnerships and communities include the Xynteo Exchange, Leadership Vanguard, Vikaasa, Europe Delivers, and The Performance Theatre.
Contact email address – buildahead@xynteo.com
About JLL India
JLL is India’s premier and largest professional services firm specialising in real estate. The Firm has grown from strength to strength in India for the past two decades. JLL India has an extensive presence across 10 major cities (Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi and Coimbatore) and over 130 tier-II and III markets with a cumulative strength of close to 12,000 professionals. The Firm provides investors, developers, local corporates and multinational companies with a comprehensive range of services. These include leasing, capital markets, research & advisory, transaction management, project development, facility management and property & asset management. These services cover various asset classes such as commercial, industrial, warehouse and logistics, data centres, residential, retail, hospitality, healthcare, senior living, and education.
About Shell India
Shell is one of the most diversified international energy companies in India, with over 10,000 employees and a presence across upstream, integrated gas, downstream, renewable energy, and deep capabilities in R&D, digitalisation, and business operations. With a retail presence across six states – Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Assam, Shell is expanding its network of fuel stations across the country. It has the entire Lubricants end-to-end value chain in India, from conceptualization and development to production and distribution. Serving 50000 consumers through a robust network of 200+ distributors across B2C and B2B lines of Sales. This includes a world-class lubricant oil blending plant that manages a large supply chain through a network of 4 Regional Distribution Centers and 8 warehouses. The company also fully owns and operates an LNG re-gasification terminal at Hazira. With a focus on digitization and future-ready sustainable solutions, the company is nurturing a vibrant ecosystem in India to accelerate energy innovations with Shell E4 for start-ups, Shell Eco-marathon and investments in new energy companies like Husk Power, d.light, Orb Energy and Cleantech Solar. Shell also remains committed to making positive contributions to the communities in which it operates through programmes like NXplorers, Access to Energy and Road Safety across India.
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