Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Pvt. Ltd. strives to minimise  the adverse effects of its business activities on the environment as a responsible industry member. Godrej Construction uses the “Recover, Recycle, and Rebuild” concept to recycle concrete debris and produce various prefabricated concrete products.

Which features of your RMC offering asset you apart from the competition?
Godrej is always committed to preserving the environment and aims for more sustainable development.  In line with our core values, Godrej construction (GC) has implemented various initiatives  ross its lines of  business. This helps GC achieve its objective of sustainable and responsible  construction. Godrej Construction has received the ‘Green Pro’ certificate from the Indian Green Building  Council IGBC) for their RMC products such as Enviro TUFF, Xtra TUFF, Easy TUFF  and other construction materials such as  TUFF Blocks AAC, Recycled Concrete Blocks and Pavers, making them  beneficial for use in green buildings. Our 3 RMC plants in the Mumbai-MMR and Pune region have been commended with the GreenPro Certification by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

Our Construction Materials team has undertaken various pioneering initiatives over the last few years to  address multiple challenges faced by our customers within the Real Estate and  construction industry. We have leveraged digital technology by developing a unique mobile application, the first of its kind in the industry, known as the Godrej Go Tuff app. The Godrej Go Tuff  pp  s enabled with convenient features like real-time delivery tracking, which ensures transparency to optimise and manage every step of construction material supply from order to delivery.

Considering the difficulties faced by  our customers, we have introduced the mobile application named “Godrej Go TUFF App” to address issues in the delivery phases of Ready Mix Concrete. From on-site concrete-testing vans to  Construction Materials app, Ready Mix Concrete. From on-site concrete-testing vans to Construction Materials app, From on-site concrete-testing vans to the Construction Materials Godrej Go Tuff app, we provide unique and efficient services that ensure the highest product standards and customer satisfaction. The Concrete Testing Squad Van by Godrej construction offers a quality testing service at your worksite. It enables faster turnaround of the approval process of ready-mix concrete mix designs by our customers, as the results, mix design trial, cube testing,  compressive strength, and sieve testing can be measured in a few hours.

Can you tell us about the concrete solutions and technologies used at your cutting-edge manufacturing facility?
Godrej Construction has set up  an automated Recycled Concrete Materials (RCM) manufacturing plant at Vikhroli, Mumbai. This industrial plant manufactures concrete blocks for walls and  pavers using concrete  debris recycled from demolished concrete structures from building and infrastructure projects, which would otherwise end up in overflowing city landfills. In India, concrete debris is a  major waste stream in the overall C&D waste generated. We have recycled over 25,000 metric tonnes of concrete debris by implementing circular economy principles in our  construction materials line of business. The recycled concrete materials from this plant are also used for customised prefabricated concrete products such as box culverts, ducts, and drain covers,  which are used for major infrastructure projects in Mumbai.

Can you shed some light on your  Ready-Mix Concrete plant and Recycled Mix Concrete Plant?
Our Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC) plant, Recycled Concrete Materials (RCM)  plant, and the common areas of Mumbai’s Godrej Business District building are now powered entirely by renewable  energy.  Godrej Construction is one of the first in the RMC industry to switch to 100percent green energy. This recycled concrete manufacturing plant is one of the rare few and perhaps the largest such unit in the country. As  cities like Mumbai grow older, construction and demolition waste management will  become a major cause of concern for  ensuring sustainable development in the town. We have made an early start to demonstrating our commitment towards sustainable development. We hope many others in the industry will follow in the endeavour to build more  sustainable construction products for the benefit of future generations. The industry’s mindset needs to change towards cleaner production of raw materials and  better circular construction  methods to help reduce energy intensity and the environmental footprint of the construction sector.

How is 3DPC technology helping you obtain accuracy and precision in  complicated designs and structures?
Construction 3D printing (3DCP) can enable the faster and more precise creation of complicated and bespoke structures and objects. 3DCP technology could optimise the design of buildings and infrastructure to use fewer raw materials while decreasing labour costs. Addressing the growing need for improving productivity and sustainability within the real estate and infrastructure sectors, Godrej Construction recently partnered with Tvasta, an indigenous start-up founded by IIT-Madras alums, to develop a bus shelter using 3D Printing Technology. The Bus Shelter was 3D printed within 32 hrs and assembled on site within 8 hrs, thereby speeding up the construction process that would otherwise take weeks to execute using traditional construction methods. To encourage the adoption of circular economy principles in the construction industry, Godrej Construction, in collaboration with Tvasta, has created for the first time a very sustainable concrete mix design that contains approximately 30 percent recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) sourced from concrete debris recycled at the Godrej Recycled Concrete Plant in Vikhroli, Mumbai. In the future, Godrej  Construction and Tvasta aim to pioneer  the use of 3DCP technology to develop appropriate sustainable infrastructure projects, housing solutions, disaster relief structures, national defence-related applications and other public amenities in  India and globally.

What are your thoughts on recycling RMC and other building materials in construction projects?
Globally, the construction sector is amongst the largest consumers of natural raw materials. For an industry vulnerable to raw material supply problems and price volatility, it does make sense to focus on resource efficiency  and the reuse of materials. According to a report released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in 2020, India recycles just one per cent of its construction and demolition (C&D) waste. As per an estimate prepared by  the Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) and the Centre for Fly Ash Research and Management (C-FARM) in 2016, the  construction waste generated in India was approximately 165–175 million tonnes annually. The demand for building materials is expected to increase with new buildings and infrastructure  projects. However, a crisis looms in the construction sector as there is a growing shortage of building materials. Globally, it is now established that adopting improved construction processes could reduce the adverse impacts on the environment and that reusing C&D waste is a viable alternative.

As per the World Green Building Council’s report, building and construction are responsible for 39 percent of all carbon emissions in the world, with operational emissions (from energy used to heat, cool, and light buildings) accounting for 28 percent. The remaining 11 percent comes from embodied carbon  emissions associated with materials and construction processes throughout the
building lifecycle. Broad-based recycling of construction materials coupled with smart design could substantially reduce CO2 emissions generated by buildings. As responsible industry players, we make  every effort to help minimise the adverse impact of our business operations on the  environment. At Godrej Construction, we  follow the “Recover, Recycle and Rebuild” principles to recycle  concrete debris to produce prefabricated concrete products  such as building blocks, pavers, trenches, ducts, and other customised precast  concrete products. AAC blocks, Recycled Concrete Blocks  and pavers offered by Godrej Construction are IGBC Green Pro certified.