About Us

Chandrashekhar  Hariharan

When our ancients entered a forest, they expected to meet the Spirits or the Gods. When we enter the woods today, we think of what we can earn from it. When our forefathers looked at the clouds, they sang paeans of praise at the power of the mighty elements. When we look at those clouds today, we think of how many inches of rainfall we can get. Is there a life and living we can offer as legacy to our children?
C. Hariharan

Introduction:
Leaving a legacy to our children is what Dr Hariharan is trying to do.  Protecting our environment is becoming a buzzword today with many urbanites but many contradictions emerge along side. While there are concerns about protecting rainforest, endangered species, and reducing our footprint, it is often difficult for an ordinary man to make these choices given the urban compulsions we live in. There are very few people in this world, who have taken the challenge to bring together apparently divergent paths of environmental protection and the so called development, and have been able to prove successfully that we can be sensitive to environment without compromising on the way we live.  If we don’t even attempt to follow then it would be a loss for our generation and a missed opportunity, to offer a legacy to our children that they can be proud of inheriting.

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION INDIA LIMITED (BCIL)-Journey and achievements
BCIL is a builder-technology enterprise set up by Dr. Hariharan to mainstream sustainability in urban sphere in 1995. Thirteen years later, the idea is a Rs 30 Crore enterprise that employs about 120 of country’s talented people from different streams, who take environmental challenges of the day to provide a living space for people who respect not one but all six strands of environment  i.e. earth, energy, air, waste, water, air and biomass.
BCIL has been able to create two million square feet of sustainable residential space for urbanites, far above the standards of conventional residential buildings, over and above any building codes that exist in this country or perhaps globally. To someone who has not had a chance to see the latest that BCIL offered to about 100 home owners in Bangalore recently, may seem like an overstatement, but these doubts can be easily removed by visiting the campus itself or by the recognition that campus is getting from national and international quarters. Recently BCIL T ZED received the first international award (Ryutaro Hashimoto APFED Award by Ministry of Environment Japan) given for a residential building complex for mainstreaming sustainability in India. BCIL is recognized as the largest ‘sustainable built environment’ enterprise in the country, and was conferred Spectrum Award for sustainable architecture twice, was presented TERI corporate environmental initiatives award in 2003. In 2005, it received the All India Practising Architects Award for sustainable architecture. Dr Hariharan, is the only Indian among eight Asians chosen as Water Champion by ADB in 2005 among such experts working 63 nations in Asia.
BCIL’s journey began with Trans Indus, its first residential complex in Bangalore which was built around a theme of ‘healing the land’ as it was created on a rocky piece of land. It is now a lush green haven now, and is considered amongst the top ten most coveted properties in Bangalore and received several awards. This was followed by other properties such as Townsend, T Zed Homes, and Collective. It would be reaching many more milestones in its new project, ‘Red Earth’.  BCIL is now extending its work out of Bangalore to Mysore (Expanse), Goa (Gaia) and Coorg (Little Acre).

BCIL T ZED: BCIL best is global best
There are many eco houses built all around the world, but why T ZED is special for BCIL is because it is a watershed in the way sustainable buildings are made anywhere in the globe. T zed is the first multi unit and multi storied residential complex to be independent of municipal water and waste connection.  T ZED’s holistic closed loop system has been the world’s only known example of a multi unit residential building that not only saves all water that falls on the campus and leaves no waste for others to treat, yet it remains water positive i.e. it adds water to the depleted aquifers rather than emptying them. (There is not a single established example of such a ‘Grow Your Own Water’ program anywhere in the world, attest global experts of this unique project at Bangalore.)
Why this should be considered as one of the best examples across the globe of a multi unit residential holistic closed loop system is because when the comparison is made with the world’s best known, most talked about examples of sustainable housing, none has been able to achieve hundred percent water sustainability and self sufficiency as in this case.  What makes it even more unique is that this is the vision of one relatively small enterprise spearheaded in the early years by one man and a motley group of professionals who had more commitment than competence as a team; it is a completely private sector initiative without any governmental incentive or donor support; and this was not built in a country where there are any incentives for carbon and water saving or building sustainably like our western counterparts.
The world’s best known and most celebrated examples of  sustainable buildings are BED ZED and INTEGER in UK, Aldo Leopold Legacy Centre in USA (First building to get highest LEED score), Dockside Green in Canada (World’s highest score for LEED rating ever), Christie Walk in Australia, Ecological Housing at Geroldsacker in Germany.  Most of these buildings worked on the same principles of ecological sensitivity, say by using local, non-toxic building materials with low embodied energy and high water efficiency; by reducing energy consumption through passive designs and highly energy efficient lighting and appliances;  reducing water consumption by using water-efficient fixtures and harvesting water, by reducing and treating waste;  by using non-toxic materials and paints and using CFC-free appliances to improve air quality and to improve the microclimate of the land zone. While it is understandable that most of these buildings have achieved what has been most appropriate for the regions, the only building that comes close to BCIL T ZED’s closed loop is Dockside Green of Canada, but that building is still dependent on mains for water, although it treats all of its waste water onsite, just like in T ZED.
What is significant is that while all those projects were backed by donor funds/ governmental support or were backed by communities who wanted to live in such houses, T Zed initiative was completely driven by hard market realities, with the challenge of borrowing at commercial lending rates, and the more formidable task of realising market revenues on sale of properties to 91 families (at that time an uncertain, untested market) which bought largely for the economic reason of price competitiveness, but also were prompted by the greater number of benefits of buying into such a green building as TZed which saves them substantial amounts of up to Rs 600,000 in six years, over an average investment of Rs 7 million per property, which is on a par on price with properties in the neighbourhood. On a direct comparison with any regular builder property, TZed stands out for the staggering number of additional benefits that the property offers to a customer – all this accomplished with no support whatsoever from either the Government or any other external agency in terms of subsidies or finance-in-assistance.

T ZED and Conventional Buildings
While it has been presented that T Zed fares as one of the best examples globally, it is important to know how it fares in comparison with conventional buildings in the neighbourhood. T ZED is designed to use some 60% less energy than a conventional building, some 40% less water but without withdrawing a drop from the municipal mains and discharges no waste compared to 22 million litres annually discharged by a conventional building of comparable size. The added advantage of living here is that the temperatures are optimum for living, air quality is much better, and there are savings to be made by residents not only from consuming less water and energy, but also from certified carbon credits through emission savings that this building will soon get.
Understanding these achievements at a larger scale would mean that if 10,000 families get an opportunity to stay in T ZED type housing, daily municipal water saving will be around 10 million litres or should we say about 20 million litres as half the water gets lost on the way (T & D losses are on the average 50% in Indian cities) and roughly half the energy. At the macro level, therefore, this solitary example of such demonstrated benefits should inspire builders and planners alike to create more such projects to promote sustainability for water and energy resources and waste management in the urban context.

The Path Ahead
“You must be the change that you wish to see in the world.” As Mahatma Gandhi said in his pithy style, BCIL is making that change and is on a growth path.
The idea is to reduce, if not eliminate, our dependence on city infrastructure for energy, water and waste, but we will soon be achieving the impossible i.e. eliminating totally our dependence on grid energy, municipal water and waste going to be showcased in BCIL’s next project called ‘Red Earth’ which will come up in Northern Bangalore.
That is not the end of what BCIL wants to achieve; it is the beginning. BCIL, through its social arm called Alt Tech Foundation, will be implementing Urban Water Supply projects in some of the most fragile ecosystems of India. The Foundation is working on prototypes for affordable housing that are scalable and replicable, and  is sharing its expertise on energy and water resources through 'The Green Idea Lab, another division that offers professional consulting on green buildings to corporates, individuals, hoteliers, hospitals and others.
As Lester Brown says, we already have what it takes to make the change that is required to save our natural resources and our Earth. Now, the onus is on us to make these choices that are available to bring the change that is long overdue.

Dr Shashi Kad
The writer is a doctorate in geology, and a Masters in Environmental Change and Management from Oxford University, the UK. She has worked as a policy researcher with distinguished organisations in the UK and in Japan, apart from coordinating global environment and development awards.  Dr Kad was conferred the Young Scientist of the Year in 2004. Her writing this piece is an expression of her own commitment to sustainability in action, and her conviction that TZed is among the rare pioneering projects in sustainable buildings.

Some of the most revolutionary ideas in the world have quiet, unknown beginnings.

Like BCIL.

Of course, you haven’t heard of BCIL. You hadn’t heard of Walter Hunt, the inventor of the safety pin, either. Or Ferdinand Carre, the Frenchman who made the world’s first refrigerator. But look how these people changed the way you live.

At BCIL we have been, quietly, doing much the same.

Sure, we care about the environment.
We try to do more than our bit for a greener planet. We dare to defy the conventional by offering design approaches that demand greater skills from ourselves. We deliver ecologically the sustainable living solution. We believe conservation is possible in the urban context.

We believe that, as a small group of dreamers and doers, we can make a tangible difference without sacrificing our professional careers.

We are sure there have been times when you have been moved by some exciting idea. May be you never did anything about it. You probably didn’t even share it with your best friend.

But there’s one place where ideas are constantly happening. BCIL.
Here, you will find people like yourself. People who are constantly thinking. And working towards realizing their thoughts.

When you meet them and talk to them you will probably find in them a reflection of your own aspirations.

Not Chandrashekar Hariharan (50), a chartered accountant who has evolved into a lateral, alternative-technology professional over 20 years of work in districts of India, on sustainable buildings and in areas of sustainable built environment.

Not A. Ramasamy (65), a Corporate Manager who belies his age with his razor-sharp intellect. He brings poise and strong direction to process and maturity of management of BCIL’s people resources and our leadership bandwidth.

Not even Venkatesh Shanmugam (42), an IT entrepreneur of the 90’s, who turned an HR consulting person, before moving into BCIL to steer the difficult challenge of liaison and legals, apart from bringing maturity to land assets management.

Not LN Balaji (39), a ‘financial engineer’ who has put to use his ability as a Chartered Accountant to learn the ropes of organization development; his knowledge and experience spans work in Africa in the tourism sector and the telecom sector. Presiding over financial directions and strategic organization development goals at BCIL is a job he enjoys.

Not Harsha Sridhar (32), a committed green architect who has been a conscience-keeper of BCIL’s core values, heading as he does a team of design professionals and driving project directions creatively. Sustainable architecture is key to his work, while not losing sight of urban comfort and convenience.

Not V. T. Sunil, who has touched lives of about 9,000 farmers in districts spanning Rajasthan to Tamil Nadu, offering low cost agricultural technologies and solutions to indigent farmers. He has taken an unusual path at BCIL of spearheading the HR challenge! Now, it can’t get any more lateral in an organization, can it?

Not Dr. Brahmanand Mohanty (48), who has been an Advisor at the highest level in governments in Turkey, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and in France. He works, too, in Algeria and other such Francophone countries of the world. His specialization in energy and architecture has inspired vigorous, new, contemporary directions for BCIL’s challenges of green construction.

The only Boss we recognize at BCIL is the Big Idea.

And our task is to “rear that tender thought,

To teach the young idea how to shoot.”

So where has BCIL been led by these challenges in diverse areas?

The ideas-led approaches at BCIL has marked the organization as a clear leader in pioneering building technologies and building management systems in India today.

There can be no better compliment than a ‘competitor’ in the real estate segment in Bangalore, Vakil Developers, writing in their website about BCIL: “We are not environment-conscious developers. No, that distinction solely belongs to BCIL. Truly, an outstanding effort. Worthy of recognition and applause. We have a lot to learn (from BCIL) and miles to go.”

BCIL has offered homes to over 400 happy families, with clear directions that celebrate sustainable architecture. We are today the largest green residential developers in India. We have built, in the past, the most coveted properties and had some of the legendary corporate leaders of India today as clients. BCIL is set out to create a thousand more homes in just the next 3 years.

We are small. We believe in keeping our reflex supple, and retaining personal connect with our customers and stakeholders.

We are seeking to inspire students and professionals of architecture and various disciplines of engineering.

We are constantly thinking out of the box to derive solutions to building homes and workspaces that consume less energy in the making and critically in energy savings that they can bring to users of such buildings over long years.

We have learnt to be hard task masters when it comes to doing what we do.

At the end of the day, it is this constant traction that gives us the energy more and to beyond ourselves.

BCIL has secured many discerning awards for sustainable architecture over the years.

The organization is building depth of management in a bid to professionalize the operations, as well as to ensure that each of us secure autonomy to lead.

After all, a leader company cannot be built without leaders.

Tomorrow our ideas will steer us into new directions. They will take us to creating grid-free housing colonies and tourism destinations, with 100% independence from the energy grid, from municipal water supply, and external sewerage boards.

They will take us to creating low-energy offices that herald a new future of construction in the world.

They will take us to creating more path-finding solutions for urban living as well as for people in the smaller towns and villages of India.

Yes, our ideas will take us on many such rewarding journeys.

Wouldn’t it, therefore, be wonderful if you could stay in touch with BCIL?