Considering the massive scale of construction to meet the affordable housing needs in India, the building materials used in the coming years will become significant drivers of the production and consumption patterns for natural resources. There is an opportunity for India to integrate decarbonisation strategies and circular economy principles in affordable housing development to meet sustainability standards and achieve high environmental performance in the built environment. This approach can simultaneously help generate livelihoods and new economic opportunities through innovative business models and productive utilisation of available secondary resources from industrial wastes, agricultural wastes, and construction and demolition waste.

Further, by aligning with ongoing initiatives at the national level, including Mission LiFE, PMAY, CITIIS, Smart City Mission, and others at the subnational level (for example, Jaga Mission, Shakti Mission, Mukta Mission in Odisha and Mumbai Climate Action Plan, Net-zero targets, Maharashtra New Housing Policy in Maharashtra), India can pioneer new holistic models of sustainable, affordable housing development based on localised, participatory approaches and meet its commitments towards SDGs 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and NDCs.

Development Alternatives has been championing the cause of sustainable buildings for the last four decades. We are working to address supply and demand side bottlenecks in the construction sector value chain to facilitate a transition to low-carbon pathways for the sector by developing a sustainable building materials market in Indian states. This national campaign has been designed as a primary catalyst for achieving both mandates.