Dear friends,

At the outset, I wish to extend hearty congratulations to Dr Kalaignar M Karunanidhi, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for his passion and commitment to construct the World's First "Green" Legislative Assembly Building in Chennai.

I am delighted to inform that the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Building has been awarded the prestigious LEED-India NC Gold Rating by the Indian Green Building Council(IGBC).

We all are indeed honoured to be associated with the Government of Tamil Nadu in its defining moment of joy and pride.

As we look ahead for another promising year, I recollect the Copenhagen Summit held in December 2009, which has scripted a new chapter in reiterating the need and importance of going "Green" and pursuing ecologically sustainable business growth models.

It is encouraging to learn that environmental concerns and issues are gaining its due prominence, which is indeed a healthy sign and augurs well for the future.

Sensitivity and level of awareness on issues pertaining to "Planet Earth" are on the rise. It is heartening that customers are demanding eco-friendly products and technologies, which in turn have facilitated the market transformation of "Green" products.

The Green Building Congress 2009 is a case in point where over 120 Green products and technologies were displayed at the exhibition, and was well received by over 5000 stakeholders. Over 1400 national and international participants attended the Conference.

It is estimated that the market potential for Green Building products and technologies would be about USD 40 Billion by 2012.

We in CII believe that "Green makes Business sense" and adherence to this mantra can ensure a healthy bottom-line, whilst also protecting and preserving "Planet Earth".

The IGBC Green Factory Building Rating System launched in July 2009 is a step in this direction. This Rating System for upcoming industrial buildings addresses National priorities, such as energy & water efficiency, resource conservation, workmen health & productivity, etc. It is hoped the IGBC Green Factory Building Rating System will enable the factory buildings breathe more freely, and make a positive difference to the environment.

Another positive and promising development is that today we have over 500 Green Building projects registered in the country, amounting to over 33.44 Million Square Meters of Green Building footprint. This indeed is a milestone in the Green Building Movement of India, and we thank all the IGBC stakeholders for making this difference.

I am glad to inform that the signatories to the "CII- Code for Ecologically Sustainable Business Growth" have crossed the 400 mark, and over 60 organisations have already initiated the implementation of "CII – Code" by taking up several projects to improve energy efficiency, water efficiency, share of RE & GHG emission reduction etc., resulting in a reduction of about 348,000 Tons of CO2 annually.

I call upon all the Captains of Industry to express their commitment to the CII-Code, to foster and promote ecologically and sustainable business growth models, and pave way for India to become a global leader in "Green Businesses."

The promising New Ventures India (NVI) initiative is progressing well and has facilitated investments of over INR 110 Crore in 14 Green SMEs. We are sure, in the days to come, NVI will provide greater impetus to all those entrepreneurs who are willing to adopt an 'out-of-box' approach, and develop ecologically superior and economically viable business models. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the future belongs to those "who think and do Green".

I wish to thank all my friends at the World Resources Institute(WRI), Asia Pacific Partnership (APP), British High Commission, USAID and Citi Foundation for their unconditional support in steering forward the New Ventures India initiative. It is hoped the Case Study Booklet on Renewable Energy released by Dr Farooq Abdullah, Hon'ble Union Minister, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) at Green Power 2009 will further facilitate the adoption of Renewable Energy technologies in a much bigger way.

The visit of US Secretary of State Ms Hillary Clinton to ITC Green Centre at Gurgaon, and Mr Timothy J Roemer, US Ambassador to India to CII-Godrej GBC, has scripted a new era of a thriving Partnership between India and US. We look forward to a similar relationship with other Partner Countries. I am happy to inform that the Government of Rajasthan has allotted 3 acres of land to establish the Water Institute at Jaipur, which would add a new dimension to the activities of CII.

The initiative taken to set up "World Class Energy Efficiency" in Cement, Power and Pulp & Paper is progressing well. We have also released the Paper Manual- Vol-II, Cement Formulae Hand Book, and the Manual on Waste Heat Recovery, which is receiving good response from the industry.

I take this opportunity to thank all the Chairmen and Steering Committee Members who have played a catalytic role in ensuring success of all the events conducted by CII-Godrej GBC. These events have provided an ideal platform for information dissemination and sharing of experiences, which will go a long way in making India the 'Green Intellectual Capital'of the world.

Finally, I sincerely thank Dr Prem C Jain, Mr Pradeep Dhobale, Mr N K Ranganath, Mr Ramesh Kymal, Mr Pradeep Bhargava Mr Vijay Chandok - 'Council Chairmen of CII-Godrej GBC' for all their support and cooperation in Centre's efforts in "Greening India".

Together we can make the difference!

Regards

Jamshyd N Godrej