A growing demand for building projects that use environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient materials increased environmental awareness, and rising energy costs have over the past few years spurred a green movement in the construction industry worldwide.

Buildings have been an area of focus for green investment dollars because they are a primary contributor to environmental impact, being the world’s heaviest consumers of natural resources. As a result, organizations seeking to make themselves more green or sustainable have focused their efforts on using environmentally-friendly materials during building construction and improving their buildings’ energy efficiency.

The Green Buildings Council of Sri Lanka is a national, non-profit organization that is committed to developing a sustainable property industry for Sri Lanka by encouraging the adoption of green building practices. The Green Building Council’s vision is to transform the construction industry in Sri Lanka with green building practices and fully adopt sustainability as the means by which our environment flourishes, economy prospers and society grows to ensure the future wellbeing of our planet.

To further promote green building awareness, on 5 October 2012, the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka (GBCSL) organized a Symposium on “Greening the Construction Industry” which was held at Hilton, Colombo. Dr. Naveed Anwar, Executive Director AIT Consulting had the honor of being invited to the symposium. The symposium was opened by a welcome speech by Prof. Ranjith Dissanayake, Chairman, Board of Education & Training of GBCSL, followed by Prof. Sarath Kotagama, Professor of Environmental Science, University of Colomba, who delivered a key note on Greening the Construction Industry. Address by the chief guest Mr. P. H. L. W. Perera, Secretary, Ministry of Construction, Engineering Service and Housing ended the symposium which was followed by a fellowship dinner.