Green Office Certification

Necessary Credit Requirement Under NAAC Accreditation Process

Green Office Certification program was implemented in order to raise awareness, educate, and provide measurable guidelines for greening the office environment.

Green audit is a widely used best practice towards institutional growth and development, considering futuristic benefits with revenue mapped model.

NAAC accreditation is mandatory for all the higher learning institutes, particularly state universities. Without NAAC accreditation, universities are not eligible for UGC grants, RUSA grants, financial aid etc. On the other hand, NAAC accreditation determines the quality of the institute in terms of education, infrastructure, research, teaching & learning etc. Institutes with top NAAC grades such as ‘A++’, ‘A+’ and ‘A’ are most sought-after institutes, as they offer high-quality education. On the other, all the recognized institutes of UGC must apply for NBA/ NAAC/ any other accreditation after the completion of the first or second batch of courses.

Green Audit is assigned to the Criteria 7 of NAAC, National Assessment and Accreditation Council which is a self-governing organization of India that declares the institutions as Grade A, Grade B or Grade C according to the scores assigned at the time of accreditation.

Stages of  Green Audit

Pre-Audit

• Plan the audit
• Select the audit team
• Schedule the audit facility
• Acquire the background information Visit the site On-site

During Audit Process on Site : 

• Understand the scope of audit
• Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the internal controls
• Conduct the audit
• Evaluate the observations of audit program
• Prepare a report of the observations side by side

Report Preparation : 

• Produce a draft report of the data collected
• Produce a final report of the observations and the inference with accuracy
• Distribute the final report to the management
• Prepare an action plan to overcome the flaws Keep a watch on the action plan

Benefits of Green Audit : 

There’s an holistic growth and futuristic development through green audit process. If Green Audit is enforced in an effective way then there are many advantages that could be adopted from it.

• Green Audit could help to shield the environment
• Recognize the cost saving methods through waste minimizing and managing strategies
• Point out prevailing and forthcoming complications
• Authenticate conformity with the implemented laws Empower the organizations to frame a better environmental performance
• It portrays a good image of a company which helps building better relationships with the group of stakeholders
• Enhance the alertness for environmental guidelines and duties.

Green Office Certification is the industrial & corporate development approach which recognizes  offices or departments to go green, who outshine in their efforts to restrain negative environmental impacts arising from: energy, waste, transportation and purchasing.

The Green Office Certification approach is aimed at reducing the campus environmental footprint, one office at a time.

SCOPE & PURPOSE  :

Purpose is to focus on encouraging behavioral changes that will have a large impact on office water and energy consumption as well as waste reduction.

Green Office Certification program supports, promotes, and recognizes offices that are engaging in sustainable practices.  Offices may achieve certification based on the score they receive on a checklist of green office criteria in the following areas:

• Energy & Water Use
• Waste & Recycling; Paper
• Sustainability Planning & Leadership . . . .More

There are 4 levels of certification, based on how much of the criteria an office completed, allowing offices to be recognized for their current conservation efforts while still providing offices with a goal to work toward:

• BRONZE: 60-74%
• SILVER: 75-84%
• GOLD: 85-94%
• PLATINUM: 95-100%

 BENEFITS OF GREEN OFFICE / DEPT.:

• Green Offices have tremendous benefits, both tangible and intangible.
• Most tangible benefits are reduction in water & energy consumption right from day one of at offices.
• Energy savings could range from 20 – 30 % and water savings around 30 – 50%.
• Intangible benefits of green Office include health & well-being of the occupants, enhancing air quality & promoting biodiversity, safety benefits and conservation of scarce national resources.
• Green Office rating system is designed for internal to office working.

 VALIDITY :

• Registration Certificate rating awarded for the Green Office is valid for a period of 3 yrs &
• Surveillance Certificate every year.
• Thereafter,   have to apply for re-certification with the prevailing version.

For any query please mail at [email protected]