As sustainability shifts from a compliance requirement to a core business strategy, the construction sector is entering a transformative phase. In an exclusive conversation, Tarun Jami, Founder & CEO of GreenJams, unpacks the accelerating adoption of carbon-negative materials like Agrocrete®, the evolving cost dynamics of green construction, and how policy, innovation, and industry collaboration are reshaping India’s built environment.
Q1. What market trends are driving the adoption of carbon-negative materials like Agrocrete®?
India’s construction industry is at a critical inflection point, with buildings accounting for nearly 45% of global carbon emissions. As ESG mandates tighten particularly for large-scale residential developments developers are increasingly guided by strong economic incentives, not just sustainability goals.
Three key trends are accelerating this shift. First, green building certifications such as LEED, IGBC, and GRIHA are fast becoming baseline expectations for institutional investors and developers. Second, access to green financing is improving project viability, with preferential interest rates offering a 50–100 basis point advantage and meaningful cost savings. Third, regulatory frameworks like BRSR are compelling listed companies to disclose Scope 3 emissions, making EPD-certified materials like Agrocrete® a strategic procurement choice.
Initially positioned as a mass-market alternative to fired clay bricks, Agrocrete® is now gaining traction across industrial, hospitality, and premium real estate segments, with early adopters including ITC Limited.
Q2. How do your products align with building codes and quality benchmarks?
At GreenJams, compliance is designed to exceed baseline standards. Agrocrete® has been rigorously validated by CSIR–Central Building Research Institute under IS 2185 standards, demonstrating strong performance across compressive strength, density, water absorption, and thermal conductivity.
It is also backed by a third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), aligned with global standards such as ISO 14040/44 and EN 15804. Notably, the product achieves a cradle-to-gate embodied carbon of -0.14 kg CO₂/kg making it carbon-negative at the manufacturing stage.
A robust batch-level quality control system ensures consistency within a ±2% variance, significantly tighter than industry norms, while maintaining a breakage rate of under 1%. Complementing this, GreenJams’ proprietary BINDR™ technology delivers compressive strength of 45–47 MPa and meets IS standards for masonry and plastering. Its Novastone™ range further offers compliant, sustainable alternatives to conventional concrete and AAC blocks.
Q3. How do carbon-negative materials compare to traditional options in terms of cost and ROI?
A persistent myth is that sustainability comes at a premium. In reality, Agrocrete® is competitively priced at ₹80–90 per sq ft on par with AAC blocks and more cost-effective than alternatives like Porotherm.
However, the real value lies in total project economics. While walling materials constitute only about 15% of overall construction cost, they influence nearly 70% of execution risks ranging from delays and rework to thermal inefficiencies.
In a project with ITC, a marginal increase in material cost was offset by more than double the savings through reduced labour time and negligible rework, delivering a 2.1x return. In another commercial project, superior insulation led to a 60% reduction in electricity consumption, enabling payback within the first year. Beyond cost, Agrocrete enhances green certification scores, improves access to sustainable financing, accelerates sales cycles, and strengthens ESG disclosures making it a high-impact investment.
Q4. How is GreenJams ensuring supply chain reliability at scale?
GreenJams follows a distributed manufacturing model to ensure both scalability and reliability. Core products like Agrocrete® and BINDR™ are produced at its Visakhapatnam facility, while Novastone™ leverages a network of over 30,000 contract manufacturing units across India. This decentralized approach reduces logistics dependencies and enables production closer to project sites. For large developments, the company also deploys mobile on-site manufacturing units, ensuring uninterrupted supply and eliminating transit-related damage.
A five-stage quality control framework from raw material validation to post-installation support ensures consistency across geographies. Additionally, on-site mason training programs help maintain execution quality regardless of workforce variability. The company is further expanding its distribution footprint in key construction hubs such as Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru.
Q5. How are collaborations with stakeholders accelerating adoption?
GreenJams is driving adoption through a multi-stakeholder approach spanning policy, industry, and design ecosystems. It is supported by institutions such as the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, and global organizations including Agence Française de Développement and Habitat for Humanity. These partnerships underscore Agrocrete®’s dual impact reducing construction emissions while offering a viable alternative to stubble burning. For architects and engineers, the company provides technical documentation, specifications, and on-ground support to ease integration. For developers, it follows a pilot-first approach demonstrating value in a single project before scaling adoption.
This strategy has proven effective, with organizations like CBRE and ITC expanding usage post-pilot. GreenJams is also exploring side-by-side comparative pilots, enabling developers to directly benchmark performance against conventional materials on-site.
As sustainability, regulation, and economics increasingly converge, carbon-negative materials are no longer a niche innovation; they are fast becoming central to the future of construction. GreenJams’ approach reflects a broader industry shift where innovation is not just about reducing environmental impact, but redefining value itself.
