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Shriram Housing Finance Limited (SHFL), a leading affordable housing finance company, and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, today announced a partnership to launch an affordable green housing lending product for self-constructed homes. The project will deploy IFC’s Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiency (EDGE) certification tool for the affordable self-construction segment customers and impact monitoring tool (CAFI) for reporting of green affordable housing.

IFC will provide training and capacity building for SHFL teams on the principles and applications of the EDGE software, standards, and certification system. The training will support SHFL in promoting construction of green self-built houses among its potential customers and assessing green components in constructed units for green certification.

SHFL is committed to the sustainable housing initiative, and the EDGE certification will help the company identify homes that focus on reducing their environmental footprint with at least 20% savings in energy, water and embodied energy materials. With support from IFC, SHFL will be able to guide homeowners in the affordable housing sector to construct their properties in a manner that is environmentally friendly. 

Commenting on the partnership Ravi Subramanian, Managing Director & CEO, SHFL said, “Who better than to partner with for our affordable green homes financing initiative than the best, IFC. At Shriram Housing Finance, we are committed to the construction of affordable green homes. We believe that with the rising cost of living, energy-efficient homes are the way forward.  Through the partnership with IFC, we intend to build the foundation for an eventual self-sustaining housing finance ecosystem for climate-smart, affordable homes.”

"Together with a leading housing finance player, we will drive the accelerated adoption of green building designs that cut utility costs, raise living standards, and fulfill India's commitments to the Paris Agreement," said Wendy Werner, India Country Head at IFC. "This initiative aims to offer vital training and create a conducive business environment for scaling affordable green housing nationwide that, by our estimate, has a $1.4 trillion financing opportunity by 2030."  
This partnership is funded by the European Union (EU) under the program, Accelerating Climate-Smart and Inclusive Infrastructure in South Asia (ACSIIS) which supports climate-smart, sustainable infrastructure investments in India.

“The UN estimates that 70% of the global population will be living in cities by 2050, with many urban infrastructures still to be developed. This offers a unique chance for India to adopt circular economy principles in affordable green housing to tackle the housing shortage,” highlighted Seppo Nurmi, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Delegation of the European Union to India, “which will surely give a boost to other developers to venture in this direction.”

SHFL has a presence in over 130 branches and employs 2,500 employees pan-India with over 65,000 customers and will train its team to advise prospective customers on the advantages of green housing and increase the number of certified greenhouses in its book.

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