In an era where sustainability is no longer optional but a business imperative, the construction sector is undergoing a fundamental shift. In an exclusive interview, Tarun Jami, Founder & CEO of GreenJams, shares insights on the rising adoption of carbon-negative materials like Agrocrete®, the evolving economics of green construction, and how innovation, policy, and partnerships are accelerating change across India’s real estate landscape.
Q1. What market trends show growing adoption of carbon-negative materials like Agrocrete®?
India’s construction sector is at an inflection point, with buildings contributing nearly 45% of global carbon emissions. As ESG compliance mandates tighten especially for larger residential developments developers are now driven by strong business incentives rather than just sustainability intent.
Three major trends are accelerating adoption. First, green building certifications like LEED, IGBC, and GRIHA are becoming baseline requirements for institutional buyers and developers. Second, green financing is enabling preferential interest rates, offering a 50–100 basis point advantage translating into significant annual savings. Third, regulatory frameworks like BRSR are pushing listed companies to report Scope 3 emissions, making EPD-certified materials like Agrocrete® a strategic procurement decision.
Originally developed as a mass-market alternative to fired clay bricks, Agrocrete® is now witnessing demand across industrial, hospitality, and premium real estate segments, with early adopters including ITC Limited.
Q2. How do your products meet building codes and quality standards?
At GreenJams, compliance goes beyond baseline requirements. Agrocrete® has been rigorously evaluated by CSIR-Central Building Research Institute under IS 2185 standards, validating its performance across key parameters like compressive strength, density, water absorption, and thermal conductivity. The product also carries a third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), compliant with global standards such as ISO 14040/44 and EN 15804. Notably, it achieves a cradle-to-gate embodied carbon of -0.14 kg CO₂/kg making it carbon-negative at the manufacturing stage.
Quality control is maintained at the batch level, ensuring tighter consistency (±2% variance) compared to the industry norm. This results in a breakage rate of under 1%, significantly lower than conventional materials.
Additionally, GreenJams’ proprietary BINDR™ technology delivers high compressive strength (45–47 MPa) and meets IS standards for masonry and plastering, while Novastone™ products serve as compliant, sustainable alternatives to conventional concrete and AAC blocks.
Q3. How do carbon-negative blocks compare to traditional materials in cost and ROI?
One of the biggest misconceptions 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 economical than alternatives like Porotherm. However, the real advantage lies in total project economics. While walling materials account for only 15% of a building’s cost, they contribute to nearly 70% of execution risks, including delays, rework, and thermal inefficiencies.In a project with ITC, a marginal increase in material cost was offset by more than double the savings from reduced labour time and near-zero rewor delivering a 2.1x return. Similarly, a commercial project recorded a 60% reduction in electricity bills due to superior insulation, enabling payback within the first year. From a sustainability standpoint, Agrocrete® also unlocks higher credits across green certification systems, improving access to green financing, accelerating sales cycles, and strengthening ESG reporting outcomes.
Q4. How is GreenJams ensuring supply chain reliability for large projects?
GreenJams has adopted a distributed manufacturing model to ensure scalability and reliability. While core materials like Agrocrete® and BINDR™ are produced at its Visakhapatnam facility, Novastone™ leverages a network of over 30,000 contract manufacturing plants across India. This decentralized approach minimizes logistics risks and enables production closer to project sites. For large-scale developments, GreenJams also deploys mobile on-site manufacturing units, ensuring uninterrupted supply and zero transit damage. A robust five-stage quality control system from raw material checks to post-installation support ensures consistency across locations. Additionally, on-site mason training programs help maintain execution quality irrespective of the workforce. The company is further strengthening its distribution network with new infrastructure in key construction hubs like Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Bangalore.
Q5. How are you collaborating with architects, builders, and policymakers to scale adoption?
GreenJams is driving adoption through a multi-stakeholder approach. On the policy front, it is supported by institutions like the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and international organizations such as Agence Française de Développement and Habitat for Humanity. These collaborations highlight Agrocrete®’s dual impact reducing construction emissions while providing a sustainable alternative to stubble burning. For architects and engineers, GreenJams focuses on technical enablement through detailed documentation, specifications, and on-ground support. For developers, it adopts a pilot-first model demonstrating performance in a single project before scaling adoption.
This approach has proven effective, with organizations like CBRE and ITC expanding usage after initial pilots. The company is also exploring side-by-side comparative pilots, allowing developers to directly evaluate performance against conventional materials on-site.
As sustainability, economics, and regulation converge, carbon-negative materials are no longer niche; they are becoming central to the future of construction. GreenJams’ approach signals a broader industry shift where innovation is not just about reducing impact, but redefining value altogether.
