Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
Varun Gaur: There is always a will to start something my own. And I was always thinking about something that makes me feel good satisfied socially and environmentally to participate in such a way to protect Mother Earth. As climate change is a global issue, and most of the countries come in front and acknowledge the same. I personally believe that incorporating or adopting sustainability in our lives is not just a positive strategy, but a moral responsibility towards the future generations to come.
From being an electrical engineering background, I always knew that energy is most important factor. If we talk about buildings, homes, factories, hospitality, institutions etc. energy plays a major part and it is directly impacting the carbon footprint and climate change.
Formerly, I worked in Supercritical thermal power plant of 3300MW for years. I was looking to understand that how can I convert my practical knowledge in a fruitful manner so I can also support a little bit to contribute to save environment and this beautiful nature. And I started exploring with many ideas in my mind and after numbers of years experienced, dream comes true as De Calorie Energy Consultant LLP.
I always believe that “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them”.
Great Companies: What are the various services provided by DE CALORIE ENERGY CONSULTANT LLP?
Varun Gaur: De Calorie Energy Consultant LLP is an experienced and passionate company of consultants evolving in sustainability in the built environment addressing environmental issues and dedicated to protect Mother Earth. We at De Calorie are working to elevate the role of green buildings beyond the environment and economy and focus on the personal health and well-being benefits. Our mission is to ensure that client’s building is designed, built and operated in the most environmentally sustainable way.
At De Calorie, we are providing various innovative comprehensive environmental and engineering services like
1. Green Building Consultancy- LEED/GRIHA/IGBC/GEM/WELL/TRUE/GREENCO/NET ZERO
2. Carbon/GHG Emissions Reporting.
3. Audits – Fire Safety Assessment, Energy, Water, IAQ, PAT
4. Analysis Simulation modeling- Daylight & Energy, CFD Analysis, Sun path Analysis, Shading Analysis, ECBC Compliance analysis.
5. Building Commissioning –MEP systems and many more other services.
6. BEE Star Rating
7. PAT Audit
8. Power Quality Analysis
9. Utility rate and tariff analysis
10. Testing Adjusting & Balancing Services
11. Data & Energy Analysis
12. Electrical Safety Audits
13. Training and Education
We also provide training's and spreading awareness towards sustainability in various government and private departments. Our priority is to go sustainable and contribute in to save Mother Earth for our future generation.
Great Companies: What makes DE CALORIE ENERGY CONSULTANT LLP different from hundreds of other similar service providers?
Varun Gaur: We propose solutions that are practical, cost effective and carried with a commitment to protecting our global environment and our limited natural resources. We embrace new technology and seek to update others how such technologies can be integrated into design enabling architects and clients to make informed decisions regarding the creation of the best possible environment within budget.
We also offer timely monitoring of green building aspects. Once building optimized and received green rating, the actual energy performance , when the building starts functioning, may have significant variation from the simulated performance due to climate variability, actual occupancy, operating efficiency of equipment, hours of operation, to name a few. De Calorie Consultant LLP also provides timely inspection and surveillance of parameters of energy, water, waste and others.
De Calorie provides unmatched, on-time, and competitively-priced energy consulting services to its local and global clients. De Calorie has an exceptional combination of people, processes, domain expertise and commitment to your success.
Our in-house team has credentials like WELL AP, LEED AP, IGBC AP, GRIHA CP, GEM CP, CII Certified Green Co Facilitator, ISO 9001:2015 QMS, Chartered Engineer, BEE Certified Energy auditor, Edge Expert, GRIHA Evaluator and other various sustainability credentials. We work closely with the client to incorporate sustainable features in building in more optimized way. We encourage the builders and property owners to go for sustainable building design to support little bit with Government vision of Net Zero by 2070.
Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?
Varun Gaur: It's been around three years since we officially started De Calorie Energy Consultant, oh boy!! That's been a hell of a journey personally and professionally. You learn so much about what is important and how you adapt things. And big thanks to COVID-19. I can laugh about it now but that was one huge rollercoaster ride. All your demons pop up together when you need them at rest the most. Self-doubt, Self worth, self-love, and self-acceptance everything at once. Thanks to my family and my co-founders, we were able to sail through and still hold our court.
We have set up this firm in March just before 3 days of complete lockdown due to Covid. It was literally shocking. We were working on different stuff with full positive energy and have a clear vision on our next steps. Then suddenly globally COVID-19 crisis happened and we started knowing that big shot giant companies are going to close their offices and lot of employees laid off. This was the crucial time. But, I was sure that there will be a light after this Dark. I believe “where there is will, there is a way”. We jumped every hurdles and learnt new things every day.
Other major challenges what we faced like Lack of awareness towards sustainability. People are now becoming more aware of the climate change due to environmental degradation and are driven towards green construction.
There is also a myth that Green Buildings are very expensive and claims an additional 10-15% cost’. I want to clarify here that the present environmental regulations are an integral part of the project design and green products are easily available in the market at a low-cost, nowadays.
Eligibility & Trust - Everyone wants a consultant having experienced of same type building rating system. Also the turnover meeting their requirement. Somehow using the Startup India exemption scheme, we got the opportunity to work with Indian Railways.
We started utilising the Covid time and preparing all the document work like presentations, brochures, marketing manuals along with registration with StartUp India and iStart Rajasthan.
Now, after sailing through this, we keep learning and achieving. We are now working with several government and private organisation like CPWD, IOCL, MES and Indian Railway, Tata Projects, Tech Mahindra, Siemens, Hyatt, Shriram, OYO, HCL, Amazon, and so on.
Completed almost 50 green buildings projects, has done several energy and water audits, doing number of simulation work for our international client’s.
∙ Mr. Varun Gaur got the award for Young entrepreneur from Indian Achiever forum.
∙ Mr. Varun Gaur awarded as Young engineer for driving cost saving initiatives by running efficient operations at Airtel
∙ Mr. Varun Gaur became Ambassador - Management & Strategy Institute.
∙ Mr. Varun Gaur was the Co-chair of ASHRAE MP Committee in the year 2022.
∙ We are proudly green sustainability movement partner with World Green Building Council. ∙ Got recognised by StartUp India and IStart Rajasthan.
∙ Registered consultant of Indian Green Building Consultant.
∙ Leading prime consultant for Indian railways and working with Indian railways on more than 50 projects. ∙ Set up National Records with Indian railways for numbers of projects.
Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for DE CALORIE ENERGY CONSULTANT LLP?
Varun Gaur: Given the pandemic and its aftershocks, the appeal of green buildings has increased for the occupants of residential houses as well as workspaces.
Our built environment and its interactions with the natural environment are complex and have a massive impact on the world around us. Hence sustainability is a complex concept which encompasses not just energy but all the resources needed to support human activity.
Our goal is to grow our environmental consulting business to become one of the top 10 environmental consulting firms in the India which is why we have mapped out strategies that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in the India but in the world as well. We are set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients.
De Calorie Energy Consultant LLP will serve small to medium sized businesses, from new ventures to well established businesses, but that does not in any way stop us from growing to be able to compete with the leading environmental consulting firms in the India. We hope to someday merge or acquire other smaller environmental consulting firms and expand our services beyond the shores of the India.
Current stock of green buildings in India is only 5% of the total buildings in India that shows the massive market potential of green buildings in India.
Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Varun Gaur: I believe that “whenever you feel like quitting, think why you started”. We either win or we learn. It takes a lot of effort, but if you’re trying to do something new, it’s the best way to think.
Climate change and the population explosion are two major problems putting our future as a species in danger. Our planet is our home, the place that sustains us; but are we living in harmony with nature? By 2050, with a projected increased global population of 9.6 billion, we would need the equivalent of almost 3 planets worth of resources to sustain our way of living, if our current consumption and production patterns remain the same.
We are the one and future generation who will be affected most by the decisions we take today on climate change. Such decisions will influence the shape and quality of our future lives. All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
Never Never Never give up
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