Civil engineer Tarun Jami was well aware of the harmful role of concrete in the climate crisis.

So, once he graduated from college, he decided to start his own company with an aim to reinforce carbon-negative building processes. GreenJams was born in 2017 in Visakhapatnam.

In 2019, as Tarun was driving around the national capital, he almost crashed his car due to smog and low visibility.

This backed his observation of how the air quality in Delhi was deteriorating rapidly.

Further probing at the time led him to discover how stubble burning contributed to 44 percent of Delhi’s poor air quality.

This led Tarun to step in and be part of the solution, thus introducing carbon-negative materials in the building process.

Conventional construction materials — gravel, sand, and cement — pose a threat to the environment due to the emissions they create.

GreenJams and its eco-friendly construction techniques focus on more sustainable alternatives.

In 2020, Tarun employed the knowledge he gained during his graduate years to come up with Agrocrete — a product made of upcycled material.

The material “can reduce construction costs by 50 percent while increasing thermal insulation by 3.5 times and cutting down on the time required for construction”.

Explaining how the process works, Tarun says they collect residue from farmers and then chop and process it. “The residue is mixed with our innovative product BINDR — a 100 percent upcycled, low-carbon replacement of Portland cement made from industrial by-products of the steel, paper and power industries.”

The resulting product, Tarun says, is stronger than a conventional brick, can capture tonnes of carbon emissions, and has a life duration of at least 75 years.

“The blocks are 30-60 percent lighter, making it convenient for masons to work on. They’re also bigger, which reduces construction time and cost of labour,” he adds.