In an exclusive conversation with Tarun Jami, Founder of GreenJams, we explore how the company is challenging one of the biggest contributors to global emissions, the construction sector. Responsible for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, the industry continues to rely heavily on traditional materials such as cement, whose chemistry has remained largely unchanged for over a century.
GreenJams is working to change that reality. Through its innovative Novastone construction material platform and proprietary BINDR mineral-activated binder, the company is developing cement-free building materials that significantly reduce embodied carbon while remaining cost-competitive and scalable. By rethinking the fundamental chemistry of construction materials, GreenJams is demonstrating that sustainable building solutions can move beyond niche experimentation and become a practical, large-scale pathway toward climate-positive infrastructure.
In this conversation, Tarun Jami shares the inspiration behind GreenJams, the science powering its low-carbon materials, and how decentralised manufacturing could accelerate the transition toward greener cities.
1. What inspired the founding vision behind GreenJams, and how does the Novastone construction material platform reflect that mission?
GreenJams was founded on a simple but urgent realisation: the construction sector is responsible for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, yet the materials used to build our cities have remained largely unchanged for over a century. Cement alone contributes 7–8% of global CO₂ emissions, making construction materials one of the largest untapped opportunities for climate action.
The vision behind GreenJams was therefore not to create marginally greener materials, but to reinvent the chemistry of construction itself.
The Novastone construction material platform reflects that mission. Powered by our proprietary mineral-activated binder BINDR, Novastone products such as blocks, pavers, and precast elements are completely cement-free and deliver up to 80% lower embodied carbon while remaining cost competitive. It shows that large-scale decarbonisation in construction is possible today without sacrificing performance, cost, or scalability.
2. How does your proprietary binder BINDR challenge the dominance of conventional cement chemistry?
For over a century, construction has relied on clinker-based Portland cement, which requires extremely high temperatures around 1,450°C and releases large amounts of carbon dioxide during production.
BINDR challenges that paradigm by eliminating clinker entirely. It is a mineral-activated binder that uses industrial mineral streams such as slag and other mineral by-products, activated through advanced chemistry to create high-performance construction binders.
This approach dramatically reduces embodied carbon while maintaining the strength and durability required for modern construction materials. Importantly, BINDR achieves this at a cost comparable to conventional cement, removing the “green premium” that has historically slowed the adoption of sustainable construction materials.
In essence, BINDR demonstrates that decarbonising construction is not about small efficiency gains it is about changing the chemistry that holds our buildings together.
3. Why was eliminating the “green premium” crucial for scaling low-carbon construction materials in India?
India builds at enormous scale, and cost sensitivity in the construction sector is extremely high. If sustainable materials are significantly more expensive, adoption will remain limited to a small number of showcase projects.
Eliminating the green premium was therefore a fundamental design principle for us. Materials such as Novastone deliver substantial embodied carbon reductions up to 80% compared to conventional cement-based materials while remaining cost competitive.
This allows developers to integrate sustainability without affecting project economics. It also enables projects to gain green building certification points under systems such as LEED, IGBC, and GRIHA, helping developers meet ESG targets and regulatory expectations.
In short, removing the green premium turns sustainable construction from a niche choice into a mainstream default.
4. How does your decentralised manufacturing partnership model accelerate adoption across Indian cities?
The construction industry is highly localised, and materials are typically manufactured close to where they are used. For climate solutions to scale, they must integrate into this existing ecosystem.
GreenJams therefore follows a decentralised manufacturing model, partnering with precast product manufacturers across India. These partners adopt the BINDR binder platform and produce low-carbon construction materials such as Novastone within their existing facilities.
This approach allows us to rapidly expand production capacity, strengthen regional supply chains, and reduce transportation emissions. Most importantly, it enables the industry to transition toward low-carbon materials without requiring entirely new manufacturing infrastructure.
Through this partnership-driven model, decarbonisation becomes something the entire manufacturing ecosystem can participate in.
5. What role do ultra-low-carbon platforms like Novastone play in making buildings climate-positive assets?
Historically, buildings have been viewed as sources of emissions—from both construction materials and operational energy. The next evolution is to design buildings that actively contribute to climate solutions.
Ultra-low-carbon material platforms such as Novastone dramatically reduce the emissions associated with construction. When combined with carbon-negative materials like Agrocrete®, which permanently stores biogenic carbon within building components, the built environment can begin to function as a long-term carbon sink.
As carbon accounting and climate finance frameworks mature, buildings constructed with such materials could increasingly be treated as measurable climate assets, capable of delivering verified carbon benefits over their lifecycle.
In the coming decades, construction materials will be evaluated not only by strength and cost but also by their carbon performance and climate value.
