Indian real estate sector is taking significant cognizance in integrating green building practices. The shift towards sustainability reflects the sector’s recognition of the importance of responsible development and its commitment to creating an environment that aligns with ecological values. The real estate sector in India is witnessing buildings across residential and commercial segments that are mindfully designed and bespoke sustainable practices. Implementing safe and sustainable designs that not only reduce the carbon footprint but contribute to the overall growth of the sector is a need of the hour. With rapid urbanization, striking a balance between sustainability and meeting the demands of the market has become a key objective for industry players.
The commercial real estate sector in India has made significant strides in adopting sustainable practices, aligning with the global trend toward environmentally conscious development. Developers are prioritizing energy efficiency, renewable energy integration, water conservation, and the use of eco-friendly materials in their projects. This shift is driven not only by industry players but also by office space occupiers who seek sustainable spaces with green certifications.
According to JLL survey, sustainability is one of the top three considered factors along with location and rentals for office space occupiers. They are increasingly seeking out spaces that incorporate sustainable practices and possess green certifications. It is now widely recognized that a well-designed office space plays a vital role in an organization’s growth as it directly impacts employees’ health, satisfaction, well-being, organizational efficiency, and productivity. GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) is one such important certification aimed to encourage real estate developers to design buildings focused on their resource consumption, waste generation, and overall environmental impact. It is an innovative tool developed by the United Nations and has been acknowledged as India’s green building rating system. With certain benchmarks to attain GRIHA’s five-star green building, it aims to provide assurance of energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and occupant well-being. Importantly, complying with GRIHA standards enables office buildings used for 8 hours to result in a 30% – 50% reduction in energy consumption and a 40 – 65 % reduction in building water consumption.
Since green buildings are supposed to stand tall on various aspects such as cost saving, energy, and water consumption, reduced waste generation, low maintenance cost, and increased comfort of occupants, the GRIHA rating is one of the key existing standards for a building to qualify as a green building. Thus, by introducing key parameters from the construction to the maintenance stage of the commercial buildings, GRIHA aims to create sustainable, energy-efficient green buildings and have a bare minimum impact on the surroundings.
According to a recent Colliers-FICCI report on emerging trends and opportunities in the office sector for 2023, sustainability is driving the introduction of green and sustainably built buildings in the office space segment. Stakeholders are actively working towards reducing the carbon footprint of office spaces, recognizing the urgent need for environmental consciousness. Reports highlight the positive impact of sustainable design on employee well-being, satisfaction, and productivity. With the remarkable increase in registrations for green building projects is evident that developers are committed to reducing carbon emissions, conserving energy, and improving waste management.
Interestingly, the real estate sector is witnessing significant sustainable practices adopted by the developer community. They are collaborating with sustainability experts and architects to create commercial spaces that promote occupant well-being and reduce environmental impact. The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), the country’s premier certification body for green buildings, has witnessed a remarkable increase in registrations for green building projects.
According to the IGBC’s annual report, till 2021, there were over 6,500 registered green building projects in India, covering approximately 7.61 billion square feet. This demonstrates the aggressive adoption of green building technologies and the commitment of developers toward sustainable practices. Realtors’ apex body CREDAI has recently partnered with Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) to facilitate its members to develop certified environmental-friendly projects. The association has pledged the development of 1,000 green-certified projects in the next 2 years and 4,000 projects by 2030.
This shift to green building is a reflection of the commitment of the real estate sector to a clean environment, good and healthy living, and sustainable development in the true sense of the word. The embrace of green building practices not only contributes to a clean environment and healthy living but also supports India’s ambitious goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
