20 percent of all constructions to become Green Buildings by 2030

Green buildings are becoming one of the most sought after technologies in real estate of India. Green or eco-friendly technology is not only being adopted in commercial and office spaces but also residential ones. Top tier cities such as Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai nowadays have green properties coming up in abundance. Despite the concept becoming so popular, few people know exactly what green buildings are.

Green buildings are those developed properties which use less water, conserve natural resources, optimize energy efficiency, generate lesser waste and provide healthier and life conducing spaces for their occupants compared to conventional buildings. Green buildings are assessed on their predicted performance over their complete life-cycle, from their inception through their operation. The stages of life-cycle that have been identified are:

Pre-construction

Inter and intra site issues such as closeness to public transport, soil type, land type, fauna and flora on the land site prior to the beginning of construction activity, location, features and natural landscape.

Construction and Planning: Conservation of resource issues and decline in resource demands, efficient utilization of resources and their reuse, provisions made for occupant well-being and healthiness. Primary resources that are considered include energy, water, land, green cover and air.

Maintenance and operation: Of processes and building systems, recording and monitoring consumption of energy, health and well-being of occupants and issues which affect local and global environment.

Green Rating of Properties

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED India Green Building Rating System is internationally and nationally accepted as a benchmark for construction, operation and designing of higher performance green buildings.

The IGBC Green Homes was the first programme for rating green buildings developed for the residential sector exclusively. It is a part of the CII or Confederation of Indian Industries. The programme has been designed for rating newer residential buildings such as high-rise apartments, individual homes, residential gated communities and independent row houses along with existing residential towers.

For procuring the green rating, builders must register themselves once the process of construction has been completed. A project team shall evaluate then all the points plausible under this particular rating system by using a check-list.

GRIHA Rating

Another LEED India developed system for evaluating green buildings is the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment, abbreviated as GRIHA. The system was launched by the TERI or The Energy and Resources Institute and it is suited for all types of buildings located in numerous climatic zones in India property. There are roughly 300 different projects registered with GRIHA in India and roughly 14 of them are in Karnataka.

Key to Success: Self-Sufficiency

A building’s complete life-cycle is taken care of in sustainable buildings. The initial costs may be slightly higher although the upgrades, green designs along with operations make way for savings which almost always makes up for added costs and reduces the usage of other resources and improves productivity. 

Green buildings have gained momentum and may make up 20 percent of all property construction by the year 2030. They are better places to work and live in as they reduce water and energy use and lead to better profits.