Green Building Congress announces three new rating systems

The Indian Green Building Council recently announced its own rating system for new buildings. Till now the US Leed certification was followed in rating new buildings in India. The three new  rating systems will cover schools, metro rail projects and new buildings. Announcing the launching of the three systems at the CII Green Building Congress 2014, Prem C Jain, Chairman of IGBC, said the New Building Rating System comes in the backdrop of IGBC and US Green Building Council parting ways on the Leed certification programme. "We have adopted this approach as we believe India could become a next big Green Building base in the world,” he said.

India now has a registered green building base of over 2.2 billion sq.ft, which has been achieved in about 10 years. The Indian Green Building Council is aiming to have a registered base of about 10 billion sq.ft by 2022, when India would be 75 years after Independence.

A portal has also been created to facilitate online interface on green building rating systems.

Metro stations to be rated on green building standards

The green building movement in India has got impetus with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announcement that stations of Delhi Metro's upcoming Phase III, along with other stations across the country, will be rated to judge their compatibility with green building norms.

Anuj Dayal, the Delhi Metro spokesman said,"Metro stations will be rated on green building standards and this will help the metro systems design their stations as eco-friendly structures and utilize natural resources such as sunlight more effectively." 

"Green buildings help in better preservation of the environment as in such structures there are provisions for better saving of energy, water and CO2. Such buildings also have better waste management arrangements," added Dayal. 

"The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), a body involved in promoting the Green Building concept in India, will be conducting this rating process. They will also issue guidelines for designing the station structures as green buildings," he added.

The rating process will help the upcoming Metro projects design their stations according to green building norms. They can later apply for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which is a globally accepted green building certification programme that recognizes the best in class building strategies and practices. DMRC had announced earlier that all the stations in its third phase of expansion along with 12 receiving sub-stations and residential quarters will be designed as green buildings. Apart from Kolkata and Delhi, metro systems are also operational at Bengaluru and Mumbai.

India: Green building footprint to touch 2 billion sq ft by 2015

The concept of green buildings is gaining ground among developers of India and the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) believes that green building footprint to touch 2 billion sq ft by 2015. According to IGBC, 1,745 eco-friendly building projects with over 1.21 billion sq ft of green footprint are registered with the council.

"Green buildings consume 40-50 percent less energy and 20-30 percent less water. Besides, the intangible benefits of green buildings include better indoor air quality, enhanced ventilation, better view and ample sunlight that significantly improve the productivity of the occupants," says Gurmit Singh Arora, vice chairman of IGBC Mumbai chapter.

Though the building cost of a green building may be marginally (3 to 5%) higher than the conventional building, but the incremental cost gets paid back within two-three years with substantial reduction in operational costs. Developers have realized the importance of the green concept as it also offers them a good financial business model.