SNAPSHOT

GREEN BUILDINGS IN INDIA

This report is derived from an extensive secondary literature survey of green buildings
as a part of the construction sector in India. The primary aim of the report is to set the
context for understanding the current state and future evolution of the sector in the
country. Briefly, the policy framework and institutional structure as well as the challenges
and opportunities within the sectors are delineated.

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GREEN BUILDINGS IN INDIA

SNAPSHOT

Background
The buildings sector accounts for at least one-third of all energy
related CO2 emissions worldwide1. Therefore, enhancing resource
(input) efficiency such as reducing water and and energy usage in
this sector can be a effective abatement wedge to address climate
change.
At present, the building and construction industry is one of the largest
economic activities in India. It is estimated that the construction
industry has contributed around 8.1% to Indias GDP in 2010-11 up
from around 5.1% in 1999-2000. One survey reveals that built space
in India will increase 5-fold from 20,000 million sq ft in 2005 to over
100,000 million sq ft in 2030. This growth will put enormous pressure
on various resources such as energy, water, materials, and will have
a discernible impact on the environment.
Faced with an increasing scarcity of resources, the construction
subsector which directly impinged on the viability of the sector, there
was an increasing focus on green buildings as a solution. As a result,
India has emerged as one of the worlds top destinations for green
buildings and has implemented a number of home-rating schemes
and building codes, which open up a wide range of opportunities in
construction, architecture and engineering design, building materials
and equipment manufacture.

Market Assessment
According to the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC):
The market for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED)-rated green buildings in India is projected to increase to
3.7 billion by 2012
1. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)

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The total market for green building materials and equipment

in India is estimated to be more than 10 times the size of the
LEED-rated green building market in India.
Indias green building footprint has grown from 20,000 sq ft
in 2005, to projects covering 914.33 million sq ft by end-2011.
A variety of green building projects are planned or have been
completed, including exhibition centres, residential complexes,
hospitals, IT parks, educational institutions, laboratories,
airports, corporate offices and government buildings.
The projected market potential for green building material and

Green buildings in India

According to statistics compiled by IGBC:
India has 1297 registered buildings,
201 certified buildings and 914.33
million sq ft of green building footprint.
This puts India firmly on the 2nd spot
only behind the U.S in total green
building footprint.

technologies is estimated to be 73.4 billion by the year 2012.

Policy and Regulatory Framework

The Energy Conservation Act created the Bureau of Energy Efficiency
(BEE), a statutory body under the Ministry of Power. The BEE
promotes, manages, finances, and monitors energy efficient efforts
throughout the economy, including the industrial sector, through
energy audits. It has the statutory authority to mandate energy
efficiency standards.
BEE is also involved in developing energy conservation building codes.
The BEE developed and launched the Energy Conservation Building
Code (ECBC) for commercial buildings in 2007. The code is set for
energy efficiency standards for design and construction with any
building of minimum conditioned area of 1000 sq ms and a connected
demand of power of 500 KW or 600 KVA. The energy performance
index of the code is set from 90 kWh/sqm/year to 200 kWh/sqm/year
where any buildings that fall under the index can be termed as ECBC
Compliant Building. Further, BEE also launched a 5 star rating scheme
for office buildings operated only in the day time in three climatic zones,
composite, hot & dry, warm & humid on 25 February 2009.

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If ECBC were to be fully implemented, the overall energy consumption
from new commercial buildings could be reduced by 25-40%. If
existing commercial buildings were retrofitted to these standards as
well, the overall energy consumption figure would drop another 25%.

The Key Drivers for Sector Growth

The main driver for the construction sector for developing green
buildings has been the growing country-wide shortages of resources
such as water and power.
The other drivers for the green building sector in India are coming from

Barriers for Green Buildings

the private sector, spurred by the introduction of the Indian LEED2

Lack of awareness about green

rating system along with other rating systems by IGBC and The Energy

buildings and allied to it is the lack of

Resources Institute of India (TERI), and investor and occupier demand

incentives by municipal governments

for more amenable and efficient living and working space.

for them such as additional floor space

index (FSI).
Performance

evaluation

tools

to

measure and verify the gains of green

buildings under occupation.

Indicative Opportunity Spaces

These trends suggest significant and growing market opportunities
for green buildings in India. It is apparent that the market is large
(given that the share of green buildings coming up in India is still only
3%) and is (therefore) expected to grow exponentially. Hence, there

Combating the myth of higher cost of

is going to be a serious dearth of experienced professionals, material

green buildings which now cost only

manufacturers and service providers in this area. This gives plenty of

around 2% higher than conventional

opportunities for budding entrepreneurs in this sector.

buildings. But the savings over the

lifetime of the buildings is substantial
and needs to be disseminated more
cogently.
Availability of local materials and
equipment is still limited despite the
growth of green building sector.

Opportunities in India for green building services include:

Architectural and engineering services for high-rise structures,
theme parks and hotel.
Urban planning and design.
Other niche architectural services like creating designs inspired
from the traditional Indian architecture.
There is also significant demand in India for green building materials
and equipment including:
High-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
systems.
Low-emission window and day lighting technologies.
2. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-INDIA) Green Building
Rating System is a nationally and internationally accepted benchmark for the design,
construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED-INDIA
promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in
the following five key areas: 1) Sustainable site development; 2) Water savings; 3)
Energy efficiency; 4) Materials selection; and 5) Indoor environmental quality

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Affordable green building materials, with consideration for the
life cycle perspective of building costs.
Water saving, water efficiency and non-mechanical treatment
systems.
Fire and safety systems and other intelligent building systems.
Other environmentally friendly green building materials and
equipment that help score points under the various IGBC
and TERIs Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment
(GRIHA3) green building rating system.

Government Initiatives:
GoI has promised several incentives to the promoters and developers
of green buildings; however no concrete policy for the incentives is
in place. The environment ministry recently said that green buildings
would be given priority in the environmental impact assessment
process. However, state governments have taken the lead.
As part of its energy conservation measures, the Delhi
Government has already decided to implement the Energy
Conservation Building Code (ECBC) for government buildings
in the national capital. It has initiated the process of converting
15 existing government buildings into green buildings by
making them energy efficient.
The Maharashtra government proposes to amend the
Development Control Rules for the introduction of green
building regulations initially in Mumbai and later in Tier-two
cities of the state. Under these regulations, it will be mandatory
for new buildings to use green technologies for recycling dry
waste and drainage water, vermiculture for treatment of wet
waste, solar energy and above all rainwater harvesting. The
government proposes to provide incentives in the form of
rationalisation in property tax and electricity tariff, and reduction
in state taxes like VAT and Octroi on green technologies.

Incentives
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) provides the
following incentives under its Energy-Efficient Solar/Green Buildings
scheme.

3. 34 Criteria of the Rating System under 4 Categories such as (1) Site Selection and
Site Planning; (2) Building Planning and Construction; (3) Building Operation and
Maintenance; and (4) Innovation

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For developers
MNRE provides reimbursement of 90% of the registration-cum-rating
fee for projects up to 5000 sq. m built-up area with minimum 3-star
rating, and for projects > 5000 sq. m built-up area with minimum
4-star rating.

For design team

MNRE provides that architects and consultants would be awarded
Rs 2.5 lakh for projects up to 5000 sq. m built-up area with minimum
3-star GRIHA rating and Rs 5 lakh for projects > 5000 sq. m built-up
area with minimum 4-star GRIHA rating. The incentives for private
projects are valid up to 2012 only.

For institutions
MNRE provides financial support for promotional activities of up to Rs
2 lakh to specialized institutions for organizing workshops/ seminars/
training/ publications/ awareness campaigns.

For urban local bodies

MNRE provides Rs 50 lakh to municipal corporations and Rs 25 lakh
to other urban local bodies that announce rebate in property tax for
green buildings and make it mandatory to get the new buildings under
both government and public sectors rated under GRIHA.

For PSUs and government

MNRE declared that the first 200 government / public sector buildings
will be exempt from paying registration-cum-rating fee, if they opt for
the GRIHA certification.
With an aim to expedite implementation of the rating system,
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has modified the provisions
of the scheme by exempting the first 100 government/public sector
buildings from paying the registration-cum-rating fee in advance at

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the time of registration. In such cases, the fee will be released to the
GRIHA Secretariat in the following manner:
50% after the projects are registered with GRIHA Secretariat
and documents sent to MNRE. The institutions will provide an
undertaking that they will put in their best efforts in getting
their buildings rated 3 or 4 stars as per the respective scheme/
guidelines. They will also need to commit to fulfilling all
mandatory points under GRIHA.
Remaining 50% after they get a provisional rating of 3 or 4
stars, as per the respective scheme guidelines

Sources:
1. Background Booklet, International Conference
on Green Buildings, Oct 2011, CII and IGBC
2. Lead India: What is the Market Size and Growth
Rate? (http://www.green-buildings.com)
3. http://www.beeindia.in/
4. TERIs GRIHA Guidelines, www.grihaindia.org/
5. Delhi govt buildings to go green, Daily News
and Analysis Jul 20, 2010, 15:41 IST http://
www.dnaindia.com/india/report_delhi-govtbuildings-to-go-green_1412254
6. Maharashtra prods builders to go green,
Business Standard, Jan 4, 2010 http://business.
rediff.com/report/2010/jan/04/maharashtraprods-builders-to-go-green.htm

Disclaimer
All information provided in this publication has been compiled from reliable sources. Although reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the
information in this publication is true and accurate, such information is provided as is, without any warranty, express or implied as to the accuracy or
completeness of any such information. EBTC shall not be liable for any losses incurred by any person from any use of this publication. Readers should
consult their legal, tax and other advisors before making any investment or other decision with regard to any business in India.

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