Given the increasing awareness of the effects of construction and the built environment, sustainable real estate practices are now well sought. Among the changes, the following is worth mentioning: an increasing interest in green building certifications essential to sustainable real estate development. Obtaining these certifications is not a mere formality; they are an investment towards enabling sustainable living.
What is a Green Building?
A green building is a structure that, in its physical form, has minimal detrimental effects on the environment and fosters sustainability. This type of building uses less energy and minimises waste while utilising resources to provide a suitable environment for the occupants. It also provides better indoor air quality, natural daylighting and improved thermal sensitivity, which promotes a healthier indoor environment and productivity.
What are Green Building Certifications in India?
Green building certification formally confirms that a building complies with conventional environmental and sustainable standards. In India, a few green building certifications rate numerous aspects of sustainable construction, including energy, water, indoor environment quality and resource efficiency. These certifications act as a measure for assessing the performance of buildings from an environmental management perspective and foster high rates of environmentally friendly developments from developers and builders.
Major Green Building Certifications in India:
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) uses LEED as a professional rating system to verify the sustainability of buildings worldwide. Currently, IGBC is the approving body for LEED certification in India. It assesses buildings for results in energy consumption, water product usage and indoor air quality, among other things.
IGBC Green Building Rating System
The IGBC focuses on residential, commercial and industrial construction specifics. These ratings give an educated estimate of how sustainable a particular building is, considering the site selection, the water and energy source and the quality of the indoor environment.
GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment)
The GRIHA is an Indigenous green building rating system developed by TERI and accredited by MNRE. It aims to reduce buildings' ecological footprints throughout their life cycle, including design, construction, use and deconstruction.
Energy Efficiency Status BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) Star Rating
The BEE Star Rating system rates the energy performance of retail buildings relative to their operational energy performance. The rating system must be applied to improve energy-saving processes within the real estate sector.
Importance of Green Building Certification in Sustainable Real Estate
Building certification is fundamental in spreading sustainable real estate. It offers an organised approach to assessing and improving the sustainability of structures, enabling them to adhere to specific environmental performance indicators.
Here are some reasons why green building certifications are essential in the context of sustainable real estate:
Increased Environmental Sustainability
It is true to say that green building certifications enhance environmental sustainability by decreasing the negative consequences. The creation and management of buildings encourage efficiency in saving energy and water, minimizing waste and using non-toxic building materials. A certified building is designed to be less environmentally unfriendly and play a part in conserving the environment.
Constructions are More Saleable
Green-certified constructions tend to be more saleable and valuable. Research has shown a rise in buyers' and tenants’ demand for green buildings that reflect their environmental consciousness. Professionally accredited green structures can rent spaces more easily, secure better-quality occupants and have reduced or comparable vacancy levels.
Compliance with Regulations
Most green building certifications integrate with government policies on sustainability and incentives. Under these regulations, developers and builders can attain the famed ‘green’ label for their construction augmentation and access incentives, such as tax credits and grants.
Enhancing Occupant Well-being
Green buildings offer a healthier and more comfortable environment for the occupants. Some of these requirements concern the quality of the internal environment, such as air quality, lighting and thermal conditions, which positively impact the health of the occupants.
Reducing Operating Costs
Green buildings are more energy—and resource-efficient and cheaper to run throughout their lifespan. Organizations occupying certified buildings can enjoy lower energy and water consumption rates, maintenance costs and higher efficiency.
Criteria for Green Building Certification
The Green Building Certification criteria cover several aspects of sustainability, including:
Energy Efficiency
This criterion assesses the energy the building consumes to meet all its needs. Existing and new buildings can be graded on their Energy STAR scorecard depending on the efficiency of energy systems, renewable power and energy efficiency measures.
Water Conservation
Developing standards for green building certifications: The building management looks at the amount of water used in constructing the building and the measures taken to conserve water. This includes using water-saving devices, rainwater harvesting systems and methods for treating wastewater.
Sustainable Materials
Environmentally friendly, non-hazardous and locally sourced materials are used in the construction. Construction timbers are assessed for the sustainability of the building material and the environmental impact of the supply chain.
Indoor Environmental Quality
This criterion is related to air quality, light, sound and thermal conditions. Energy conformity in green buildings requires occupants to provide high-quality accommodation in an indoor environment.
Site Selection and Planning
The positioning and design of a building are also considered when getting a green building certification. Buildings should be placed in zones that support such forms of transport as cycling and walking or where interference with the natural landscape, fauna and flora is limited.
Waste Management
Green buildings are assessed on how they manage waste, recycle, compost and correctly dispose of construction waste.
Innovation and Design
The certification process awards particular additional points to facilities that have shown creativity and leadership in building sustainability. New ideas and innovative styles for making the building more sustainable add to the certification points.