Rub of the green
India has seen an over four-fold increase in certified green buildings in the past five years, with a serious focus on sustainability practices. But there is a long road ahead before green design becomes a dominant trend in the building industry. Here are some roadblocks and future milestones
If you thought wearing a green badge was just about letting people know you care for the environment and sustainability, think again. Over the past five years, the number of certified green buildings in the country has seen a more than four-fold increase, and all of it can't just be about the clean and green image. Going by the latest data available with the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), which gives green ratings to buildings, including administering the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), it has 343 green rated buildings with a total green building footprint of 1.3 billion sq ft. India's very own national rating system, the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), which is still in its early days operationally, has an approximate green building footprint of over 107 million sq ft.