There are buildings which adopt one or more green features. To recognize the extent of green features that a building adopts, rating systems have been evolved and come of age in US and Europe. The prime objective of the rating system is to bring change in the market wherein the user demands green products. One of the most popular rating systems being adopted in the US is the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environment Design) System of USGBC.
LEED Rating is done for –
- New construction & Major renovation
- Existing building
- Commercial interior
- Core & shell
- Homes
- Neighborhood development
Rating System in India
LEED-INDIA provides building owners, architects, consultants, developers, facility managers and project managers the tools they need to design, construct and operate green buildings.
LEED-INDIA promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in the following five key areas: Sustainable site development, Water savings, energy efficiency, Material selection and Indoor environmental quality
Three Primary Rating Systems for Green Buildings in India
There are three primary Rating systems in India.
- GRIHA
- IGBC
- BEE
Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA)
Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is India’s own rating system jointly developed by TERI and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. It is a green building design evaluation system where buildings are rated in a three-tier process. The process initiates with the online submission of documents as per the prescribed criteria followed by on site visit and evaluation of the building by a team of professionals and experts from GRIHA Secretariat.
GRIHA rating system consists of 34 criteria categorized in four different sections. Some of them are –
- Site selection and site planning
- Conservation and efficient utilization of resources
- Building operation and maintenance
- Innovation
Commonwealth Games Village, New Delhi, Fortis Hospital, New Delhi, CESE (Centre for Environmental Sciences & Engineering), IIT Kanpur, Suzlon One Earth, Pune and many other buildings has received GRIHA rating.
Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)
The Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) is the rating system developed for certifying Green Buildings. LEED is developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the organization promoting sustainability through Green Buildings. LEED is a framework for assessing building performance against set criteria and standard points of references. The benchmarks for the LEED Green Building Rating System were developed in year 2000 and are currently available for new and existing constructions.
IGBC has developed the following green building rating systems for different types of building in line and conformity with US Green Building Council. Till date, following Green Building rating systems are available under IGBC:
- LEED India for New Construction
- LEED India for Core and Shell
- IGBC Green Homes
- IGBC Green Factory Building
- IGBC Green SEZ
- IGBC Green Townships
Some examples of LEED rated building in India
Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)
BEE developed its own rating system for the buildings based on a 1 to 5 star scale. More stars mean more energy efficiency. BEE has developed the Energy Performance Index (EPI). The unit of Kilo watt hours per square meter per year is considered for rating the building and especially targets air conditioned and non-air conditioned office buildings.
The Reserve Bank of India’s buildings in Delhi and Bhubaneshwar, the CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre and many other buildings have received BEE 5 star ratings.
