India’s urbanisation is marked, among other things, by a rise in the number of commercial buildings and corporate offices. As officegoers spend almost half their waking hours inside their office building, the way the building is designed and operated impacts their mental and physical health and productivity. The onus is on real estate developers to design buildings for maximum safety and healthy living conditions and this focus has sharpened amidst concerns over the pandemic and climate change.
It is the responsibility of corporates to consciously opt for spaces that are certified green for sustainability and healthy working conditions and we have seen encouraging progress in this direction in recent years.
Most green certifications today, including LEED and LEED v 4.1, focus strongly on ensuring the well-being of people inside buildings. LEED also promotes socially responsible practices as well as social equity for communities in and around the project site; daily wage workers; and suppliers – anyone who is touched by the building.
As the construction, operation and maintenance of buildings impact multiple industry sectors, communities and environmental aspects, green buildings can help businesses meet as many as 11 of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Corporates seeking to build and strengthen their green credentials and ESG (environmental, social and governance) initiatives are focussing strongly on green building certification as one of the first steps.
Environmental, financial and energy gains from sustainable projects: A Cushman & Wakefield report suggests that LEED-certified office buildings are valuable for investors focussed on properties that perform strongly on ESG parameters. An analysis of LEED-certified buildings delivered between 2010 and 2020 reveals that these properties consistently yielded more rent than non-certified spaces and witnessed comparatively less vacancy.
The environmental and cost benefits of green certifications are well-documented. A 2014 UC Berkeley study had found that the green-house gas emissions of buildings built as per LEED standards were lower than those of conventionally structured buildings by 50 per cent for water consumption, 48 per cent for solid waste and 5 per cent for transportation.
Furthermore, green buildings lowered carbon dioxide emission by 34 per cent, energy consumption by 25 per cent, water consumption by 11 per cent and notched up an average ENERGY STAR score of 89 out of 100.
Where India and Indian corporates stand on the green front: Over the years, many of India’s leading business houses, hospitality chains, and real estate groups have achieved LEED certification, while many others are working towards it. Large commercial developers such as Embassy, DLF, Nucleus and K. Raheja have their portfolio certified under LEED. Corporate players like ITC group and Infosys have also adopted LEED for their facilities across India.
Among interior office spaces, Citibank, Amazon, American Express, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, Google, HP, HSBC Bank, LinkedIn, SAP, Shell, UBS, VMWare, Well Fargo, Synopsys, Symantec and Thryve Digital Health LLP are LEED Platinum-certified.
India ranks third worldwide as far as the number of LEED-certified buildings are concerned. Mumbai, India’s financial capital, saw doubling of LEED certification in 2022, when compared to the tally in 2021. The city now has a total of 215 LEED-certified buildings. The momentum for green certification is evident even outside Mumbai, with 53 buildings in Maharashtra achieving LEED certification in 2022, as against 27 in 2021.
Green buildings lowered carbon dioxide emission by 34 per cent, energy consumption by 25 per cent, water consumption by 11 per cent and notched up an average ENERGY STAR score of 89 out of 100
Green qualifications and job opportunities: Employees, investors and regulators in all industries are closely examining the ESG performance of companies. The top 1,000 listed companies in India are now required to report their sustainability-related plans, investments, programmes, impact and stakeholder relationships.
All companies today need business managers who understand ESG and can integrate it within their business goals and strategies. Many leading business schools across the country are including sustainability and ESG topics in their teachings and research. Students and professionals seeking to acquire in-demand skills for career success would do well to earn qualifications in green practices.
As far as LEED goes, the qualifications include LEED green associates, LEED accredited professionals or LEED lab. There is a growing number of ‘green professionals’ across India, who ensure smart design, construction, and operations on the field, and who guide sustainability-focussed decisions in corporate boardrooms.
Leading players in facilities and transaction management have also begun to strengthen their focus on sustainability and ESG. LEED education and credentialling is proving to be an effective tool for them to enhance capacity building, develop expertise and add value to their customers
The engine of the green building movement has been set into motion and it will drive innovation and better performance across the built environment in the years ahead.