Green rating systems for buildings 

measure and quantify the environmental

performance of a given building. India currently has the below green rating systems
for buildings.

 Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA)

 Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED)
 IGBC rating systems

These green rating systems aim to quantify the environmental, economic and socio-

economic benefits of green building design with an emphasis on sustainable site
planning, optimized energy performance, efficient materials, and construction
practices, water, and waste management strategies; and indoor environmental
quality.

1] GREEN RATING FOR INTEGRATED HABITAT ASSESSMENT (GRIHA):

Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is the national rating
system of India for any completed construction, endorsed by the Ministry of New &
Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India and TERI. It is an assessment tool
to measure and rate a building’s environmental performance.

The basic features of GRIHA:

The scheme was created to assist in ‘designing and evaluating’ new buildings
(structures that are still at the starting phases). A building is evaluated based on its
expected results over its full life. The stages of the life cycle identified for evaluation
are:

> Pre-construction stage: Intra and inter-site problems such as access to public

transport, type of soil, kind of land, location of the property, flora, and wildlife on the
ground before construction activity starts, the natural landscape and land features.

> Building planning and construction stages: Resource conservation and

resource allocation problems, energy effectiveness, energy regeneration, and reuse,
and occupant safety and wellness regulations. The prime resources considered in
this section are land, water, energy, air, and green cover.

> Building operation and maintenance stage: Issues relating to the operation and
maintenance of building systems and procedures, tracking and recording of energy
consumption and occupant safety and well-being, as well as problems affecting the
global and local environment

GRIHA Rating Criteria:

GRIHA provides a rating of up to five stars for green buildings and dispenses points
based on criteria’s met by any builder. It comprises a set of 34 criteria, few of them
are:

> Preserving the existing landscape and protecting it from degradation during the
process of construction can fetch 5 points.

> Enhancing energy efficiency of outdoor lighting and promoting usage of renewable
forms of energy to reduce the use of conventional/fossil-fuel-based energy resources
can gain 3 points.

> Preventing or minimization of air pollution from construction activities is also a

GRIHA point.

> Reducing volume, weight and time of construction by adopting efficient technology
(such as pre-cast systems, ready-mix concrete) can fetch 4 GRIHA points.

2] LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT DESIGN (LEED):

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used
green building rating system in the world. It was the Indian Green Business Center
(IGBC), under the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) that facilitated the LEED
rating of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).

At present, to strengthen the global consistency of the LEED rating system,

effective June 5, 2014, GBCI (Green Business Certification Inc.) began
managing the certification process for all LEED rating systems in India, which
was previously managed by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)

LEED India encompasses rating systems for:

 Existing Buildings (EB)

 New Construction (NC)
 Core and Shell (C&S)
 Green Homes
These represent the measurable indicators for global and local concerns in the
Indian scenario. Based on the points achieved, the building may be eligible for
LEED-certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum Rating.

Many buildings in India register for a LEED Green Building Rating. Some of the
major structures that register for a LEED rating are IT Parks, Offices, Banks,
Airports, Convention Centres, Educational institutions, Hotels, and Residential
complexes. LEED-INDIA is, therefore, one of the chief councils to give a green rating
to a structure, whether an apartment, independent home or office. 

3] INDIAN GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL (IGBC) RATING SYSTEM:

IGBC Rating System is a voluntary and consensus-based programme. This rating
system would facilitate the development of energy-efficient, water-efficient, healthy,
more productive, environmentally friendly factories. Below is the list of rating systems
by IGBC:

Resources:
 A summary of all the Indian rating
systems for ‘green’ buildings
(NULL)
by Prabhat Khare, director, KK ConsultantsJune 14, 2021

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In India, the Green Building Code is a mix of many of codes and standards contained in the
by-laws of the National Building Code, the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) and
in the norms set by the ratings programs, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design-India (LEED-India), the standards and guidelines put down for the residential sector
by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), TERI-GRIHA and other such certifications as
well as Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). Basic and general guidelines for efficient energy
usage in the National Building Code (NBC) do exist but they are merely guidelines.

1. LEED/ IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) Green Ratings:

The beginning of Green Building Movement was done by the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) in 2001. They formed the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) in the same
year but the Green Building movement in India started gaining momentum in 2003 and
received a major impetus when, CII – Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre Building in
Hyderabad became the first green building in India & was awarded with the prestigious and
the much coveted LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rating
by the US Green Building Council (USGBS) and also became the world’s greenest Building
in 2003.

Now, a green building is one, which uses less energy, water and other natural resources,
creates less waste & Green House Gases and is healthy for people during living or working
inside as compared to a standard Building. Another meaning of Green building is as a
structure which provided clean environment, water and healthy living. Building Green is not
about a little more efficiency. It is about creating buildings that optimize on the local ecology,
use of local materials and most importantly they are built to cut power, water and material
requirements. It is also known as a sustainable or high performance building. Usually their
performance is based on sustainability criteria which focuses on sustainable sites, water
efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources, indoor environmental quality.

Green building laws and codes in our country are voluntary. Till date, India does not have an
effective and comprehensive green building code unlike like The United States Green
Building Council (USGBC) which established LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design). LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification
system, providing third-party verification for a building using strategies intended to improve
performance in metrics, such as resource utilization, reduced CO2 emissions, improved
indoor environmental quality. The green indicators of LEED have been adopted by as many
as 57 countries, and are considered benchmarks. The LEED benchmark has been recognized
and accepted by most developers, builders, architects and users for constructing core or shell
buildings as well as for furnishing buildings in India.

Post June 5, 2014, when GBCI began managing the certification process for all LEED rating
systems in India, including the LEED India rating system, which was previously managed by
the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), standards have been customized according to
Indian conditions, in terms of the design, construction and operation of buildings for
environment-friendly performance. Its rating system is amended regularly to address not only
the Indian environmental and climatic conditions but also the sustainability issues of
buildings.
2. GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) by TERI (The Energy and
Resources Institute):
The Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment, conceived by TERI (The Energy and
Resources Institute), and developed jointly with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy,
Government of India has been adopted as the national rating system for green buildings by
the Government of India in 2007 providing basic prerequisites for green buildings in terms of
predefined parameters.

3. IEP (Integrated Energy Policy):

In January 2016, the Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) was formulated by GoI providing a
roadmap to develop energy supply options and increased exploitation of renewable energy
sources. In addition, for promotion of Renewable Energy, Government has amended the
National Tariff Policy for electricity in January 2016.

4. BEE Star Rating:

To create a market pull for energy efficient buildings, BEE developed a voluntary Star Rating
Programme for commercial buildings which was launched by Ministry of Power 2009 which
is based on the actual performance of a building, in terms of energy usage in the building
over its area expressed in kWh/sq. Energy Star-rated buildings in India earn substantial
benefits compared to non-green buildings; in particular 40% greater energy efficiency
compared to standard buildings and significant lower operations costs. Based on industry
data, approximately 85% of Energy-Star rated buildings use a system with energy
management controls and 50% use lighting system motion sensors to qualify for the Energy-
Star certification.

5. GEM (Green & Ecofriendly Movement):

In 2017, ASSOCHAM launched the “GEM Sustainability (Green) Certification Program”
with the objective to promote environment friendly green building design and construction.
GEM Sustainability Certification Rating Program is based upon BEE ECBC 2017 and NBC
2016. It aims to address the sustainability of a given development throughout its lifecycle
from design through construction to operation.