Frequently Asked Questions

Environmental benefits:

● Reduce wastage of water
● Conserve natural resources
● Improve air and water quality
● Protect biodiversity and ecosystem

Economic benefits:

● Reduce operating costs
● Improve occupant health, reduce sick days.
● Improve productivity, for the individual as well as for the organization.

Social benefits:

● Improve quality of life
● Minimize strain on local infrastructure
● Improve occupant health and comfort
● Popularize green products and services, thus helping create a network additive effect

The incentives provided may differ on a state to state basis, but typically these incentives are based on additional FAR (Floor Area Ratio), Fixed Capital Investment or Permit fees.

In India, Green Building Certification is provided by three organisations.
IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) was formed in 2001 by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The council offers a wide array of services which include developing new green building rating programmes, certification services and green building training programmes. The council also organises Green Building Congress, its annual flagship event on green buildings.
GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) was jointly developed by TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) and the MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy). GRIHA Council, is mandated to promote development of buildings and habitats in India through GRIHA. GRIHA Council an independent platform for the interaction on scientific and administrative issues related to sustainable habitats in the Indian subcontinent.
GBCI (Green Building Certification Inc.) provides LEED certification to green buildings in India. It ensures that buildings match the global standard set by the USGBC for green building certification.

Pre-certification is an optional review pathway available for the projects at the planning (or pre execution) stage. Such projects are registered under a Green Building Certification program. Pre-certification helps you determine how well your architectural plans, simulations, on-site activities etc, align with the requirements of the actual certification process. Thus, this allows registered projects to review the work already completed and confirm that projects are on the correct path towards certification. Once a project has successfully completed the precertification review, the appropriate green building certifying organization will provide formal recognition of the team’s efforts.
It is a concrete way to demonstrate your commitment for certification, and to market the unique and valuable green features of your project to attract tenants and financiers.

GRIHA and IGBC are both Green Building Certification organisations in India, the major difference lies in the criteria according to which they provide certifications. While Site Selection, Planning, Design and Energy Efficiency play a major (around 70%) part in GRIHA certification, IGBC also focuses on other criteria such as Water Efficiency, Waste Management and Indoor Environment Quality. We can help you judge which of these certifications would be a better fit for your project, based on factors like, stage of execution, area of project, budget, any prior constraints etc.

FAR or Floor Area Ratio is the ratio of the Total Floor Area of the building to the total area of the land upon which it is built.
FAR = (Total Floor Area)/(Total land area)
In simple terms, a higher FAR allows you to build more on the same piece of land. You may use this to build additional floors, as an example.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), is a standard set by the USGBC (US Green Building Council) for green building design and certification. It is available for almost all types of buildings (new projects as well as existing buildings), and has been recognised as the global standard in sustainable habitats.

The additional cost can vary depending on the type of certification, the specific rating targeted, quality of materials used and other features already in place for the project. We can help you figure out what this additional cost (if any) would be for choosing a green building construction.

It usually takes around 30 days to get the certification after a project is completed.

Yes, existing buildings can also get green building certifications. There are various programs in different organisations (IGBC, LEED and GRIHA) which provide green building certification for existing buildings.