5 Best Green Buildings of India Embracing Sustainable Lifestyle

In the real estate realm of India, at a forefront of Green buildings, Green revolution is in progress where buildings are renovated to live and breathe with nature & redefine the way we dwell in spaces. Green buildings are not just structures providing shelter, in fact they are generating energy, conserving water & crafting healthier environments for occupants.

Let’s step into the sphere of Green buildings where the blend of cutting-edge technologies with architectural brilliance welcomes you to create better hope for future. In the wheels of Green buildings, Solar panels harness the power of sun to fuel the energy needs, Rain water harvesting system utilizes the rain water intelligently to preserve the precious renewable resource, smart building automation systems & sensors optimizes energy consumption with real-time features.

From opting the LEED-certified structures to GRIHA-rated marvels, the government, visionary developers, architects, engineers and policymakers are promoting green buildings & embracing sustainable construction practices in our nation like never before.

So, get ready to watch the major Green Buildings of India & their tech-backed sustainable features, which are not built with just Brick & Mortar but also with innovation & environmental consciousness!

Suzlon One Earth, Pune

Being one of the Greenest Corporate campuses in the world, Suzlon One Earth is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum and GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) 5 star certified building in the world. The whole corporate campus is alienated into five key categories which are rightly named after the five fundamental elements of nature – Aqua, Sun, Sky, Tree and Sea. Productively,  Suzlon One Earth reduces the operating cost by 35 percent through leveraging sustainable and safe practices including Rain water harvesting, on-site waste conversion and eco-friendly infrastructure constructed based on an ‘Office in Garden’ design that capitalizes the use of daylight. Spanning across 10 acres, the campus is entirely power-driven by renewable energy such as hybrid wind turbines, solar panels & photovoltaic cells which creates & maintains an optimistic environment in & out.

“Our unwavering commitment to harnessing renewable energy has cleared a path towards a future that relies on clean and sustainable energy” - Jayarama Prasad Chalasani, Group CEO, Suzlon Group.

Infinity Benchmark, Kolkata

Certified by US Green building council (USGB) as a top platinum rated green building under LEED Core & Shell ver. 2.0, Infinity Benchmark, Kolkata is one of the top among 7 green buildings in the world. This is the second building in India apart from US and the first from eastern India to enter the green club. The building has designed with utmost flexibility & cost-efficient methods & activities to promote the sustainable facet in the surrounding atmosphere. In the building infrastructure, there are several treatments installed to treat the waste water and alter high water standards onsite. Resulting to this, treated waste water from STP is being utilized for irrigation, air-conditioning and flushing functions inside the building. Preferred electric charge points & car parks provided for EVs to reduce the impacts from the usage of Automobiles. Soil sedimentation control measures are taken to avoid the risks of soil erosion. To evade heat piercing into the building, dedicated walls & roofs are insulated accurately.  

“Though at a nascent stage, India has emerged as one of the leading countries in terms of green buildings' projects. India ranks only second after the US in terms of the number of green technology projects and built-up area”, - Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultant.

ITC Maurya Hotel, New Delhi

Cuddled with greenery in the heart of Delhi, ITC Maurya occurs as a favorable residence for state & global business veterans over 25 years.  Qualified by LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a rating system for green buildings, ITC Maurya is known as “The Greenest luxury hotel chain in the world” as it successfully executes the eco-friendly & sustainable operations in infrastructure. To reduce the demand for cooling, more than 25 percent of building area covered with native plants cultivation which significantly promotes the environment-friendly ambience in the residences. To boost the energy efficiency performances, there are several sustainable components are accounted such as HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning), thermal system, water management system, building management system and so on. The energy usage of ITC Maurya is very crucial as it consumes 23 percent less than the USGBC’s (US Green Building Council) national average for luxurious hotels. For cleaning and sanitizing mechanisms, they use Green Sealed Certified Chemicals, equipment and environment-friendly & responsible pesticides. Thereby, from planning to designing & maintaining, ITC Maurya acts as beacon for green buildings out there.

“One of the key drivers of sustainability in the Indian real estate sector is the adoption of green building certifications. These certifications encourage the use of energy-efficient materials and ensuring that buildings minimize their carbon footprint and promote healthier living environments”,- Arshdeep Singh Mundi, Executive Director, Jujhar Group.

CII Godrej Green Business Centre, Hyderabad

Nestled in the city of architecture & pearls, CII Godrej Green Business Centre, Hyderabad is one of the top LEED Platinum-rated green buildings in the world. The infrastructure of the building is built with numerous first-class energy and eco-friendly features such as HVAC system, passive cooling system with wind towers, artistic roof gardens, rain water harvesting, root zone treatment system, solar PV systems and so on. To hearten the usage of recycled content in building construction, Fly-ash based bricks, glass, aluminum and ceramic tiles from industrial wastes are used in the building construction market. The usage of solar photovoltaics caters 20 percent of the energy requirements of the building. Other notable green features of the building are energy efficient lighting systems, water-less urinals for men restrooms, shaded car parks, operable lighting & window controls, water-efficient fixtures and so on.

“Being aware of the environment will go a long way in making our lives better and our planet habitable for our future generations to live in”,-Saurabh Sood, Founder, Nature Homes.

Patni (i-GATE) Knowledge Center, Noida

Located very close to New Delhi, Patni (i-GATE) Knowledge Center, Noida is one of the most important & advanced green buildings of India.  This inventive & ecological-friendly infrastructure has been awarded as the second largest platinum-rated LEED certified green building by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). Straddling over 5 acres of land, this Green-IT BPO Centre holds seating for over 3500 people. To boost and garner the green spaces, the infrastructure has designed around two gorgeous courts with numerous water bodies, sculptures and plants. The artistic & aesthetic water facets of the building acting as natural cooling properties that aids to minimize the ambient temperature of the building. In order to decrease the practices of artificial lightings in the office bodies, the area is purposefully designed to receive natural light over 75 percent of area. The other prominent green facets of the building including installation of drip water irrigation system, passive cooling & natural ventilation, CO₂ sensors for healthy air quality, 100 percent recycling of sewage system & so on.

“The global built environment is uniquely positioned to be the pre-eminent laboratory for experimentation with carbon offsets, voluntary carbon credits and voluntary carbon markets. These are the levers of climate action that stand to address the embedded carbon in existing buildings”, - Mahesh Ramanujam, President & CEO, Global Network for Zero.

Ultimately, these green buildings in India signify a significant shift towards sustainable and environmentally conscious construction practices. In such case, the government of India committed to fund the infrastructure required for EV manufacture & charging. In the interim budget 2024, Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman promised to develop the EV industry by emphasizing production, infrastructure for charging & solarization of one crore households. With the unwavering hold of government initiatives, industry stakeholders, and real estate vanguards, the implementation & standards of green building has gained momentum to promote resource efficiency & reduce environmental crash. By embracing the green buildings & latest technologies, undeniably India is heading towards a proactive standpoint in creating more recovered & sustainable built atmosphere for future generations to come.