Number of LEED certified green building projects in India 2019, by state

In 2019, ten Indian states created more than 48 million square meters of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified space. The state of Maharashtra reported the most of these "green" building projects, with a total of 373 projects. Karnataka and Haryana had around 300 and 140, respectively. The projects in Maharashtra amounted to over 10 million square meters.

Certificates to measure “green” construction activities

LEED-certificates were developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1998. The USGBC was also operating a platform with certified building projects worldwide. Its India branch, the Indian Green Building Council, oversaw the certification processes in the country. LEED-certified buildings are intend to be healthier spaces for people as well as more environmentally friendly than other buildings in terms of air pollution, energy consumption, and water usage. As the LEED-certification largely follows American norms, other certificates had been implemented as well. In India, the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) was initiated in 2007.

More consciousness for sustainability?

India signed the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation and therefore pledged to reduce its CO2 emissions. In this regard, 2020 was rather successful, as the carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by over 40 percent in April alone, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Furthermore, there is a growing consciousness among Indians for disaster risk management and more sustainable consumption.