Green Buildings & Code Compliance

What a green building is and its benefits; why it matters (buildings are ~34–37% of global energy and emissions); the major rating systems — LEED, GRIHA, IGBC, ECBC, and BREEAM, CASBEE, Green Star, Estidama Pearl, GBI, BEAM and WELL; ratings for different building types (campus, factory, schools, healthcare, interiors, cities); and the crucial distinction between a voluntary RATING and a mandatory CODE.

Energy in buildings — global consumption, operational vs embodied energy, the Energy Performance Index (EPI), equipment and utility loads, energy-performance assessment and labels; India's ECBC (ECBC, ECBC+, Super-ECBC) for commercial buildings and the ECO-NIWAS Samhita (RETV ≤ 15, roof U-value) for homes; and the prescriptive, whole-building-performance and envelope-trade-off compliance paths.

The US Green Building Council and LEED — its impact categories (Location & Transportation, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation, Regional Priority), 110 points and four levels (Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum); the Indian Green Building Council (CII), LEED-derived; and the certification process from registration to a final certificate.

GRIHA — India's national rating system by TERI and MNRE, administered by the GRIHA Council; its sections and criteria, 100 points plus innovation, and the 1–5 star rating by percentile (25/41/56/71/86 in v2019); the variants (SVAGRIHA, GRIHA for Existing Buildings, Affordable Housing, Cities); and the compliance and evaluation process.

Indian exemplars — the CII–Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (India's first LEED Platinum, and the first outside the USA, 2003), ITC Green Centre, Suzlon One Earth, and Indira Paryavaran Bhawan (GRIHA 5-star, India's first net-zero government building); the design choices behind their ratings; and green-building design requirements pulled together.