Green building to grow by 20% in India by 2018: USGBC

Green building industry will grow by 20 per cent in India in the next three years, mainly on account of environmental regulation and rising demand, a report said.
The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced the outcome of the Dodge Data & Analytics World Green Building Trends 2016 SmartMarket Report, in which the USGBC is a contributing partner.
"The new report finds that by 2018, the green building industry in India will grow by 20 per cent driven largely by environmental regulations and demand for healthier neighborhoods," USGBC said in a statement.
New high-rise residential, communities and mixed-use development are expected to be the top three sectors for green building growth in India, it added.

The report, conducted in nearly 70 countries, also demonstrates that global green building continues to double every three years.
The report said the increase in consumer demand has pushed the world's green building market to a trillion dollar industry, a surge that has led to a corresponding increase in the scope and size of the green building material market, which is expected to reach USD 234 billion by 2019.

Green building programs such as LEED have been significant drivers of market transformation across the globe.
Today, there are nearly 75,000 commercial projects participating in LEED across the globe, with 1.85 million sq ft of building space which LEED is certifying every day.

In India, there are more than 1,990 projects, comprising more than 822 million sq ft of space, participating in LEED.
"The growth of LEED reflects its global adaptability as the world's most widely used and recognised system guiding the design, construction, operations and maintenance of green buildings," Mahesh Ramanujam, COO, USGBC, said.
The report found that green buildings offer significant operational cost savings compared with conventional buildings.
To this effect, respondents expect 14 per cent savings in operational costs over five year savings for new green buildings and 13 percent savings in operational costs over five years for green retrofit and renovation projects.

Building owners also report that green buildings - whether new or renovated - command a 7 percent increase in asset value over conventional buildings.