Indian green building market to double by 2022: ANAROCK

India's green building market is estimated to double by 2022 at 10 billion sq ft, valuing around USD 35-50 billion, driven by increasing awareness level, environmental benefits and government support, according to property consultant ANAROCK.

"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," said Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants.

More than 4,300 projects with about 4.7 billion sq ft of built-up area had registered for green technology as of September 2017, ANAROCK said in its report 'Go Green - The Mantra for Sustainable Living'.

However, Puri said this is only about 5 per cent of the total buildings in India, and hence there is huge potential for further penetration of green building technology.

"Growing at an exponential rate, the Indian green buildings' market is expected to double and may reach around 10 billion sq ft by 2022, valued between USD 35 billion-USD 50 billion," he added.

ANAROCK has defined green building as -- the practice of using processes and technologies which are environment friendly and energy efficient throughout the building's lifecycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction.

LEED (USA), BREEAM (UK), DGNB (Germany) and CASBEF (Japan) are a few of the key global entities that define, categorise and certify green buildings across different countries. In India, IGBC and GRIHA define the green building norms.

Stating that green buildings can improve the environment's ecology in numerous ways, the consultant said that it can reduce the energy consumption by 20-30 per cent, water usage by 30-50 per cent and significantly reduce waste generation by extensive recycling.

ANAROCK said that the green building may cost higher by up to 15 per cent than the conventional buildings. Still, the long-term benefits such as low operating costs along with potential health benefits for the occupiers, make it a viable option.

The report said that the growth of green building in India would be driven by (a) increasing awareness; (b) environmental benefits; (c) government's support, subsidies and compulsions; (d) improving affordability; and (e) countries with more population & limited resources that will to adopt green buildings' practices faster.

ANAROCK said that real estate development is one of the biggest consumers of natural resources and generates significant amounts of wastes and pollutants.

"This sector alone ingests about 40 per cent of natural raw materials, 25 per cent of water and 35 per cent energy resources. In addition, it emits 40 per cent of wastes and 35 per cent of greenhouse gases," it said, adding that the real estate sector can reduce its negative ecological footprint by adopting green building technologies.