The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) have launched LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) 2011 Green Building Rating System for India, signifying a milestone in the green-building movement in India.

Mr Prem C. Jain, Chairman of the Indian council, Ms Lynn Bellenger, President, ASHRAE, Mr Mark MacCracken, Chair of the US Green Building Council , and the board of directors launched the LEED 2011 initiative, according to a statement from CII-IGBC.

The LEED-India, which was launched in 2007, received overwhelming response from the industry. Based on the feedback and experiences of its implementation, the rating system has now been upgraded and called LEED 2011 for India.

With these proposals, LEED 2011 seeks to enhance awareness in energy and water-efficiency baselines, promotes naturally ventilated buildings and encourages passive technologies. It also seeks to align with local regulations and standards, apart from adopting latest standards.

According to CII-IGBC, India has over 995 registered green-building projects with a total footprint of 606 million sq. ft. With this, India is among the top three countries to have a large green-building footprint. This has largely been possible because of the involvement of stakeholders of the building sector — architects, builders, developers, manufacturers and consultants.

The rating system of IGBC covers homes, commercial interiors, factory buildings, schools, special economic zones and townships.

Mr S. Raghupathy, Senior Director and Head of CII-Godrej GBC, said the launch of LEED 2011 green-buildings rating system would pave way for design and construction of some of the best green buildings in India.

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