Among all sectors, the technology sector accounted for the largest share, at around 27 percent, of the cumulative space occupied by green-certified buildings since January 2023 | Photo: Shutterstock
Occupant preference for renting green-certified buildings, so called because they are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient, has been on the rise in India.
During the April-June quarter this year, 12.9 million square feet (msf) of office space was leased in green-certified buildings across India’s top six cities, according to data shared by real estate consultancy Colliers on Tuesday.
This represents an increase of 24 percent compared to 10.5 million square feet in the same quarter of 2023 and represents 82 percent of total office leasing (15.8 million square feet) during the quarter.
Currently, there are several green certifications in the Indian market, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), which validate buildings as “green” by assessing various parameters, including energy consumption, waste generation, and alignment of design with health and wellness aspects.
“Real estate developers are increasingly aligning their offerings with global sustainability standards, simultaneously delivering a range of tangible benefits to their tenants, including lower operating costs, improved indoor air quality and increased employee productivity,” Colliers said.
The data was shared for six cities – Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. As of January 2023, the highest leasing for green-certified office buildings was recorded in Bengaluru at 16.5 million sq ft. This was followed by 11.8 million sq ft in Delhi NCR and 11.2 million sq ft in Chennai.
Among all sectors, the technology sector accounted for the largest share, around 27 percent, of the cumulative space occupied in green-certified buildings since January 2023.
They were followed by occupants from the Engineering & Manufacturing and BFSI sectors with a share of 19 per cent each.
Arpit Mehrotra, managing director of Colliers’ office services in India, said the growing interest among occupants in green buildings is also due to the mandatory sustainability reporting norm by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
According to the market regulator’s corporate responsibility and sustainability reporting framework, the top 1,000 listed companies in India (by market capitalisation) are required to disclose their information related to environment, society and governance as a mandatory process.
Colliers data also highlighted that with the demand for green-certified buildings on the rise, their supply is also seeing an uptick. As of June 2024, about 67 per cent of Grade A office buildings in India were green-certified.
As of January 2023, green buildings account for 78 percent of all office space supply in the country. The consultancy predicted that in the next two to three years, most Grade A office developments of over 150 million square feet at various stages of construction in the six major cities are likely to be green certified.
This would increase the total stock of grade A green coal to over 600 million sq ft in India.
“With the growing demand, developers are also renovating the old office park and incorporating sustainable elements in the overall design and construction of the buildings,” said Vimal Nadar, senior director and head of research at Colliers India.
“Approximately 300 to 350 million square feet of commercial buildings older than 10 years have the potential to be redeveloped in the coming years and add to the country’s green-certified office stock,” Nadar said.
First published: August 13, 2024 | 10:57 am IS
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