The city sees a 26 percent increase in the past five years, Mumbai and Delhi follow up.
The Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis(CBRE) report puts Bangalore at top of all big Indian cities in terms of green office spaces. The city has around 30 percent of the total pan-Indian office space, followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. Bengaluru saw a 26 percent increase in green office spaces in the past five years. It has more than a hundred million square kilometers of green office area.
Investors say the demand for green buildings is a result of increasing awareness towards the environment. Saroj Jha, General Manager at a commercial building company said, “nowadays it’s a priority on the commercial angle, there is a requirement of green certified offices. Both buyers and authorities are making the requirement of green buildings mandatory.” He explains that green certifications for buildings are becoming mandatory as authorities are getting more stringent.
Sustainable architects talk about green buildings being cost and resource efficient in the long run, but the initial construction costs incurred are high. Bijith Bhaskar, owner and head architect at Earth Soul Projects said, “The complete focus is on using natural resources and capturing natural energy for minimum impact on health. There are builders who take certifications for marketing, but later on they don’t follow the ethics. The building has to continue being sustainable and eco-friendly even after its construction.”
For a building to be fully sustainable it’s construction, design and operation has to be environment friendly. Sustainability experts emphasize that this approach is just a small step to reduce our carbon-footprint. Shabnam Bassi, Director Sustainable buildings at The Energy and Resources Institute(TERI) said, “It is true that people are becoming more environmentally conscious with time, but it is still thought that sustainability is an elite concept. It still has to reach the masses. It is because of this that we are also targeting lower-income households now.”
According to the Institute Of Social and Economic Change(ISEC), a green building can reduce energy costs by 40 percent in comparison to traditional buildings. Such buildings help towards biodiversity preservation, waste reduction, and natural resource conservation.
