The purpose of any green building rating system is to ensure that an existing or upcoming project should incorporate the finest green building practices that would ensure sustained savings and enhanced operation and processes. A green building rating should be holistic, user-friendly and robust and should offer the best services to its stakeholders. Based on these principals, CII’s Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), with the support of all stakeholders, has launched the following nine Green Building Rating Systems to suit different types of buildings:

1. IGBC Green New Buildings (NB)

2. IGBC Green Existing Buildings (EB)

3. IGBC Green Homes

4. IGBC Green Schools

5. IGBC Green Factory Buildings

6. IGBC Green Townships

7. IGBC Green Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

8. IGBC Green Landscapes

9. IGBC Green Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS)

These rating systems are based on the five elements of nature (panchabhutas) and are a blend of ancient architectural practices and modern state-of-the-art technological innovations. Most importantly, they address the national priorities, namely conservation of natural resources, infrastructure, water efficiency, energy efficiency, handling of domestic waste and occupant health and well-being. IGBC green building certifi cation process adopts the following holistic multi-pronged strategy in the overall rating process:

Online Project Registration: Project owners aspiring for green building certification need to register online at www.igbc.in, indicating the built-up area, type of building, mode of payment of registration fee and their choice of the applicable rating system. IGBC then shares with them the required templates, important instructions and other necessary information.

Feasibility Study: A major step in the process is conducting a project feasibility study. This enables the project team to chalk out a roadmap for achieving the desired green building rating level. The broad areas that are evaluated during the study are:

• Sustainable Architecture and Design

• Site Selection and Planning

• Water Conservation

• Energy Efficiency

• Building Materials and Resources

• Indoor Environmental Quality

• Innovation and Development

Facilitation: The next major step is project facilitation. The green building consultant plays a vital role here. IGBC counsellors also hand-hold and guide the project team and the green building consultant during the facilitation process.

Green Building Design and Construction: IGBC recommends that project teams should consider green building consultants who are IGBC Accredited Professionals (IGBC APs) for the overall feasibility study and facilitation process. IGBC APs are credible professionals who advise the project team on various eco-friendly concepts, technologies and products specific to the project.

Pre-certification: Developer based projects have the choice to opt for precertification at the design stage. This results in optimization of costs and resources. Pre-certification also helps determine which credits and pre-requisites are likely to be achieved during the final rating. In addition, it allows developers to showcase the proposed green features to prospective tenants.

Documentation and Certification: Documentation is a critical process towards achieving the desired green building rating. In view of its importance, IGBC permits project documentation to be submitted in two phases

• Preliminary submission

• Final submission

Preliminary phase submission includes the mandatory requirements and the number of credits that the project team aspires for. It is reviewed by a third party assessor appointed by IGBC for the specific project. Review comments are provided by IGBC to the owner/ project team within 30 days. The final submission includes clarifi cations for preliminary review queries. IGBC provides review of the final submission also within 30 days, after which it awards the rating.

To achieve an IGBC Green Building Rating, the project must satisfy all the mandatory requirements and the minimum number of credit points in each section. The project team is expected to provide supporting documents at preliminary and final stages of submission for all the mandatory requirements and the credits attempted. The project needs to submit the following:

• General information including the project brief, project type, different types of spaces, occupancy schedule, number of

floors and area statement.

• General drawings including the master/site plan, parking plans, floor plans, elevations, sections, photographs and

rendered images.

• Filled-in templates available in the IGBC rating manual.

• Narratives and supporting documentation such as drawings, calculations (in excel sheets), declarations, contract documents, purchase invoices and manufacturer cut-sheets/ letters/ material test reports for each mandatory requirement and for each credit attempted.

Physical Audit: IGBC, through a third party assessor team, carries out a detailed physical audit of the project to ensure that it meets allthe requirements for the rating. At this stage, IGBC counsellors advise the project team on the scope for further improvements. Physical audit is usually conducted when about 20-30% of the project work is completed. This provides an opportunity to the project team to take stock of the progress made, and to look at the possibility of incorporating suggestions made by the audit team. In addition, IGBC collects energy and water performance data annually from all certified projects to ensure that they are able to achieve sustained performance as envisaged at the design stage.

Final Award of Rating: After verifying all the documents and submittals of the project team, IGBC awards a final rating to the project. Following are the levels of rating:

The IGBC plaque and certificate are generally provided to the project team at the annual Green Building Congress.