Review of green building movement and appraisal of rating systems in the Indian context

Abstract

India has two green building programmes: LEED-India and GRIHA, which are in their nascent stages and need to be appraised. This article presents an account of the background to the evolution of the Green Building movement, and compares LEED-India and GRIHA to proven rating tools applied in the United States (US-LEED) and the United Kingdom (BREEAM). It also examines how structural impacts are addressed in the rating tools and how structural engineers, who are one of the stakeholders of Integrated Design Team, can contribute towards assessments of sustainable construction initiatives. The probable criteria to be included in the green building rating systems (GBRS) for the sustainability of structure design are also discussed.