Benefits and hindrances in implementation of green building techniques in real estate project

With the rise in economic growth, there has been a considerable growth in the Construction sector resulting in a wide and extensive usage of the natural resources, which is limited. Also with the growth in the infrastructure facilities for the development of cities there has been continuous harm being created to the environment. Hence, the need to implement Green Building techniques come into picture which would result in the development without harming the environment while also giving certain benefits for the Developers and End users.

The major challenge in Implementation of Green Building Techniques for the Real Estate Sector is the increase in Construction Costs resulting the Developers to not taking a step in adopting it because of the Cost Constraint, difficulty in sourcing green building materials, technology implementation and facilitators in India. The Benefits one could get is tangible and intangible benefits. The tangible benefits accrue from the operational cost savings and reduced carbon emission credits and high rentals or capital value. The intangible benefits are generated from the better working conditions within the building. The prime sources of revenue generation for green buildings are from the non-sustainability discount which gives the green buildings a higher rental value than conventional buildings in the vicinity and the carbon credits earned due to the reduced GHG emissions. Thus, the Benefits are for both the Developer as well as the End user.

The green concept is becoming very popular among developers as they have realised its benefits including fast return on investments. We expect nearly 2 billion sqft of green building space under development by 2015. 1,745 eco-friendly building projects with over 1.21 billion sqft of green footprint are registered with the IGBC. This indicates that there is a great opportunity for developers and occupiers to promote green buildings. Also, it is necessary to promote the Benefits of Green Buildings to everyone as this would increase the awareness and increase the demand for Green Spaces in the market.

LEED is derived from USGBC and similarly IGBC also has its own modified LEED rating system. This Paper follows the IGBC green homes rating system and has to do Analysis based on the different modules under it. Some of the credits of this rating system are very easy to implement and can be taken into consideration since the inception phase of the construction of green buildings.