India Ranks Third Among Top 10 Countries for LEED Green Building

Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that India ranks third on USGBC's second annual ranking of the Top 10 Countries for LEED, the world's most widely used and recognized green building rating system. The Top 10 list highlights countries outside of the U.S. that are making significant strides in sustainable building design, construction and transformation, illustrating the ever-growing international demand for LEED green buildings. The announcement comes at a time of increased international focus on climate change mitigation in the lead up to the United Nation's COP21 climate negotiations this December.

India's dominant position in the green building movement is significant due to the country's aggressive plans to expand access to electricity, it explosive economic growth projections and its unprecedented and rapid urbanization. USGBC's announcement also comes at a time of increased environmental awareness in India as conversations across the subcontinent focus on alleviating the highly toxic levels of air and water pollution that are pervasive in some of India's largest population centers. LEED is poised to feature prominently as a strong eco-friendly solution for Indian business leaders and policymakers, and can be a powerful tool in efforts such as the 100 Smart Cities initiative due to the rating system's emphasis on social equity and inclusivity, environmental health, innovative design and transportation efficiency—all areas which the government has deemed to be essential to ensuring that India's new Smart Cities are successful.

"Given India's regional and global significance, it is very encouraging to see the country successfully positioning itself as an international leader in the green building and sustainability movements at the same time that its prominence as a global leader in technology and the information economy is growing," said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. "The international community cannot solve major challenges such as climate change and water scarcity without India's full and enthusiastic participation."

The 10 countries that made the list for 2015 are geographically and culturally diverse, representing seven of the world's 20 largest single-nation economies by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (China, Germany, Brazil, India, Canada, South Korea and Turkey), as well as six of the top 11 emitters of greenhouse gases (China, India, Germany, South Korea, Canada and Brazil).

The analysis used to develop the list ranks countries in terms of gross square meters and numbers of LEED projects to date. LEED-certified spaces use less energy and water resources, save money for families, businesses and taxpayers, reduce carbon emissions and create a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community. The United States, the birthplace of LEED, is not included in this list but remains the world's largest market for LEED. The U.S. is the world's largest economy by GDP as well as the world's second largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Every day, nearly 172,000 GSM of space is certified using LEED, and there are currently more than 69,800 commercial and institutional projects representing 1.23 billion GSM of space participating in the green building rating system. An additional 76,500 residential units have been certified under LEED for Homes. LEED projects can now be found in more than 150 countries and territories across the world.

Source : Equity Bulls

Keywords