We must inculcate in the stakeholders the urgency of building sustainably. At the initial stage, the investment is higher, but the returns are achieved in a very short timeframe.

Ishan Grover - Principal Architect & Design Director, Karan Grover & Associates

Building ecologically should not be limited to only residential or commercial projects but should be seen across the entire spectrum of construction. The built environment generates 40% of annual global CO2 emissions, of which, operations of the building contribute 27%, and their embodied energy is 13% of all emissions. India is an extremely cost-sensitive country when it comes to construction. The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry must adopt passive and active sustainable techniques in order to safeguard the planet’s future.


IGBC now provides a separate certification under the IGBC NB rating, while LEED certification is done by USGBC directly. For IGBC gold rating, typically, the additional cost over conventional construction would be very minimal. We can consider around 2-3% additional cost for IGBC Gold rating with a payback of around 3 years. In the case of IGBC platinum rating this additional cost would be in the range of 4-8% depending on the number of buildings, types of buildings and their MEP systems and also the amount of onsite solar renewable energy to be installed. The payback would be in the range of 4-6 years maximum or even earlier.

At KGA, we have made use of Compressed Earth Blocks at a Center for Hearing Impaired Children. We are currently starting a project using Rammed Earth technique of construction for a residential project. We have done extensive work in brick where the arches are fully constructed in brick, reducing the use of concrete.