The green building movement in India started way back in 1974 as a result of government initiatives and the acceptance of green building guidelines by the corporate sector. Unlike the United States where public awareness and environmental movements was the root cause behind initiating government policies and guidelines on green buildings, major policy decisions by the Indian government were in response to international events such as the OPEC oil embargo and the Brundtland Commission.

In India, the green building movement started with the capacity building measures taken by the government to encourage sustainability in Indian society. These capacity building measures were the Indian government’s response to the energy crisis that had been triggered due to the OPEC oil embargo of 1972 (Bhatnagar 1999, IGBC 2007, TERI 2007). The timeline of the events during the inception stage of the green building movement in India is as follows:

• In 1974, the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) was established. The major mission of the institute was to address the problems in the field of energy, environment and the future patterns of development.

• 1975 saw the establishment of National Hydro Electric Power Corporation.

• In 1976, the National Institute of Ecology was established to enhance environment and conservation through education and research.

• In 1986, the Environmental (Protection) Act was passed in the Parliament.

• In 1991, the Indian Parliament initiated a voluntary eco-labeling programme known as ‘Eco-Mark’ at the initiation of the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

• In 1991, the Government of India declared 14 December as ‘National Energy Conservation Day’.

• In 1996, the Construction Industry Development Council was formed as a nodal agency between the government and the construction industry to address the issues of education, environmental awareness and law enforcement in the construction sector.

With the formation of institutions such as the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), TERI – Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE); the process of adoption of green building guidelines in the country was accelerated (Bhatnagar 1999). This period also marks the first platinum rating award by USGBC to CII Green Business Center under the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) NC version 2.2. (LEED NC v 1.0 was a pilot version.)

In the next phase, the timeline of events of the green building movement in India is as follows:

• In 2001, the Indian Green Building Council was formed. The members of this council were government officials, corporate sector professionals, architects, product manufacturers, etc.

• In the same year, TERI Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) was initiated as a partner of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. TERI BCSD is responsible for TERI - Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment.

• In 2002, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was formed. BEE is an autonomous organisation, with the mission to improve the energy efficiency of the country.

• In 2003, the CII Godrej Green Business Centre was awarded a Platinum Rating by the US Green Building Council under LEED.

• In 2006, the Three Country Energy Efficiency Project (2006) was established with the aim of providing technical assistance to develop financial intermediation mechanisms for energy efficiency in India.

After successful establishment of supporting organisations and drafting major policies, India moved towards green building guidelines. TERI - GRIHA in 2005 and LEED - India in 2007 were launched. Rapid progress in the field of green building guidelines can also be credited to the international pressure on the Indian government to address sustainability issues and the rapid acceptance of LEED by the Indian corporate sector. It should also be mentioned that in this period, the first ever Indian Green Build Conference was held in 2005 with an objective to create awareness, bringing together stakeholders and providing a platform for knowledge sharing and best practices in the green building sector. A chronological progress of the developments that occurred is as follows:

• In 2004, the ITC Green Centre Project in Gurgaon was awarded with platinum rating under LEED. It was the largest platinum rated building in the world at that time and India had two of the seven platinum rated buildings around the world.

• In 2005, US Green Building Council (USGBC) signed the LEEDlicensing agreement with India during its fourth GreenBuild conference at Georgia.

• In 2005, the first Indian GreenBuild conference was organised by IGBC in Delhi.

• In 2007, LEED for New Construction was released by IGBC.

• In 2007, the Government of India introduced Energy Conservation Building Codes for commercial buildings.

• In 2010, TERI and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE) worked together in promoting Green Buildings and MNRE launched GRIHA as the national rating system. The TERI - GRIHA rating system was launched with the aim of achieving efficient resource utilisation, enhanced resource efficiency and improved quality of life in green buildings.

The recent development in the green building sector has been quite dynamic. The Government of India has made GRIHA 3 star mandatory for any new Central Government building constructed since 2010, creating a way forward for others to follow suit and be proactive in creating green buildings. The vision is to create more green buildings that are of high quality, last longer and are cost effective to operate and maintain, and provide greater occupant satisfaction than standard developments. What surprises many people who are unfamiliar with this design movement is that good green buildings are a result of informed choices and technology advancement. q