KOCHI: Sustainable architecture and green buildings are an emerging and on-demand trend in Kerala’s real estate sector, driven mostly by the corporate world.
The latest report by real estate consultant Knight Frank India said Kerala has around 28 LEED-certified buildings. Short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED is the most widely-used green building rating system in the world. As per the data till October, Kochi is top among districts with 14 LEED-certified buildings with a total gross floor area of 37,89,212 sq ft. Wipro Ltd, Brigade World Trade Centre in Infopark are some of the LEED-certified buildings in Kochi.
Though Thiruvananthapuram has fewer LEED-certified buildings (8) than Kochi, it has 41,48,834 sq ft of gross floor area, the highest among districts. Kozhikode has three buildings with a gross floor area of 50,943 sq ft.
Alappuzha has two buildings with total gross floor area of 1 lakh square feet, while Kannur has one LEED-certified building with a gross floor area of 1,000 sq ft.
Customer preference too shifting to sustainable offices, say experts
Real estate experts said the sector in Kerala has undergone an upgrade and there is inclination towards green and sustainable infrastructure. Hence, the rise in LEED-certified buildings in Kerala.
“IBM India Pvt Ltd, which opened its office in Infopark, Kochi, has an internal audit for the building with parameters like safety and sustainability. Corporates prefer building that caters to their audit checklist and automatically falls under LEED or Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) certification,” said a developer.
Ajay Koshy, head (design management), Brigade Enterprises Ltd said the firm has over 20 buildings that are platinum or gold certified by either LEED or IGBC in major cities.
“We are extremely conscious about the environmental impact of our actions. We operate in the most sustainable and energy-efficient manner, be it in energy utilisation, sustainability, waste segregation or water management, and adhere to stringent processes to ensure the minimum possible contribution in terms of carbon footprint,” he said.
Experts said from a customer perspective too, preference is increasingly shifting to sustainable offices and this gives builders more impetus to go green. As per Knight Frank, when assessing the risk and viability of a company, investors are increasingly taking sustainable, ethical and responsible business operations into account.
“As the collective consciousness of the global population increasingly leans towards environment-first and socially responsible companies, Indian corporates are compelled to respond to the growing attention and trend in non-financial reporting and performance. Investors are keen to assist socially and ecologically conscious businesses in India,” said Sujatha Ganapathy, vice-president of Sustainability and Well Standard Business at Knight Frank India.