Climate changes and global warming are very real threats. The earth is slowly running out of natural resources and there is a growing need to conserve whatever natural resources can be saved. This is how non-profit organizations like the US Green Building Council (USGBC) have come into existence. The Green Building Council is the only certification and credentialing body in the green sustainability industry to administer professional credentials and project certifications to programs such as LEED.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is one of the most popular international Green Building Certification programs used globally. Its aim is to help builders and operators to use the environment responsibly and the resources efficiently. It is mainly focused on new building projects and rating is based on a points system. The more points you score, the higher the rating. The certification attained can range from silver, gold to platinum.

Some of the parameters used include green measurable building design, construction, operation and maintenance of the building. LEED provides third-party verification that the building was indeed constructed using strategies that enhance performance across all important metrics for water efficiency, energy-saving, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, improved indoor environmental quality, reduction in CO2 emissions and sustainable sites.

The LEED system is flexible and can be applied to both commercial and residential buildings and works throughout the cycle of the building through its designing, construction, operation, maintenance, inhabitation as well as retrofitting. In this way, LEED provides a framework for creating healthy, energy-efficient and cost-saving green buildings.

Over 2.2 million sq ft of over 92,000 projects are LEED-certified on a daily basis at the global level. LEED certification has its presence in over 165 countries and attracts more tenants as such buildings are cheaper to operate – as they save on water, energy, resources and generate less human waste. They also support better living conditions, offering better human health.

To unify and strengthen global consistency in the LEED rating program, GBCI (Green Business Certification Inc.) took over management of the certification of all LEED rating systems in India in 2014. This also included the LEED India rating system which was earlier controlled by IGBC (Indian Green Building Council). And for those LEED India projects which were registered with IGBC up to June 30, 2014, they will be certified by IGBC till June 2018 in accordance with agreements made with USGBC.

GBCI now manages the LEED certification program in India along with a dedicated team of technical experts to ensure the highest levels of quality and integrity.