Evaluating Green Building Standards: A Comparative Analysis of LEED and GRIHA

Building construction is witnessing growth at highest rate in last 10 years in India. This has an impact on available resources of material for construction, also direct and indirect effect on natural environment and increase in greenhouse Gas emissions. Green building rating systems have been contributing to assessing building performance based on their efforts to minimize this impact on the natural environment. This study analyzes the criteria and their significance in two basic green building rating systems in India LEED and GRIHA. With an urban population exceeding that of the entire USA, India has two systems for encouraging environmentally sustainable growth for its rapidly growing urban population. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-India is associated with the internationally known LEED program, which is administered in India by the Indian Green Business Council. Meanwhile, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) developed GRIHA (the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment). This indigenous green building standard is similar to the LEED system in recognizing development that meets certain environmental and sustainable development practices. This research will analyze and provide important insight into these two competing urban sustainability programs in India and begin a discussion of the merits of each.