“GRIHA takes into consideration various parameters such as orientation, site planning, reuse of water for consumption, use of recycled material, solid waste management, and occupant comfort and well-being, among others, to evaluate the greenness and resource efficiency of the building.”

It’s easy to claim to have constructed a green building, but the larger question is how to go about verifying the claims, leave alone measuring the effectiveness of the green building. GRIHA takes into consideration various parameters such as orientation, site planning, reuse of water for consumption, use of recycled material, solid waste management, and occupant comfort and well-being, among others, to evaluate the greenness and resource efficiency of the building.

“At GRIHA we evaluate various types of buildings – existing, new, affordable housing, small, and large developments. As the first step towards acquiring a GRIHA rating, a feasibility study is conducted right at the design stage. The project is then required to be registered with GRIHA Council, after which an orientation workshop is conducted for the project team – client, architect, MEP consultants, landscape consultants, project manager, etc. Two site visits are conducted during construction to provide guidance and verify the compliances on site.

The third and final site visit is done after completion of the project. On completion, the project team compiles information and evidence to demonstrate compliance with the respective criteria, and submits it to GRIHA Council for the award of rating. Once the documents are validated by third-party reviewers, the rating is awarded. The project needs to submit post-occupancy performance audit data for minimum one year, to validate the claims. The post-occupancy performance audit is a unique feature of the GRIHA rating process,” says Sanjay Seth, CEO, GRIHA Council.

GRIHA has been built keeping in mind the way we design, build and operate our buildings, the climate conditions, construction materials used, etc. However, nothing is set in stone; the rating system keeps evolving, he elaborates.