7 July 2014: The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) and the US Green Building Council (USGBC) have announced a strategic collaboration to advance high-performance buildings in India and Southeast Asia.

The collaboration will focus on promoting Indian and global best practices for efficiency in design construction and operation of high-performance buildings, and consists of a partnership between TERI’s Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) and USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) programmes. The two key initiatives of the partnership, respectively for existing and new buildings, are: support for the LEED Existing Buildings rating system and the LEED Dynamic Plaque system in India and Southeast Asia; and providing pathways for dual ratings for new GRIHA and LEED projects.

Speaking at the launch event, Rajenda Pachauri, TERI Director-General, underlined that “most of the buildings projected to be standing in 2030 in India have yet to be built.” He emphasized that promoting green buildings would avoid a lock-in into intense resource-use patterns. Also speaking at the event, Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair of USGBC, stressed the critical impact of a more sustainable approach to the built environment in developing countries, and highlighted that India is currently the fourth largest market for LEED in the world.

Based in India, TERI is a think tank working in the areas of energy, environment and sustainable development. TERI has developed GRIHA, a green building rating system tailored for India. USGBC promotes a market transformation through its LEED green building programme. In June 2014, USGBC announced it would expand its support for the LEED system in India. [TERI Press Release] [TERI Website] [USGBC Website] [USGBC Press Release on LEED Support]