MAITREE aims at bolstering the widespread adoption of energy efficient technologies and strategies in India, by increasing the uptake of the sustainability and energy efficiency strategies rating system within new and existing developments throughout the country.

However, in the past two decades, the penetration of green building in the Indian construction sector has been an abysmal 5%. To moves towards reducing the impact of building design, construction, and operation on the environment and make buildings efficient, cost effective and healthy for occupants, the country needs to reach a stage of an effective and complete market transformation of the building industry.

With the above consideration, partnering with United States Green Building Council (USGBC), MAITREE carried out the following activities to formulate strategies and implementation frameworks for the widespread adoption of green building, energy efficiency, and clean energy strategies:

1. Organized an International Roundtable on Market Transformation for Green Buildings to identify market barriers to the large-scale uptake of energy efficiency in existing as well as new buildings and approaches for overcoming these barriers. The roundtable had representation from public sector, development organizations, non-profit entities, researchers and academia, green building rating agencies, industry associations, sustainability professionals, energy efficiency experts, architects, engineers, developers, manufacturers, etc.
2. Provided training and lectures at the annual USGBC’s Greenbuild conference in India.
3. Supported private companies, developers with conducting feasibility studies for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) Zero and identified measures to move towards Net Zero Energy Building.
4. Designed, developed, and conducted a detailed survey to identify, characterize and rank market barriers for mainstreaming green buildings and increase the green share of construction activity in the Indian context. This including the shift in perception and priorities of the building construction industry post COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Identified key challenges faced by project stakeholders and the potential actionable items that could be instituted at regional and national level to address barriers for market transformation
6. Organized an online Industry Roundtable to share the findings of a nationwide study “Building Green: Approach & Insights for Market Transformation” and engaged with industry experts for their perspectives on best practices and efforts towards market transformation. The white paper is particularly relevant for many South Asian countries that face similar issues and barriers towards the scaling of green built environments.