NEW DELHI: Occupiers’ preference to lease in green certified buildings has gained momentum in key office markets across India. During Q2 2024, about 13 million sq ft of office space in the top six cities has been leased in green-certified buildings, according to Colliers India.
This represents a 24% year-on-year increase and accounts for an impressive 82% share in overall leasing during the quarter.
This rapid growth is an indication of the rising awareness amongst corporate occupiers with respect to the role that built structures have to play in containing issues related to climate change through reducing carbon footprint.
The share of Bengaluru followed by Mumbai remained significant, together accounting for over 50% of the leases in green-certified buildings in Q2 2024. Interestingly, of the 13 million sq ft of leases signed in green buildings, about 60% were in relatively newer developments which have come in the last five years.
About 80% of leasing by technology and engineering & manufacturing firms since 2023 were in green-certified buildings. About 62% of the flex players prefer space take-up in green-certified buildings.
Overall, at an India level, technology sector accounted for about 27% share in the cumulative space take up in green-certified buildings since 2023, followed by occupiers from Engineering & Manufacturing and BFSI sectors with about 19% share each.
“Since 2023, about 70-80% of the space uptake by Engineering & Manufacturing, Technology and BFSI players has been in green-certified buildings. The trend is expected to further accelerate in the next few years,” said Arpit Mehrotra, managing director, Office services, India, Colliers.
In the next two-three years, majority of the over 150 million sq ft Grade A office developments in various stages of construction across the six major cities are likely to be green certified, expanding Grade A green stock to over 600 million sq ft.
“With growing demand, developers are also retrofitting ageing office stock and incorporating sustainable elements in overall building design & construction. About 300-350 million sq ft of commercial building stock older than 10 years hold the potential to get refurbished in the next few years and add to the green-certified office stock of the country,” said Vimal Nadar, senior director and head of research, Colliers India.
