}}){kind=logo}
IGBC Rating Systems
Green building rating brings together a host of sustainable practices and solutions to reduce the environmental impacts. Green building design provides an integrated approach considering life cycle impacts of the resources used.
An important development in the growth of green building movement in India is the launch of the following IGBC Green Building Rating Systems:
Government Incentives
IGBC GREEN Residential
.png){kind=icon}
.png){kind=icon}
IGBC GREEN Commercial
IGBC GREEN Industrial
IGBC GREEN Built Environment
.png){kind=icon}
IGBC NET ZERO
Other Building Typologies
.png){kind=icon}
Registration
Project teams interested in IGBC Project certification must first register with IGBC.
Registration is the initial step which helps establish contact with IGBC and provides access to the required documents, templates, important communications and other necessary information. Once the project is registered, the project team can start preparing for documentation & calculations to satisfy mandatory requirements and credit submittal requirements.
Certification
To achieve the IGBC rating , the project must satisfy all the mandatory requirements and the minimum number of credit points.
The project team is expected to provide supporting documents at preliminary and final stage of submission, for all the mandatory requirements and the credits attempted.
The project documentation is submitted in two phases preliminary submittal and final submittal:
Preliminary phase involves submission of all documents, which shall include mandatory requirements and the minimum number of credits. The preliminary submission would commence on receipt of the certification fee (refer respective IGBC rating web page for fee details). Later the preliminary submission would be reviewed by a third party assessor and the review comments would be shared within 30 working days.
-
The next phase involves submission of clarifications to preliminary review queries and final submittal. This review will also be provided within 30 working days, after which the rating is awarded.
It is important to note that the mandatory requirements and credits earned at the preliminary review are only considered as expected. These mandatory requirements and credits are not awarded until the final documents are submitted, along with additional documents showing implementation of design features. If there are changes in any expected credits aspects after preliminary review, these changes need to be documented and resubmitted during the final review.
Certification is applicable to all IGBC rating systems
Precertification
Projects by developers can register for Precertification. This is an option provided for projects aspiring to get precertified at the design stage. The documentation submitted for precertification must detail the project design features, which will be implemented. The rating awarded under precertification is based on the project design details that comply with the requirements of the rating system. It is important to note that the precertification rating awarded need not neccesarily correspond to the final certification.
Precertification is applicable to the following rating systems:
- IGBC New Buildings (Tenant-occupied buildings)
- IGBC Green Homes
- IGBC Green Townships
- IGBC Green SEZs
IGBC offers Provisional certification for projects applying for MoEF Clearance. The provisional certification process will be same as precertification process.
Provisional certification is applicable to the following rating systems:
- IGBC New Buildings - Owner occupied buildings
- IGBC Green Factory Building
The projects which seek precertification need to submit the following documentation:
- Filled in Templates
- Narratives and supporting documentation such as drawings, calculations (in excel sheets), declarations/ contract documents, purchase invoices, manufacturer cut sheets/ letters/ material test reports, etc., for each mandatory requirement/ credit.
IGBC would take 30 working days to review the first set of precertification documents. On receiving the clarifications posed in the first review, IGBC would take another 30 working days to award the precertification. A certificate and a letter are provided to projects on precertification.
Precertified projects are required to provide the status of the project to IGBC, in relation to the rating, once in every six months until the award of the final rating. Pre-certification gives the owner/ developer a unique advantage to market the project to potential buyers.
Appeal
In rare cases, mandatory requirements/ credits get denied due to misinterpretation of the intent. On receipt of the final review and if the project team feels that sufficient grounds exist to appeal a credit denied in the final review, the project has an option to appeal to IGBC for reassessment of denying mandatory requirements and/ or credits. The documentation of the mandatory requirements / credits seeking appeal may be resubmitted to IGBC along with necessary fees. IGBC will take 30 working days to review such documentation. If an appeal is pursued, please note that a different review team will be assessing the appeal documentation.
- Filled-in Template for respective mandatory requirement/ credit.
- Appeal submittal documentation for only those mandatory requirement/ credits that the project is appealing for. Also, include a narrative for each appealed mandatory requirement/ credit to describe how the documents address the reviewers` comments and concerns.
Credit Interpretation Rulings (CIRs)
In some instances, there is a possibility that the design team may encounter certain challenges in applying or interpreting a mandatory requirement or a credit. It can also happen in cases where the project can opt to achieve the same intent through a different compliance route. To address this, IGBC uses the process of Credit Interpretation Ruling (CIR) to ensure that interpretations are consistent and applicable to other projects as well.
The following are the steps to be followed in case the project team encounters any difficulty:
Refer the Abridged Reference Guide for description of the credit intent and compliance options.
-
Review the intent of the mandatory requirement/ credit and self-evaluate whether the project satisfies the intent.
-
Review the Credit Interpretation Ruling web page for previous CIRs on the relevant mandatory requirement or credit. All projects registered under any IGBC rating system will have access to this page.
-
If a similar CIR has not been addressed or does not answer the question sufficiently, submit a credit interpretation request. Only registered projects are eligible to post credit interpretation request. Two CIRs are answered without levying any fee, and for any CIR beyond the first two CIRs, a fee is levied.
Disclaimer on Breach of IGBC Rating / IGBC Logo
Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Pre-certification is awarded to a project based on the green measures considered during design. IGBC is NOT responsible for the promises / declarations made by developer / owner to their end users / buyers
- Note 1 : The IGBC pre-certification project needs to submit for final Certification after actual implementation of the envisaged measures. The IGBC precertification is valid only for 3 years. It is mandatory to submit six monthly project updates till final certification. The Final award is based on the site verification by IGBC Team and actual implementation of envisaged green measures. (Applicable to all IGBC rating systems)
- Note 2 : The IGBC Final Certification is valid for 3 years. Thereafter, the project needs to submit for renewal. (Applicable to all IGBC rating systems)
- Note 3 : Registered projects without IGBC rating level should not use IGBC logos (or) IGBC Precertification level (or) IGBC Certification levels in their promotions/ marketing. (Applicable to all IGBC rating systems).
.png){kind=icon}
