Next-Gen Green Standards for Climate Resilience

by P. GopalaKrishnan, Managing Director, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, GBCI

India’s infrastructure narrative is about to approach a pivotal stage. In addition to dealing with growing heat stress, grid volatility, water scarcity, waste management challenges, and an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, the nation is constructing buildings more quickly and on a larger scale than ever before. Sustainability can no longer be viewed as a checklist for compliance in this situation. It needs to be a resiliency imperative.

To adapt to this reality, green certification processes are changing quickly. To address carbon, health, operational performance, and climate risk in a quantifiable and verifiable manner, the next generation of standards will go beyond energy efficiency alone.

From efficiency to resilience

Efficiency dominated discussions about sustainability for many years. The main goal was, quite appropriately, to reduce water and energy use. However, new vulnerabilities are being revealed by climatic stress. Today’s buildings have to withstand grid instability, heatwaves, supply outages, flooding, and increasing regulatory scrutiny. In project planning, resilience is now just as important as efficiency.

This change is evident in the infrastructure and real estate industries in India. The performance of assets over decades of climate uncertainty is a question that developers, asset owners, and occupants are increasingly asking. In response, certification systems are incorporating resilience into long-term decision-making, operations, and design.

LEED v5 and the performance imperative

The definition of building performance has significantly changed since the release of LEED v5, (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the newest version of the world’s leading green building rating system. With distinct approaches addressing operational carbon, embodied carbon, refrigerants, and transportation emissions, decarbonization now makes up half of the certification score. All projects complete operational carbon predictions and build long-term decarbonization strategies, matching climate ambition with execution.

The system’s emphasis on resilience is equally significant. Climate resilience assessments that pinpoint risks, weaknesses, and risk-reduction tactics throughout the building lifetime are mandated by LEED v5. This is especially significant in India, where rising temperatures, water stress, and excessive rainfall are changing infrastructure risk profiles.

This relevance is reflected in the market’s reaction. In 2025, India ranked second globally outside the United States in total LEED-certified space, with more than 16.1 million gross square meters across 611 certified projects. The market is also witnessing a clear shift toward LEED for Operations and Maintenance (LEED O+M), with certifications for existing buildings outpacing new construction and interior projects. This signals a growing focus on ongoing performance rather than one-time design outcomes.

Commercial offices remain a major contributor, but adoption is accelerating across industrial manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, hospitality, retail, education, and data centers. This trend underscores how performance-led, resilient assets are becoming central to India’s real estate and infrastructure growth story.

Zero waste as a resilience strategy

Material and waste resilience is becoming a crucial area outside of structures. India is currently the second-biggest market for TRUE zero waste certification worldwide. Corporate net-zero commitments, cost volatility, and regulatory pressure all contribute to this momentum.

Waste management has moved from the periphery into the boardroom due to Extended Producer Responsibility regulations, landfill limitations, and the need for third-party validation under Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting standards. TRUE provides a reliable, internationally accepted methodology that addresses upstream redesign, supplier engagement, and material traceability in addition to diversion targets.

In addition to reducing reliance on landfills, manufacturers in commercial offices, logistics parks, industrial facilities, and retail are increasingly implementing TRUE Silver and Gold pathways, employing certification to bolster supply chain resilience and safeguard brand integrity in export markets. Waste is no longer an operational afterthought in a climate-stressed economy. It poses a risk to business.

Health, power, and landscape resilience

Beyond carbon and materials, resilience is increasingly being assessed through the lens of occupant comfort, health, and environmental quality. LEED v5 places a strong emphasis on Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), addressing thermal comfort, indoor air quality, daylight, acoustics, and ventilation as core performance outcomes rather than secondary considerations.

In India’s dense urban environments, where people spend close to 90 percent of their time indoors and heat stress is intensifying, these IEQ-focused measures directly influence productivity, well-being, and long-term asset desirability.

At the same time, landscape resilience frameworks such as SITES bring climate adaptation into focus by addressing flood mitigation, soil health, water conservation, and ecosystem services. As cities grapple with urban flooding and heat islands, building and landscape performance are increasingly inseparable.

Cities, communities, and scale

The transition from individual buildings to districts and cities is arguably the biggest change now taking place. Although LEED for Cities and Communities is still in its infancy in India, it has significant potential.

As global markets increasingly prioritize operational performance, transparency, and long-term asset value, large-scale developments, industrial corridors, and mixed-use townships are exploring certification as a way to align infrastructure planning with climate resilience and livability outcomes.

This method acknowledges a basic reality. Climate hazards extend beyond property lines. Community-level solutions are needed for heat, flooding, power outages, and water stress.

Future-proofing assets in a climate-stressed economy

A common progression toward performance, verification, and long-term value creation unites these frameworks. Signaling intent is no longer the goal of certification. It is about showing results.

This shift toward resilience is also being reinforced by global risk and finance perspectives. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026 highlights that while short-term attention is often consumed by geopolitical and economic volatility, environmental risks remain the most severe long-term threats to global stability.

Extreme weather events are no longer distant future scenarios but persistent realities that are already eroding economic output through damaged infrastructure, disrupted supply chains, and rising insurance and financing costs. As a result, climate resilience is becoming directly linked to asset valuation, investor confidence, and access to sustainable and green finance.

Advanced certification tools therefore play a critical role in future-proofing assets against regulatory change, investor scrutiny, and climate volatility. They help developers and asset owners demonstrate resilience, performance, and risk preparedness in a verifiable ma