Energy Efficient Buildings in Urban India: Moving Towards Sustainability in Construction

Buildings are among the largest consumers of energy in any city. In India, the building sector is the second-largest consumer of electricity and is projected to become the largest by 2030. As urban populations grow and construction booms across Indian cities, the energy demands of residential and commercial buildings are rising sharply. This makes energy-efficient buildings not just an environmental priority but an economic necessity. From updated building codes to solar rooftops, India is steadily working toward a more sustainable built environment – and there is much to learn from global leaders too.

Why energy efficiency in buildings matters 🔗

Energy consumption drives much of the global climate crisis. According to the United Nations, energy use is the dominant contributor to climate change, accounting for around two-thirds of total global greenhouse gas emissions. The heat and transport sectors together make up 80% of global energy consumption, with buildings contributing a massive share. The 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) directly addresses this by calling for affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. Its three core targets include ensuring universal energy access, substantially increasing the share of renewable energy, and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.

For rapidly urbanising countries like India, the stakes are particularly high. Indian cities are expanding at a tremendous pace, with more than 50% of the building stock expected to exist by 2030 yet to be built. This presents a unique opportunity: unlike developed nations where retrofitting old buildings is the primary challenge, India can design energy efficiency into new construction from the ground up. Adopting cost-effective energy standards for buildings and industry globally could reduce electricity consumption by around 14%, which would be equivalent to avoiding the output of roughly 1,300 mid-size power plants.

India’s policy framework for energy-efficient buildings 🔗

India has taken significant steps to promote energy efficiency in its building sector, anchored by a set of national codes and institutional frameworks.

The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 🔗

The Energy Conservation Building Code was launched by the Ministry of Power in 2007 as a voluntary policy measure aimed at reducing the environmental impact of commercial buildings. It was developed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and applies to new commercial buildings with a connected load of 100 kW or a contract demand of 120 kVA or more. The code sets minimum energy performance standards for various building systems, including the building envelope, lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), electrical systems, and water heating.

A major update came in 2017 with the launch of ECBC 2017, which introduced three tiers of energy performance. An ECBC-compliant building achieves approximately 25% energy savings compared to a conventional building. The next level, ECBC+, achieves around 35% savings, while a Super ECBC building delivers 50% or more in energy savings. This tiered approach encourages builders to go beyond minimum requirements. As of now, ECBC has been mandated in 22 states, covering the majority of the country’s building construction activity.

In 2018, BEE extended its focus to the residential sector with the launch of the Eco Niwas Samhita. This code establishes minimum building envelope performance standards for residential buildings built on a plot area of 500 square metres or more, addressing heat gains in cooling-dominated climates and heat loss in heating-dominated climates. The code was further updated in 2021 to include all building systems. Most recently, in 2024, BEE released the Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Code (ECSBC) 2024, signalling a continued evolution of these standards.

City-level action: Rajkot’s climate leadership 🔗

While national-level codes provide the framework, real change often happens at the city level. Rajkot, the fourth-largest city in Gujarat, has emerged as one of India’s most proactive cities in energy-efficient urban development. Residential buildings in Rajkot consumed 606 million kWh of electricity in 2015-16, accounting for roughly half of all electricity consumption and 35% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The city prepared a comprehensive Low Emission Development Strategy (LEDS) through its participation in the Urban LEDS project, in collaboration with ICLEI South Asia. Three pilot projects under this initiative have resulted in annual electricity savings of over 1,06,629 kWh and reduced emissions by approximately 100 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year. Rajkot has also retrofitted more than 63,000 public streetlights with LEDs, saving 11.5 million kWh of energy annually.

Rajkot is also the first pre-existing city in India to include district cooling in its Smart City Plan. The $49 million district cooling project is expected to cut CO₂ emissions and electricity consumption by up to 50%, significantly reduce harmful refrigerants, and lower peak power demand by up to 30 MW. The cumulative potential GHG emission reduction from actions proposed across sectors in Rajkot’s action plan stands at approximately 4,51,825 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent – about 25% of the city’s baseline annual emissions.

Pune’s green building movement 🔗

Pune is another Indian city making significant strides toward energy-efficient construction. The city has developed a Climate Action Plan led by the Pune Municipal Corporation in partnership with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) South Asia. This plan focuses on transitioning to cleaner energy, promoting energy efficiency, and implementing sustainable transportation. The city aims to increase renewable energy usage by 50% by 2030.

Pune’s real estate sector is increasingly embracing green building certifications such as IGBC and GRIHA. The Maharashtra government offers incentives like additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for projects achieving these certifications, fast-track approvals, and property tax rebates. Notable projects in Pune, such as the LEED Platinum-certified Suzlon One Earth campus, demonstrate that commercial buildings can operate with exceptional energy efficiency through features like rainwater harvesting, intelligent lighting, and double-glazed windows.

Global best practices: Reykjavik and Vancouver 🔗

While India builds its energy efficiency framework, several global cities have set benchmarks worth studying.

Reykjavik: powered by the earth 🔗

Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, stands as one of the world’s most energy-sustainable cities. The city gets virtually all of its electricity from renewable sources – approximately 73% from hydropower and 27% from geothermal energy. For building heating, geothermal energy provides roughly 90% of Reykjavik’s needs through one of the largest geothermal district heating systems in the world.

Reykjavik has set a target to become carbon neutral by 2040. Its 2021-2025 Action Plan outlines 15 main actions aimed at reducing carbon emissions by approximately 300,000 tonnes by 2030. The city is also part of the “Building a Greener Future” initiative, a collaboration between the government and the construction industry to assess annual emissions from construction, set reduction goals, and systematically work toward them.

Innovative building projects like the FABRIC building complex, which won the C40 Reinventing Cities competition, showcase how geothermal resources can be integrated directly into building design. FABRIC uses cross-laminated timber for low environmental impact and features visible geothermal piping to educate occupants about the energy systems powering their spaces. Such projects demonstrate that sustainability and architectural innovation can go hand in hand.

Vancouver: zero emissions by design 🔗

Vancouver, Canada, has adopted some of the most ambitious green building policies in North America. The city’s Climate Emergency Action Plan targets zero operational emissions for all new buildings by 2030 and a 40% reduction in embodied emissions from construction. Since 2012, the City of Vancouver has been carbon neutral in operations for all buildings it owns and occupies.

Vancouver’s building code includes greenhouse gas limits per unit area, updated in five-year increments. The city’s Zero Emissions Building Catalyst Policy provides incentives like an extra 5% of buildable area for projects that voluntarily adopt Passive House or Zero Carbon standards. Starting March 2025, the Vancouver Building Bylaw aligned with the top tier (EL-4) of British Columbia’s Zero Carbon Step Code for new 1- to 3-storey residential buildings. The province-wide goal is for all new buildings to be zero carbon by 2030 and net-zero energy ready by 2032.

Vancouver’s approach is instructive for Indian cities because it shows how building codes can be progressively tightened over time, giving the construction industry time to adapt while steadily moving toward ambitious targets.

Innovative energy solutions in Indian cities 🔗

Beyond building codes and policy frameworks, Indian cities are adopting on-the-ground innovations in energy generation and management.

The solar rooftop revolution 🔗

India’s solar rooftop sector is expanding rapidly, driven by government programmes like the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which aims to empower 1 crore (10 million) households with solar energy and provide 300 units of free electricity per month. Gujarat leads the nation in rooftop solar installations, contributing over half the western region’s capacity, while Maharashtra – home to cities like Pune and Mumbai – ranks second.

At the housing society level, the impact is tangible. In Pune, for example, residential complexes like Nyati Windchimes have installed rooftop solar panels that generate 200 units of green electricity daily. Across Maharashtra, housing societies are reporting savings of up to 80% on common area electricity bills after switching to solar. The government offers subsidies of 15-25% on benchmark costs for residential rooftop installations through the MNRE scheme, making the transition financially accessible for many households.

Solar rooftop systems also offer secondary benefits. The panels on rooftops keep the surface cooler, reducing the temperature of the floor below and thereby lowering air conditioning loads – a significant advantage in Indian summers.

Waste-to-energy: potential and challenges 🔗

India generates approximately 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, of which only about 43 million tonnes is collected and just 12 million tonnes is treated. The rest ends up in overflowing landfills. Waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies offer a dual solution: reducing waste volume and generating power.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) supports WtE projects through its National Bioenergy Programme, providing central financial assistance to project developers. Technologies include thermal treatment methods like incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification, as well as biochemical processes. Cities like Indore have gained recognition for innovative waste management, with its GOBARdhan plant – Asia’s largest – processing 17,000 kg of Bio-CNG daily from organic waste and preventing an estimated 130,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.

However, WtE in India faces significant challenges. Indian municipal waste has a high moisture content and low calorific value (around 1,400-2,150 kcal/kg), making it difficult to sustain efficient combustion. Multiple WtE plants across cities like Vijayawada, Bengaluru, Kanpur, and Hyderabad have shut down due to these issues. Concerns about toxic emissions from operational plants have also been raised. Experts argue that better waste segregation at source, decentralised composting, and Bio-CNG production may be more practical solutions for many Indian cities than large-scale incineration.

The road ahead for energy-efficient buildings in India 🔗

India’s journey toward energy-efficient buildings is accelerating but remains a work in progress. The policy infrastructure – from ECBC and Eco Niwas Samhita to the newer ECSBC 2024 – is progressively becoming more comprehensive. Cities like Rajkot and Pune are demonstrating that local action can complement national mandates. And the rapid adoption of solar rooftops shows that citizens and housing societies are willing to invest in clean energy when the economics make sense.

The real challenge lies in enforcement and scale. While 22 states have mandated ECBC, actual compliance monitoring remains uneven. Smaller cities and tier-2 towns, where much of India’s future construction will happen, need greater capacity-building and financial support to adopt green building practices. Learning from cities like Reykjavik – which leveraged its natural geothermal resources – and Vancouver – which progressively tightened building codes over a decade – India can develop a phased approach suited to its diverse climatic zones and economic conditions.

Ultimately, every new building constructed in India over the coming decade is either part of the climate solution or part of the problem. The choices made today in design, materials, energy systems, and policy enforcement will determine the carbon footprint of India’s cities for decades to come.

What do you think? Can Indian cities realistically achieve widespread compliance with energy-efficient building codes within the next decade, or do the challenges of enforcement and cost still outweigh the incentives? What role should individual homeowners and housing societies play in accelerating this transition?

References

1. https://www.nrdc.org/bio/sameer-kwatra/constructing-change-building-energy-codes-india
2. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/energy/
3. https://www.jointsdgfund.org/sustainable-development-goals/goal-7-affordable-and-clean-energy
4. https://www.beeindia.gov.in/ernergy-conservation-building-code-ecbc.php
5. https://beeindia.gov.in/reports.html
6. https://southasia.iclei.org/news/rajkots-journey-towards-low-carbon-sustainable-development/
7. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/district-energy-secret-weapon-climate-action-and-human-health
8. https://webadmin.pmc.gov.in/pune-climate-action-plan
9. https://www.greencitytimes.com/reykjavik/
10. https://reykjavik.is/en/reykjavik-and-climate
11. https://urbannext.net/sustainable-architecture-in-reykjavik/
12. https://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/zero-emissions-buildings.aspx
13. https://worldgbc.org/signatory/vancouver/
14. https://pmsuryaghar.gov.in/
15. https://mnre.gov.in/en/waste-to-energy/
16. https://idronline.org/article/climate-emergency/waste-to-energy-smokescreen-or-solution/