Sustainable real estate development gaining momentum in India: Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj

27 November 2007

New Delhi: Taking action on India''s environmental crisis is no longer an option, its a necessity, says a recent research report by Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

Sustainable real estate presents India with a unique and enormous opportunity for environmental improvement, according to a recent research report titled ''Sustainable Real Estate Development in India''. Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj has highlighted an increasing trend of sustainable development in India.

Marked by a greater consciousness towards the environmental crisis in India, terms such as sustainable development, corporate social responsibility and triple bottom reporting are more commonplace in the real estate industry. The report lists best practices and processes owners and occupiers can adopt to reduce the environmental impact of their real estate assets, while simultaneously gaining substantial ROI (Return on Investment) from their ''green'' initiatives.

Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj is the Indian operation of Jones Lang LaSalle, a global real estate money management and services firm that is present across 10 Indian cities, with a staff strength of over 2,800 employees. The company provides investors, developers, local corporates and multinational companies a comprehensive suite of services, including research, consultancy, transactions, project and development, integrated facility management, property management, capital markets, residential, hotels and retail advisory.

The ''Sustainable Real Estate Development in India'' report points out that despite ever increasing construction activity, awareness of sustainability in India has significantly lagged western countries. Nevertheless, the growing importance of environmentalism in India has seen the Indian commercial sector begin to make conscious efforts towards creating sustainable real estate.

With government support, almost 40 construction projects currently underway are registered with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which according to a release by the company, is emerging as the preferred rating system on account of its flexibility in application across a diverse variety of markets and also because it enjoys greater recognition across various international rating systems.