Hyderabad — The Confederation of Indian Industry’s Indian Green Building Council (CII-IGBC) and Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) signed a pivotal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today at the 23rd Edition of IGBC’s Green Building Congress 2025, Asia’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green buildings and sustainable built environments.
This strategic collaboration aims to accelerate India’s transition towards net zero real estate by bridging the existing green finance gap. The MoU formalizes cooperation to advance sustainable finance mechanisms that will enable real estate developers and financial institutions to scale green building projects across India through enhanced access to green loans, credit lines, and ESG-aligned financial instruments.
The MoU was signed at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai, with Ms. Roxana van den Berg, Chief Product Officer at GRESB, and Mr. K.S. Venkatagiri, Executive Director of CII-Green Business Centre (GBC), representing their respective organizations. Both leaders underlined the importance of public-private partnerships in fostering green investments and creating systemic frameworks that support net zero buildings at scale.
India’s green building ecosystem has grown significantly with CII IGBC certifications playing a crucial role in facilitating green finance. Notable achievements include:
• The Government of India’s National Housing Bank (NHB) channeling over ₹2,200 crores under dedicated green housing schemes supporting IGBC-certified projects.
• Collaborations with leading financial institutions such as SIDBI, SBI, HDFC, ICICI, and Standard Chartered Bank to promote concessional loans, green home loans, and green bonds tied to IGBC ratings.
• Recognition by global entities including Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) of IGBC certifications for green financing eligibility.
• IGBC’s Green Interior Rating certification empowering more than 4,500 bank branches and multiple Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to green their own spaces and portfolios.
Following the MoU, industry leaders including senior banking executives and real estate developers convened for a high-profile round table discussion titled “Bridging the Green Finance Gap: Accelerating Net Zero Real Estate.” The session explored current challenges in sustainable finance access, innovative funding models, and the critical role of rating frameworks like GRESB and IGBC in ESG benchmarking and risk mitigation.
This MoU marks a significant milestone in India’s journey to mainstream green finance for the built environment sector. The alliance of CII-IGBC’s robust certification platform with GRESB’s global ESG benchmarking expertise will further enhance transparency, accountability, and investor confidence in sustainable real estate.
