Beyond LEED: What’s next for green building standards in the age of climate change?

Until a few years ago, the idea of a ‘green building’ was simple enough. Install solar panels, use recycled materials, get that coveted LEED certification plaque on the lobby wall, and you were done. It was nothing short of a badge of honour; a way to tell the world your building wasn’t just concrete and glass but a statement of conscience.

For nearly two decades, this checklist approach defined sustainability in real estate. It offered developers a framework to build responsibly and at the same time, gave occupants the reassurance of being part of an environmentally-conscious ecosystem.

However, as the planet reaches accelerated levels of warming and cities struggle with air pollution and other issues that compromise their health, that approach no longer feels adequate.

The limits of the checklist

There’s no denying what green building certifications like LEED and its counterparts, BREEAM, IGBC, and GRIHA, have achieved. They brought sustainability into the mainstream, establishing best practices for energy efficiency, water conservation, and indoor air quality. In India, these systems nudged developers to take rainwater harvesting, daylight optimisation, and waste management seriously.

But as the system matured, its paradox became evident. It was possible to earn a high green rating while constructing a glass tower that overheats in the Delhi sun, as long as the air-conditioning system was energy-efficient enough to compensate. The pursuit of certification became more about lip service, reducing green design to compliance.

That approach doesn’t quite feel right today. Buildings today are no longer expected to just be efficient; they must be adaptive, regenerative and resilient.

From sustainable to regenerative

Gone are the days of sustainable design being status quo; it’s time that they became ecosystems for restoring balance and promoting the well-being of the community.

Across India, several campuses are setting examples and paving the way forward. For instance, Titan’s Integrity Campus in Bengaluru, has gone far beyond its LEED certification. The 6.5-acre site has been designed as a model of biophilic and cost-effective construction, prioritising comfort, biodiversity, and community interaction.

Suzlon’s One Earth Campus in Pune takes this even further. The 10-acre campus operates entirely on renewable energy, using a hybrid of wind turbines, solar panels, and photovoltaic cells. Every system, from water recycling to material reuse, is designed to work in closed loops.

Similarly, the CII–Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre in Hyderabad is a landmark in India’s green building story. Completed in 2004, it was the first LEED Platinum-rated building outside the United States, setting the template for environmentally conscious architecture in the country. Two decades later, it continues to function as a living lab for innovation by optimising daylight, harvesting every drop of rainwater, and maintaining nearly 80% green cover within the site.

The global evolution

Globally, too, the language of green is evolving. Frameworks like the Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) and Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) are now defining measurable pathways for decarbonisation in the built environment. Systems like NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System)—which assess the actual performance of buildings year after year—are already being adopted in India, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and beyond. These tools move the conversation from design intent to operational reality, where transparency becomes the new trust.

Regulators are catching up fast. The European Union’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive now targets net-zero operational emissions by 2050. India’s own Eco-Niwas Samhita, piloted by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, aims to make household energy use and thermal comfort measurable. Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy and the UK government have both launched clear definitions for zero-emission and net-zero-carbon buildings. These frameworks signal a shift from aspiration to accountability.

Technology is enabling this shift. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is transforming how construction teams design and operate. By integrating real-time data on materials, energy, and resource flows, BIM allows developers to simulate a project’s environmental impact before the first brick is laid. The outcome is precision, efficiency, and sustainability embedded into the very DNA of a building.

The takeaway

Ultimately, the question facing every builder today is the purpose behind a sustainable building. Every project reshapes a landscape, alters a microclimate, and defines how people will live for decades. Green standards must therefore evolve beyond technical manuals into moral frameworks; ones that place human and ecological well-being at the centre of design.

In an era where climate anxiety defines public consciousness, buildings can no longer act as shelters from the environment. Instead, they must become systems within it. This calls for courage to question norms, resist tokenism, and design for continuity.

Eventually, the future of green buildings won’t be measured in plaques or points. What matters is how well our structures serve the soil beneath them and the air above them, because the generations ahead will inherit both.