Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), GRIHA Green Rating for Buildings

Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

• The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is an independent research institute and a global think tank (NGO) that specializes in the fields of
  • energy,
  • environment and
  • sustainable development.

• The scope of the organisation’s activities includes climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy, biotechnology, and social transformation.
• TERI was established in 1974.
• It was formerly known as the Tata Energy Research Institute.
• It was later renamed The Energy and Resources Institute in 2003.
• HQ: New Delhi.

Initiatives by TERI

• World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS): An annual summit which facilitates the exchange of knowledge on diverse aspects of global sustainable development.
• LaBL (Lighting a Billion Lives): An initiative to provide clean lighting access to bottom of the pyramid communities.
• Green Olympiad: Conducted annually for middle and high-school students in association with MoEF.
• GRIHA: Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) was conceived by TERI and developed with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, is a national rating system for green buildings in India.

Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA)

• GRIHA is a national rating tool that helps people assesses the performance of their building against certain nationally acceptable benchmarks.
• It evaluates the environmental performance of a building holistically over its entire life cycle, thereby providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a ‘green building’.
• The rating system, based on accepted energy & environmental principles, will seek to strike a balance between the established practices & emerging concepts, both national & international.
• It is developed by The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) with support from Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• It incorporates a holistic, life-cycle approach to buildings

Some of the benefits of a green building are

• Reduced energy consumption without sacrificing the comfort levels
• Reduced destruction of natural areas, habitats, & biodiversity, & reduced soil loss from erosion etc.
• Reduced air & water pollution (with direct health benefits)
• Reduced water consumption
• Limited waste generation due to recycling & reuse
• Reduced pollution loads
• Increased user productivity
• Enhanced image & marketability