If Green Certification Is Becoming Standard, What Will Make One Office Building Worth More Than Another?

If Most New Grade A Offices Are Green-Certified, Does the Label Still Create a Premium?

Green certification is becoming increasingly common in India's office market.

Colliers expects more than 80% of new office supply in 2026 to be green-certified.

Grant Thornton Bharat now says certification alone is becoming less of a differentiator.

That does not mean sustainability matters less.

It may mean the opposite.

Occupiers, lenders and investors increasingly want evidence of actual building performance, including operating efficiency, sustainability data, retrofit readiness and credible decarbonisation plans.

For older offices, the risk is shifting too.

Instead of asking whether a modern building earns a green premium, owners may increasingly need to ask whether an inefficient building suffers a brown discount.

Colliers estimates more than 350 million sq ft of Indian office stock older than 10 years has retrofit potential.

So the next divide in office real estate may not simply be green versus non-green.

It could be high-performing and measurable versus inefficient and difficult to upgrade.

See Link -> Green label losing edge as occupiers seek performance data, retrofit-ready offices: Grant Thornton

If two offices have the same green certification, what should command the premium: location, lower operating costs, measurable sustainability performance or better technology?