Office spaces are some of the largest consumers of land in commercial real estate in India. As the world progresses towards sustainable design, encouraged by the depletion of natural resources and the onset of climate change, it is important for office buildings to also incorporate green features. Moreover, combining smart building features in such buildings can multiply the benefits of sustainable office design while enhancing comfort. Keep reading to understand what sustainable and smart offices are, their importance, vital features, the cost of building sustainable architecture with smart office technology and the future outlook of the office industry in India.
What are Sustainable and Smart Offices?
Sustainable offices incorporate multiple green building features such as passive design and renewable energy systems to reduce or nullify their negative impact on the environment. When combined with smart technology such as building automation and energy-efficient systems, these offices also maximise comfort and convenience. With the rising threats of global warming and climate change, it has become increasingly important to not only construct new offices with green and smart features, but also to retrofit old buildings with such technology.
Why are Green Offices and Smart Office Solutions Important?
Smart and sustainable office designs offer several benefits to a building’s occupants as well as its stakeholders. Some of the important ones are:
Environmental Benefits
- Reduced Construction Impact: As per a report by Thompson Tractor, the construction industry is responsible for around 37% of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions and is the third highest generator of greenhouse gas emissions among all industries. With environmentally friendly office designs and sustainable construction methods, this negative impact can be reduced, paving the way for a better future.
- Reduced Operational Impact: Typical offices consume a lot of energy and are responsible for the generation of large amounts of waste. However, smart and green offices have little to no dependence on non-renewable energy resources, generate minimal waste and are mostly self-sufficient in their operations, thus encouraging sustainable building practices.
Financial Benefits
- Reduced Operational Costs: With lower expenditure on mechanical ventilation systems, energy transactions and waste management systems, green and smart buildings can cut down their operational costs by 20-70%.
- Increased Property Value: The property value of buildings that incorporate smart technology, green features and have green building certifications is 10-40% higher than typical office spaces. According to a report by Gitnux, such features can also increase the lifespan of buildings by 20-50%, reducing the need for and expenditure on renovations.
Health and Wellbeing
- Physical Health Benefits: Improved indoor air quality and convenience are some of the main benefits of smart and sustainable offices. These have significant positive impacts—such as regulated circadian rhythms, improved breathing cycles and reduced transmission of air-borne diseases—on the physical health of building occupants.
- Increased Productivity and Enhanced Comfort: Eco office designs can have significant impacts on productivity and attention spans. As per a WifiTalents report, occupants of such buildings conveyed an 80% higher satisfaction with their work environments, leading to a 30% increase in general productivity.
Features of Sustainable Offices
Passive Design
Passive design refers to the construction of buildings that have comfortable indoor environments without relying too much on HVAC systems. Natural resources such as sunlight and wind are utilised to ensure indoor thermal comfort at all times. Some of the common features of passive design are:
- Optimised Building Orientation: Solar paths, wind directions and other local environmental characteristics are studied to ensure that the building receives sufficient daylight and cross ventilation.
- Building Insulation and Shading: Heat exchange between the building and its exteriors is reduced by using shading devices and elements like insulated glass and facade systems.
- Green Elements: Elements like vertical gardens and green roofs are used to regulate indoor temperatures and improve indoor air quality.
As per a research paper by the Journal of Building Physics, passive design features in green building offices can reduce heating and cooling loads by 50%.
Green Building Materials
The embodied carbon in office buildings can be reduced significantly by substituting conventional materials like steel and concrete with more eco-friendly ones. These green building materials include low VOC paints, CSEB, bamboo, reclaimed wood and other similar recycled materials. When such materials are locally sourced, it results in further reduced carbon emissions due to the lowered need for transportation.
Alternative Energy Systems
Sustainable office buildings typically generate their own energy on-site for operational purposes. This involves alternative energy sources such as solar power, wind energy, biomass and geothermal heat pumps. These sources help transform offices into Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB), meaning that all the energy required by the building is generated within the premises, completely reducing utility costs in the long run.
Eco-Friendly Operational Processes
Eco office designs involve the ‘greening’ of everyday operations, which includes processes like:
- Water Management: Steps like rainwater harvesting, use of water-efficient fixtures in plumbing and recycling of greywater are adopted. These can reduce water requirements from external sources by 30-50%.
- Waste Management: Solid waste is segregated on-site, and the organic waste is converted into manure for landscaping or used to generate energy through biomass.
- Transportation Processes: EV charging stations, cycle racks and shuttle bus services are provided to reduce the carbon emissions produced through transportation.
All of these sustainable design features help buildings obtain green building certifications like LEED and IGBC, further increasing their property value.
Features of Smart Office Buildings
Intelligent Building Management Systems (IBMS)
Intelligent Building Management Systems (IBMS/ BMS) include centralised software that works using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IoT systems and can replace traditional facility managers in office buildings. They monitor and control several building components such as HVAC systems, lighting, energy and fire systems. The software also analyses these systems and provides feedback, enabling improvements for more efficient building operations. According to a research paper published by the World Journal of Innovative Research, buildings that adopt IBMS can reduce their energy requirements by 10-30%.
Smart Security and Access Control
Top commercial office spaces in India utilise smart security and access control systems that are often integrated with IBMS and other building automation systems. This smart technology includes facial and biometric recognition, RFID cards (Radio Frequency Identification cards are contactless smart cards with embedded microchips for scanning) and mobile-based applications that allow entry or exit. Such technology ensures maximised security and access control in offices, reducing the need for human security and enhancing reliance.
Smart Workstations, Hot Desking and PECS
Workstations in smart offices incorporate features like wireless charging, smart plugs and occupancy sensors. They often include Personalised Environmental Control Systems (PECS), which allow individual users to control environmental aspects—such as temperature, air quality and lighting—in their immediate surroundings. ‘Hot desking’ is the practice of allocating workstations, meeting rooms and other spaces on a rotational or booking basis through smart mobile-based apps. This means that employees do not have fixed working spaces, but office layouts and usage patterns are more open and flexible.
Smart Lighting, Water and Energy Management
Features like smart lights, sensor-based and water-efficient faucets and automated water recycling systems are common features of smart offices. Such offices often use real-time dashboards to monitor power usage, water consumption, carbon emissions and other operational processes. Some Indian green campuses display this on public LED walls to boost awareness among occupants and encourage them to be more eco-friendly in their routines/ working processes. These practices can result in cost, water and energy savings of 30 – 50%.
Cost of Green Office Buildings with Smart Technology
The cost of construction of normal commercial office spaces in India typically starts at around ₹1900/ sq ft. The additional costs of including some of the smart and green features in office buildings are generally as follows:
| Feature | Approximate Cost (₹) |
| Intelligent Building Management Systems | 380 – 700/ sq ft |
| Smart Lighting | 100 – 150/ sq ft (for new builds)50 – 100/ sq ft (for retrofits) |
| Solar Power | 40,000 – 55,000 per kW |
| Rainwater Harvesting | 30 – 50/ sq ft of rooftop area |
Overall, green and smart offices require a 10 – 30% higher initial investment than typical office buildings. However, they have higher commercial property ROI and rental yields, which can also be witnessed in the following operational savings:
| Aspect | Savings (%) |
| Energy | 15 – 70 |
| Water | 30 – 50 |
| Embodied Carbon | 30 – 70 |
| Long-Term Operational Costs | 30 – 70 |
| Heating and Cooling Loads | 20 – 50 |
These long-term financial and environmental savings justify the initial investments in green and smart offices, ensuring high returns and efficient operations.
Current Trends and Future Outlook of Smart Eco Offices
With increasing awareness, the adoption of smart and green technology is rapidly gaining momentum in India. As per a report by Colliers, the green building footprint in India has nearly doubled over the last five years to reach 13 billion sq ft in 2024, and 6,500 commercial projects were green-certified as of 2024. Nearly 503 million sq ft (around 2/3rds of the total grade A office stock in the top 6 cities of India) was green certified by the end of 2024. This area is expected to increase to 700 million sq ft in the next 2-3 years.
With this increasing adoption, the overall cost of construction of smart and sustainable buildings is expected to reduce significantly in the upcoming years, further accelerating adoption across the country. The increased rental yields and ROI, along with lower operational costs are also major boosts for constructing such spaces, paving the way for a greener and smarter building industry.
Constructing Sustainable and Smart Offices
Building sustainable office buildings with smart technology requires in-depth knowledge of the current market trends and systems. Brick & Bolt is a residential and commercial construction company that employs leading architects who have this knowledge and prepare customised floor plans for every project. The company’s expansive network of contractors also ensures that every project is executed efficiently at the lowest market prices. With an organised building materials supply and a special quality check system (QASCON), zero delays and premium quality are also assured. To get your green and smart office designed and built by industry experts, reach out to Brick & Bolt today!
Apoorva H P Achar