Environment
Is Indian real estate heading towards a tectonic shift?
Published
10 years agoon
By
admin
CII-JLL report on real estate sector released during the CII WR Real Estate Conclave 2015 talks about the trends in Indian real estate sector.
The on-going transition within the real estate sector offers us a foretaste of what the near future beholds. We foresee sweeping changes in the way real estate developers conduct their business, particularly looking at the innovative practices and agility of certain new breed of developers.
Corporate real estate teams will have to become more adept and skillful in order to make the most of the upcoming transition, and bring to light a rewarding portfolio for their companies. For homebuyers, the recent changes and future transition will bring about a more transparent market that is not just sensitive to their needs, but also sensitive towards the ecology at large. The report highlights on various components of real estate:
Office
The trend of companies migrating to office spaces in suburbs – driven by a combination of cheaper rents and lesser commute times for workforce – has risen sharply over the last decade. Not only the location-independent IT/ ITeS companies but other sectors too are setting up office spaces in secondary business districts (SBDs) and peripheral business districts (PBDs).
The migration is driven by occupier demand for large IT parks and office projects in SBD and PBD precincts. PBD has seen the biggest jump in the share of office stock, rising from 28 per cent in 2004 to 47 per cent in first half of 2015. While the share of SBD in office stock has remained stable over the last several years at around 43 per cent of the total office stock, CBD has witnessed a severe attrition of occupiers and a decline in fresh supply of office space that has led to a significant drop in its share of office stock from about 33 per cent in 2004 to 10 per cent in first half of 2015.
Delhi-NCR has witnessed the most spectacular emergence of alternate business districts in Gurgaon and Noida. Mumbai has been an exception to the trend of office migration to PBD due to lack of supporting infrastructure and connectivity. However, the city witnessed a steady shift in office stock from prime CBD areas to SBD precincts.
When it comes to occupier profile, the share of IT/ITeS sector in leasing volumes has declined from 48 per cent in 2005 to 32 per cent at the end of second quarter in 2015. This lower absorption, though, is compensated to a large extent by new-age sectors such as eCommerce. While space absorption declined in the manufacturing sector, it increased in export-driven sectors of healthcare and bio-tech. Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) has been relatively stable through the last decade.
Retail
Malls are seeing a lot of churn in recent years. On an average, when business is good, churn rates of around 15-18 per cent have been recorded. In India, the range was 4-8 per cent in well-managed malls during the initial years. Poorly performing retailers exit malls midway through their lease contracts or landlords initiate churn to improve their portfolio of tenants at some locations while at unviable locations, retailers are driving the churn. Contract periods have shortened to 2-5 years today from 9-20 years seen in the mid-2000s.
The overall vacancy rate today stands high at ~20 per cent in retail malls across major Indian cities. On the contrary, malls that run successfully have vacancies of not more than 10 per cent, with a selective few ones operating near full capacities. In recent years, we have seen bad malls beginning to succumb to the business viability stress and giving up hope. Consequently, these malls are either converting into Grade-B office spaces or getting demolished to make way for a new asset class in real estate.
In the near future, few more malls are expected to withdraw from the retail realty business as a result of which, the business of average and good performing malls will improve. This is a much-needed course correction, which will continue to happen for some time. JLL research estimates around 14 malls to withdraw from retail operations, having combined mall space of 3.5-4.5 million sq ft.
Residential
Unable to sell expensive homes in a sluggish market, builders across India are making smaller apartments without lowering the price per square feet and compromising on the quality of product. In the last five years, we have seen average apartment sizes falling across all major cities of India.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) witnessed the maximum fall in apartment sizes on annualised basis, along with Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. Other cities also witnessed varying degree of fall in median apartment sizes. The dynamics of apartment sizes have a tale to tell – that developers are paying conscious attention to consumers? requirements.
The fall in average apartment sizes across all top seven cities is a clear indication that developers intend to make houses affordable for buyers by reducing average apartment size instead of reducing the capital values.
Transition of the 4Ps
The last 10 years have been quite dynamic, as each of the fundamental 4Ps of real estate – Players, Processes, Product and Places – witnessed a plethora of changes. Players: From local domination, large and well-capitalized developers are expanding to build pan-India portfolios. This trend will only grow further as the market matures and weaker players get weeded out for lack of capital, corporatisation and technical prowess.
The sector would witness a period of consolidation wherein large, well-capitalised developers would gain market share by either purchasing assets or acquiring smaller players.
Processes: Today, about 80 per cent of buyers in top cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Kolkata are salaried employees. They prefer taking a home loan but cannot afford cash payments. This has resulted in property transactions increasingly becoming legitimate and more transparent. Almost all newly developed residential properties can be bought with 100 per cent white money. Many resale properties too are available without the cash component. Government?s move to raise punitive action against illegal transaction will further help reduce cash dealings.
The trend of outsourcing of architecture, engineering, interior and contractor practices to globally-renowned agencies in an effort to make Indian cities stand-out and reflect their recently-acquired prowess is catching up.
Products: Construction quality and techniques have evolved over the years, starting from early-2000s. Projects completed before 2000 mostly had older design and no amenities. The buildings had no element of sustainability – energy efficiency, water harvesting system, security systems, advance safety norms, etc. With various advanced construction techniques and innovative designs to improve the quality of projects, developers have attracted more IT and MNC occupiers into their projects.
Places: As incremental space for new entrants is getting limited in cities like Bengaluru and Pune, the Indian IT sector, which has dominated office space occupancy for almost a decade, is now exploring new cities for expansion or creation of new bases. The necessity to exert tight control on occupancy cost and maintain cost-competitiveness is prompting IT/ITeS firms to scout for alternate destinations that have abundance of skilled manpower.
Simultaneously, there is a wave of infrastructure improvements happening in tier-II and tier-III cities, which are fast getting connected with today?s major metros. This is helping cities like Chandigarh, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Mysore, Kochi, Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Jaipur as the new centres of choice for setting up large-scale IT office infrastructure.
"Indian real estate has undergone a lot of change in the last 10 years. As its core sectors – office, retail, residential and industrial – evolve, the latest Whitepaper by JLL Research tracks the industry?s transition and reveals the key trends in this journey," said Anuj Puri, Chairman, CII WR Real Estate Conclave 2015.
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The Indian cement industry has reached a critical juncture in its sustainability journey. In a landmark move, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has, for the first time, announced greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity reduction targets for 282 entities, including 186 cement plants, under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, 2023. These targets, to be enforced starting FY2025-26, are aligned with India’s overarching ambition of achieving net zero emissions by 2070.
Cement manufacturing is intrinsically carbon-intensive, contributing to around 7 per cent of global GHG emissions, or approximately 3.8 billion tonnes annually. In India, the sector is responsible for 6 per cent of total emissions, underscoring its critical role in national climate mitigation strategies. This regulatory push, though long overdue, marks a significant shift towards accountability and structured decarbonisation.
However, the path to a greener cement sector is fraught with challenges—economic viability, regulatory ambiguity, and technical limitations continue to hinder the widespread adoption of sustainable alternatives. A major gap lies in the lack of a clear, India-specific definition for ‘green cement’, which is essential to establish standards and drive industry-wide transformation.
Despite these hurdles, the industry holds immense potential to emerge as a climate champion. Studies estimate that through targeted decarbonisation strategies—ranging from clinker substitution and alternative fuels to carbon capture and innovative product development—the sector could reduce emissions by 400 to 500 million metric tonnes by 2030.
Collaborations between key stakeholders and industry-wide awareness initiatives (such as Earth Day) are already fostering momentum. The responsibility now lies with producers, regulators and technology providers to fast-track innovation and investment.
The time to act is now. A sustainable cement industry is not only possible—it is imperative.
Concrete
It is equally important to build resilient building structures
Published
3 weeks agoon
May 13, 2025By
admin
Manoj Rustagi, Chief Sustainability Officer, JSW Cement, discusses how the adoption of ‘green’ practices in cement manufacturing could reshape the future of sustainable construction worldwide.
Cement is one of the most carbon-intensive materials in construction — but innovation is changing that. As sustainability becomes central to infrastructure, green cement is emerging as a viable low-carbon alternative. In this detailed interview with Manoj Rustagi, Chief Sustainability Officer, JSW Cement, we explore what makes cement ‘green’, its performance, and its future. From durability to cutting-edge technologies, here’s a look at the cement industry’s greener path forward.
What exactly is green cement, and how does it differ from traditional cement?
At this point in time, there is no standard for defining green cement. A very simple way to understand ‘Green Cement’ or ‘Low Carbon Cement’ is the one which emits much lower greenhouse gasses (GHG) compared to conventional cement (Ordinary Portland Cement – OPC) during its manufacturing process.
In India, there are many existing BIS Standards for different types of cement products. The most common are OPC; Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC); Portland Slag Cement (PSC) and Composite Cement (CC). While OPC emits maximum GHG during its manufacturing (approx 800-850 kg CO2/MT of OPC), PSC emits least GHG (approx 300-350 kg CO2/MT of PSC). As PSC is having close to 60 per cent lower CO2 emission compared to OPC, it is the greenest cement available in the Indian market.
There is already work happening at the central government level to define green cement, like it has been recently done for green steel, and hopefully in the next one year or so the standard definition would be available.
What are the key environmental benefits of using green cement?
The primary environmental benefits of green or low-carbon cement are:
- Reduced CO2 emissions
- Lower energy and power consumption
- Conservation of limestone and fossil fuels
- Utilisation of industrial by-products
- (slag/fly ash)
Can green cement match the durability and strength of conventional cement?
PSC is much more durable than any other type of cement product. It has lower heat of hydration; the strength keeps on improving with time; and it has much higher resistance to chloride and sulphate attacks. Most of the concrete failures are because of chloride and sulphate attacks, which corrode the steel reinforcements and that is how cracks get initiated and propagated resulting in eventual concrete failures. For coastal applications, marine structures, seaports, and mass concreting, PSC is most suitable. Due to the intrinsic durability characteristics of PSC; it is a green and resilient cement product.
Usually everyone talks about lower GHG emissions, but it is equally important to build resilient building structures that can withstand natural calamities and have much longer lifespans. PSC is one cement type that is not only lowest in CO2 emissions but at the same time offers durability characteristics and properties (RCPT, RCMT, Mercury Intrusion, long term strength and flexural strength), which are unmatched.
What innovative technologies are being used to produce green cement?
To further reduce the CO2 emissions in the manufacturing process; some of the innovative technologies which are commercially viable are:
- Alternative raw materials: Use of steel slag, red mud and other industrial by-products to substitute limestone
- Alternative fuels: Use of RDF/MSW, pharmaceutical wastes like biomass etc., to substitute coal/pet-coke
- Waste Heat Recovery (WHR): Power plants to generate electricity from waste heat
- Renewable energy: Solar and wind energy instead of state grid
How cost-effective is green cement compared to traditional options?
All of the above innovative technologies do not increase the cost of manufacturing. There are some future technologies like Carbon Capture, Utilisation and/or Storage (CCUS), which are not commercially viable and would increase the cost of cement. As such, the options available today for low-carbon cement (like PSC) are not expensive.
The Government of India has recently notified Indian Carbon Market (ICM), which also includes the cement sector. Hopefully, this would help progressive companies to further reduce their carbon footprint.
What challenges does the industry face in adopting green cement on a large scale?
There is absolutely no incentive/motivation for builders/contractors to use green cement products and therefore there is practically no demand. While the industry has taken many steps. In fact the Indian cement industry is believed to be most energy efficient globally and has approximately 10 per cent lower GHG emissions compared to global average. But due to lack of awareness and lack of performance based standards; the demand for low carbon cement or green cement has not picked up in India.
Are governments and regulators supporting the shift to green cement?
In India, in the last couple of years, there have been many policy interventions which have been initiated. One of them, namely the carbon market is under notification; others like Green Public Procurement, Green Cement taxonomy and National CCUS Mission are in the advanced stages and are expected to be implemented in the next couple
of years.
How do you see the future of green cement in global construction?
Globally the built environment accounts for 40 per cent CO2 emissions; and the maximum embodied emissions come from cement and concrete. There is a lot of innovation happening in cement, concrete and construction. Basically, how we build and what material we use. And this is to do with both carbon mitigation as well as adaptation as the built environment is so important for sustainable living. Precast and pre-engineered buildings/structures, 3D concrete printing, ultra high performance concrete, digital and AI/ML interventions in construction, admixtures/improved concrete packing; and circularity in cement manufacturing are some examples. Low-carbon cement or green cement eventually will lead to ‘Net Zero CO2 emission’ cement, which would enable a ‘Net-Zero’ built environment that is needed for long term sustainability.

Milind Khangan, Marketing Manager, Vertex Market Research, looks at how India’s cement industry is powering a climate-conscious transformation with green cement at its core, aligning environmental urgency with economic opportunity.
The cement industry produces around eight per cent of the world’s total CO2 emissions. Process emissions, largely due to limestone calcination, contribute 50 to 60 per cent of these emissions and produce nearly one ton of CO2 per ton of cement produced.
India is a leading cement producer with an installed capacity of around 550 million tons (MMT) as of 2024. As the Government of India advances toward its 2070 net-zero target, green cement is becoming a major driver of this shift toward a low-carbon economy. It offers environmental sustainability as well as long-term operating efficiencies at scale. With the fast-paced urbanisation and infrastructure development across the nation, the use of green cement goes beyond environmental imperatives; it is also a strong strategic business opportunity. Indian cement players are some of the most sustainable and environmentally conscious players in the world, and indigenous cement demand in India is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10 per cent until 2030.
Innovating sustainably
Green cement is an umbrella term that includes multiple advanced technologies and processes aimed at minimising the environmental footprint, and CO2 emissions of conventional cement manufacturing. This shift from traditional practices targets minimising the carbon footprint throughout the whole cement manufacturing process.
- Clinker substitution: Substitution of high-carbon clinker with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in order to considerably lower emissions.
- Alternative binders: Developing cementitious systems that require minimal or no clinker, reducing reliance on traditional methods.
- Novel cements: Introducing new types of cement that depend less on limestone/clinker, utilising alternative modified processes and raw materials.
- Energy efficiency and alternative fuels: Optimising energy utilisation in production and substituting fossil fuel with cleaner alternatives coming from waste or biomass.
- Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS): Trapping CO2 emissions at cement plants for recycling or geological storage.
Drivers and strategic opportunities
Robust infrastructure development pipeline: The government’s continued and massive investment in infrastructure (roads, railways, housing, smart cities) generates huge demand for cement. Crucially, there is a growing preference and sometimes direct requirement under public tenders for sustainable building materials, including green cement, which is giving a significant market stimulus.
India’s national climate commitments (NDC and Net Zero 2070): India’s commitments under the Paris Agreement (NDCs) and the long-term goal of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2070 have set a clear direction for industrial decarbonisation. This national strategy necessitates action from high-emitting sectors such as cement to adopt green cement technologies and carbon-reducing innovations across the construction value chain. Notably, the Indian cement industry alone is expected to generate nearly 400 million tonnes of GHG emissions by 2030.
Regulatory mandates for fly ash utilisation: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released a number of binding notifications that promote the use of fly ash from thermal power plants. These guidelines seek to reduce environmental impact by enhancing its extensive application in cement production, particularly in Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC). Fly ash acts as a pozzolanic material, reacting with calcium hydroxide to produce cementitious compounds, hence decreasing clinker consumption, a high-energy component contributing to high CO2 emissions. Through clinker substitution facilitation, such mandates directly enable the production of low-carbon green cement.
Promotion and utilisation of blast furnace slag: Steel plant slag utilisation policies provide a ready SCM for manufacturing Portland Slag Cement (PSC). This is advantageous in terms of the supply of another key raw material for green cement manufacturing.
Increased demand due to green building movement
The larger adoption of green building codes and certification systems such as GRIHA and LEED India by builders and developers promotes the use of materials with reduced carbon content. Cement products with a higher SCM content or produced through cleaner processes are preferred. A step in this direction was achieved in October 2021 when Dalmia Cement achieved the distinction of being the first Indian cement producer to be granted the Green Product Accreditation of GRIHA.
The Indian industry is actively investing in R&D for new binders such as geopolymer cement, alkali-activated materials and limestone calcined clay cement (LC3). Research institutions including IIT Madras are collaborating with industry to scale these technologies. Although Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) is still at a nascent stage in India, it represents a potential frontier for long-term decarbonisation in the cement sector.
The MoEFCC has published draft regulations under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), 2023, in the form of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity Target Rules, 2025. The draft notification requires 186 cement units in India to lower their GHG emission intensity from FY 2025-26. Non-compliant manufacturers will have to purchase carbon credit certificates or face penalties, creating a clear regulatory and financial incentive to adopt cleaner technology. The CCTS will promote technology and practice adoption that reduces the carbon intensity of cement manufacturing, potentially resulting in the use of green cement and other low-carbon substitutes for cement.
India’s leading cement companies like UltraTech, Shree Cement, and Dalmia Bharat have made science-based targets and net-zero emissions pledges in line with the GCCA 2050 Cement and Concrete Industry Roadmap. These self-declarations are hastening the shift towards clean cement manufacturing technology and renewable energy procurement.
Challenges and complexities in India’s green cement transition
Economic viability and cost challenges: High production costs associated with low-carbon cement technologies remain a significant hurdle. The absence of strict carbon pricing and poor financial incentives slow down rapid uptake on a large scale. Although green cement is currently costlier than conventional options, greater market adoption and scale-driven efficiencies are expected to progressively narrow this price gap, enhancing commercial viability over time. As these technologies mature, their broader deployment will become more feasible.
Inconsistent supply chain of SCMs: A dependable supply of high-quality Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs), such as fly ash and slag, is crucial. But in the course of decarbonisation of India’s power generation and industry sectors, SCMs reliability and availability may become intermittent. Strong, decentralised logistics and material processing units must be developed in order to provide uninterrupted and economical SCM supply chains to cement producers.
Gaps in technical standards and performance benchmarks
Although PPC and PSC are well-supported by existing BIS codes, standards for newer materials such as calcined clay, geopolymer binders and other novel SCMs require timely development and updates. Maintaining steady performance, lasting robustness, and usage dependability in varying climatic and structural applications will be key to instilling market faith in other forms of cement formulation. Market stakeholders are also supporting separate BIS codes for the green cement sub-categories for helping to build and sustain standardisation and trust.
Scaling of emerging technologies
Scaling promising technology, especially CCUS, from pilots to commercial scales within the Indian context involves significant investment of capital, technical manpower, and a facilitating regulatory environment. The creation of infrastructure for transportation and long-term storage of CO2 will be critical. While these facilitative systems are implemented, cement makers will be well-placed to decarbonise their operations and achieve national sustainability goals.
The way ahead
The Indian cement industry is poised to enter a revolutionary era, where decarbonisation and sustainability are at the heart of expansion. Industry players and the government need to join hands in an integrated manner throughout the cement value chain to spearhead this green revolution. Cement companies must embrace new technologies to lower the emissions like the utilisation of alternative fuels like biomass, industrial wastes, and recycled materials and utilisation of waste heat recovery systems to make energy efficient. The electrification of logistics and kilns, investigation of high-heat alternative products, and CCUS technology investments must be made to decarbonise production. Sophisticated additives such as polymers can improve cement performance with reduced environmental footprint.
At the policy level, the government has to introduce support measures such as stable carbon pricing, tax relief, viability gap funding, and initiatives such as the PLI scheme to encourage the use of renewable energy in cement manufacturing. Instruments such as carbon contracts can stabilise carbon credit prices and reduce market risk, encouraging investment in low-carbon technologies. Updating BIS standards for newer green cement formulations and SCMs is also critical for market acceptance and confidence. Green cement mandates in public procurement and long-term offtake contracts have the potential to generate stable demand, and green financing windows can guarantee commercial viability of near-zero carbon technologies. Cement greening is not a choice, it is a necessity for constructing a climate-resilient, sustainable India.
About the author:
Milind Khangan, Marketing Manager, Vertex Market Research, comes with more than five years of experience in market research and lead generation. He is responsible for developing new marketing plans and innovations in lead generation, having expertise in creating a technically strong website that generates leads for startups in market research.

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