The rating game

摘要

As India's surging new cities compete for potential residents, words like 'green' and 'energy efficient' are increasingly bandied about in advertising copy - often with little practical meaning. Ratings schemes like LEED add credibility, and are particularly popular with corporate flagships, such as ITC's vast new Grand Chola Hotel in Chennai. But valuable as it is, LEED only covers a building's potential performance - as opposed to what actually happens when people start inhabiting it.