Several banks are offering interest rate discounts for green buildings, an expert says

Faiza Solanki, IFC, World Bank Fellow, at The Hindu 2026 Sustainability Summit in Chennai on September 23, 2026. | Photo credit: M. Srinath

Faiza Solanki, regional technical and business development specialist, International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, said on Wednesday that several banks have offered interest rate discounts for those building green houses. This was true for those who build individual houses and build houses commercially.

During a panel discussion moderated by The Hindu’s N. Ravikumar on ‘Real Estate and Sustainability: Building Growth without Building Green Debt’, at the CPCL-The Hindu Sustainability Summit 2026 held in the city, she said banks have a list of eight points that individuals need to cover.

Ms. Solanki said more and more commercial buildings and residential buildings are applying for green certification. “Since 2013, the mainstream of green certification has been growing. It is still growing. Even affordable buildings like the Tamil Nadu government’s Thozhi Hostels are eco-certified,” she added.

She said the main barrier to people wanting to become green certified is a lack of understanding about the benefits. “For most commercial spaces in Tamil Nadu, monsoon is a tricky business. When buyers see how resilient the structure is and how many man-hours they have saved, they will be interested. Similarly, when buyers invest in new houses, they go through equity financing. If there is a home loan cut, they will go for it.”

Vishwajit Kumar, managing director of Navin’s Housing, said many commercial buildings will be zero-carbon, and tenants are also willing to pay for facilities built from a renewable perspective. “Although it doesn’t cost significantly more than a normal building, unlike the commercial sector, residential buyers are not asking for it.”

Bharath Kumar Venkatesan, managing partner at Urbando, said that according to their perception, many customers see sustainable buildings as a luxury brand. Customers are looking for comfort and convenience rather than looking for aspects that could give them a good life and extend their lifespan. People were spoiled they want to spend.

All the panelists called for the need for state government to support green buildings. “Another free FSI would be great. If such a program works for, say, ten years, it would easily become the standard,” they said.

The panelists also elaborated on how traditional village houses still used sustainable materials and incorporated elements such as mitham (open courtyards) into their designs.

The Summit is supported by Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) as Presenting Partner, with NLC India Limited, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Navin’s, WABAG, Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited, Indian Bank, Urbando and State Bank of India as Associate Partners.

The summit’s sustainability partnerships include Thermax as Sustainable Cooling Partner, Treeni as Intelligence Sustainability Partner, Chennai Port Authority as Blue Economy Partner and Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company as Climate Action Partner.

Mangaldeep is the Perfume Partner, Puthiya Thalaimurai the TV Partner, Federal the Digital TV Partner and Communitree the NGO Partner.

Published – 23 Sep 2026 23:15 IST