Role of IGBC Certified Materials in Sustainable Construction
Walk through any new premium office tower, luxury residential complex, or institutional building in India today, and there's a good chance it carries a green building rating. But behind that plaque on the lobby wall, the one that says Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum, lies a series of decisions made long before construction began. Decisions about the materials used. About where they came from, how they were made, and what they'll do to the people living and working inside.
That's where IGBC certified materials enter the picture. And their role in sustainable construction is far more significant than most people realise.
What Is IGBC and Why Does It Matter?
The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), established in 2001 under the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is India's premier body for green building certification. Its mission is straightforward but ambitious: to make India a global leader in the sustainable built environment.
With over 19,300 registered projects covering more than 15.9 billion square feet of green building footprint, IGBC has moved well beyond being a niche initiative. It now represents a mainstream shift in how buildings are designed, constructed, and operated across the country.
The IGBC rating system evaluates projects across four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum based on credits earned across categories like energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor environmental quality, and sustainable material use. Each of these categories directly depends on the materials specified for the project.
Where Materials Fit Into the IGBC Framework
Material selection is not a footnote in the IGBC evaluation process. It is one of its core pillars.
When IGBC assesses a building, it looks at the environmental impact of the materials used, from how they were extracted or manufactured, to how far they were transported, to how they affect the indoor environment once installed. Credits are awarded for:
Regional sourcing - using materials manufactured or extracted close to the project site, reducing transportation emissions
Recycled and recyclable content - materials that divert waste from landfill or can be reused at the end of life
Low VOC emissions - surfaces that don't release harmful volatile organic compounds into interior spaces
Durability and lifecycle performance - materials that reduce the need for replacement or intensive maintenance over time
Together, these criteria push architects, developers, and procurement teams to think beyond cost per square foot when evaluating a surface. The question shifts from what does it look like? What does it do over time, and what did it cost the environment to get here?
The Hidden Cost of Getting Material Selection Wrong
Here's a reality that doesn't get discussed enough in project planning conversations: specifying the wrong materials doesn't just impact green ratings. It impacts people.
Poor indoor air quality from off-gassing materials is linked to respiratory issues, reduced cognitive performance, and long-term health effects for building occupants. IGBC's indoor environmental quality criteria exist precisely because the surfaces inside a building, the floors, walls, countertops, and cladding, are in constant, daily contact with the people using those spaces.
This is why certifications like GREENGUARD and NSF International, which validate materials specifically for safe indoor use and public health compliance, are increasingly referenced alongside IGBC compliance when specifying surfaces. They provide the material-level assurance that a building-level rating system depends on.
Why Natural Stone Performs Well Under IGBC Criteria?
Not every material that looks sustainable actually scores well under rigorous certification frameworks. Natural stone, including marble and granite, is one of the materials that genuinely does, and for reasons that go deeper than aesthetics.
Natural stone requires no synthetic binders, resins, or chemical additives in its production. Its transformation from quarry to finished slab is primarily mechanical cutting, shaping, and polishing, without altering its fundamental composition. It doesn't emit VOCs indoors. It has exceptional lifecycle durability, often lasting decades or generations without needing replacement. And when Indian stone is used in Indian projects, the regional sourcing credit becomes a natural advantage.
IGBC-rated projects have long included natural stone marble, granite, and other varieties as part of their material specifications, precisely because the stone's intrinsic properties align with what the rating system rewards.
The Specifier's Dilemma: Verification, Not Just Claims
One of the most practical challenges in sustainable construction is the gap between what suppliers claim and what they can document. Many materials today are marketed with green language, "eco-friendly," "sustainable," "low impact," without the independent certification to back it up.
For an IGBC submission, documentation is everything. The project team must provide supporting evidence for every credit claimed, and material certifications form a significant part of that evidence base. This is why the certifications a supplier holds matter as much as the product itself.
When evaluating a marble or stone supplier for a green-rated project, the presence of ISO 14001 (environmental management), ISO 9001 (quality management), IGBC certification, and CE Marking signals that a supplier's claims are independently verified, not just printed on a brochure.
One Standard That Often Gets Overlooked: ISO 14001
Most conversations about sustainable materials focus on the product. Fewer focus on the process behind it. ISO 14001 certification evaluates a supplier's entire environmental management system, how they monitor energy use, manage waste, handle water, and continuously improve their environmental performance at an operational level.
For architects and specifiers working on IGBC-rated projects, a supplier holding ISO 14001 is a meaningful signal. It means the stone wasn't just natural when it came out of the ground; it was processed responsibly before it arrived on site.
Building India's Sustainable Future, One Surface at a Time
India's green building market is on a clear growth trajectory. The decisions being made today, about which materials go into which buildings, will define the quality, sustainability, and liveability of the built environment for decades to come.
IGBC-certified materials are not a premium add-on for projects that can afford to care about sustainability. They are increasingly the baseline for any construction that takes its obligations to occupants, communities, and the environment seriously.
Specify with Confidence - Choose CMC
Classic Marble Company (CMC) holds a comprehensive stack of international certifications, IGBC, GREENGUARD, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, NSF International, and CE Marking, making us one of India's most credentialed marble manufacturers and suppliers for green-rated projects.
With over 2,000 stone varieties sourced from 50+ countries, including premium Indian marble ideal for regional sourcing credits, we have spent 30 years supplying surfaces that meet the demands of India's leading architects and developers on projects where both design excellence and certification compliance are non-negotiable.
View our full certification documentation and explore the luxury marble collection!