Bengaluru in top APAC cities for sustainable commercial real estate: Report
Garden city and India's silicon valley Bengaluru has been ranked the 14th best city for sustainable development of commercial real estate.
Bengaluru has been ranked 14 of 20 cities in the Asia Pacific region for sustainable development of commercial real estate by global consultants Knight Frank, news agency PTI said. The top five cities are Singapore, Sydney, Wellington, Perth, and Melbourne.
Apart from Bengaluru, three other Indian cities - Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai - also made it to the list but were ranked in three of the bottom four places - 17, 18 and 20, respectively.
Cities were ranked in terms of compliance with sustainability norms in the development of commercial real estate as per the APAC Sustainability Index 2021, which ranked 36 cities based on parameters like urbanisation pressure, climate risk, carbon emissions and government initiatives.
Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India, said, "New market dynamics have propelled the growth of sustainable development in India. Global commitment to carbon neutrality and 'Net Zero' (and) focus) on creating environmentally friendly premises has led developers to augment products to meet requirements."
Demand for office leasing space and sustainable buildings will only strengthen, he said, adding that he expected these features to become a universal standard.
Meanwhile, the same report also said India's Green Bonds issuance had increased from USD 1.1 billion in 2020 to USD 6.8 billion in 2021. This means that India has been issuing more bonds that promote environment-friendly projects.
Bengaluru, meanwhile, was also ranked the second most desirable destination for overseas students after Mumbai, according to the QS Best Student-Cities Ranking.
(With PTI Inputs)