IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is convening a voluntary, collaborative effort with leading Indian housing sector companies to form an industry-led Sustainable Housing Leadership Consortium to drive sustainability in India’s housing market with a particular focus on the affordable housing sector. Formed by early contributors in India’s green building and affordable housing movement – Godrej Properties, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited, Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate, Tata Housing Development Company, and VBHC Value Homes Private Limited, the effort is part of IFC’s Eco-cities program, supported by the European Union. IFC will leverage private sector investments to facilitate greater uptake of certified green buildings, facilitate policy dialogue between the private sector and the government, evaluate technology levers and share best practices, raise public awareness, and identify strategic actions for implementation. “Buildings contribute to about 30-40 per cent of energy consumption in many Indian cities and about 22 per cent of the country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. We appreciate and support the efforts of these leaders,” said Johann Hesse, Head of Cooperation of the European Union in India. The founding members of the consortium have committed to make their housing portfolio completely sustainable by 2017 through appropriate green-building certifications and achieve 20 per cent reduction in incremental variable costs. The consortium will also provide leadership and advocacy for broader industry and government policy actions to make 20 percent of India’s new housing construction sustainable by 2022. An attempt to promote sustainable growth in India’s housing stock as the country rapidly urbanises, it complements ongoing activities in IFC’s four-year Eco-cities programme. The programme is working to catalyse the green-buildings market and promote climate-smart infrastructure projects in five selected cities with a focus on scalable and replicable clean energy and resource-efficient solutions.India is IFC's top country exposure, globally.