Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group, and one of the largest commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturers in India, has been awarded LEED v4.1 Buildings Operations & Maintenance certification at the Platinum level, for its corporate office building in Chennai. LEED v4.1 is the newest version of the LEED (or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). With this honor, Ashok Leyland becomes the first office in India and fourth in the world to receive LEED v4.1 Platinum certification.

N.V Balachandar, President – HR, Communication and CSR, Ashok Leyland said, “Sustainability is an integral part of all of our objectives, and we are deeply committed to creating cleaner and safer work environments. We have been associated with LEED for a decade and have observed great improvement in our energy and water savings, waste management, carbon footprint and the health of our employees through the use of LEED.”

Ashok Leyland’s office is located in the heart of the city, with easy access to bus, metro and rail networks. The ease of access created due to the location of the Chennai office leads to a high share of public transport usage. The project achieved 91 points, and continues to monitor, analyse and optimise their performance by using the Arc platform.

Sustainability features at the project include a rainwater collection tank that captures 100 per cent of rainwater runoff and low flow water fixtures to reduce water consumption. Additionally, 100 per cent of the waste generated at the building is segregated on-site, pre-processed and recycled or diverted from landfills.

Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, Managing Director – APAC and Middle East, Green Business Certificate Institute (GBCI), said “As the first project in India to receive LEED v4.1 Platinum certification, the firm’s Chennai office serves as an international model for sustainability excellence. Existing buildings have a great potential to improve their efficiency and performance through LEED.”