GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) is a rating tool that helps people assesses the performance of their building against certain nationally acceptable benchmarks. It evaluates the environmental performance of a building holistically over its entire life cycle, thereby providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a ‘green building’. The rating system, based on accepted energy and environmental principles, seeks to strike a balance between the established practices and emerging concepts, both national and international.

The World Green Building Council's 2014 report, Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Offices, included toolkits designed to help businesses measure the impact of their environments and assess the potential for improvement. More toolkits will be added as the project progresses.

In Malawi, increasing demand for housing has put tremendous pressure on the building material sector, resulting in deforestation, rising costs and poor quality construction.

Malawi holds potential for the adoption of green building materials. Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zambia and Tanzania have expressed interest in clean construction technology transfer.

The way forward: