Hindustan Unilever Limited’s (HUL) Mumbai headquarters has become the first company site in India to achieve LEED Platinum certification for Existing Building Operations and Maintenance (EBOM), underscoring how corporate facilities can advance both environmental responsibility and employee wellbeing.
“Unilever House represents our broader ambition to reach net zero across our value chain by 2039,” said Sanjiv Mehta, CEO and Managing Director of HUL, in a September 2025 press release. “This certification demonstrates that sustainability is not confined to factories or supply chains—it extends to the spaces where our people collaborate and innovate.”
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, is the world’s most recognized benchmark for green building. Platinum is its highest rating, reserved for buildings that demonstrate superior energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, and waste reduction.
HUL’s certification places it among a small group of Indian companies pursuing the EBOM category, which is considered more challenging than new construction because it requires retrofitting existing infrastructure without disrupting operations.
Key features of HUL’s Mumbai headquarters include:
These steps build on HUL’s wider progress: a 99% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2008, a 50% reduction in water use across factories, and a 62% decrease in total waste generated.
India’s green building footprint has expanded rapidly in recent years, with the LEED India program reporting more than 3,000 registered projects totaling over 1.5 billion square feet of space. The International Finance Corporation estimates that by 2030, India’s green building market could be worth up to $1.4 trillion, driven by corporate demand, regulatory shifts, and investor pressure for ESG compliance.
For multinational corporations like HUL, facility-level achievements like LEED Platinum align with broader ESG reporting frameworks and help demonstrate progress toward science-based targets. The certification also enhances employee engagement, a growing focus area as companies compete for sustainability-minded talent.
