It is unfortunate that the ideas pertaining to sustainability are focused only on the following three areas:

1 - Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Kyoto Protocol.
2 - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by United States Green Building Council and its Indian version with the name Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
3 - ECBC2007 which have been implemented by Bureau of Energy efficiency Ministry of Power Government of India.

There is something more which defines the concepts of "Sustainability, Energy & Water Efficiency" and this can not be limited to few codes and concept. In our opinion, it is a holistic approach of planning that one likes to do before taking any large infrastructure decision. As we have learned over time from our working experience in this field. There is no standard solution to sustainability challenges. Also you can't rely on a set of published procedure to promote sustainability within the world when 100 types of climate 150 types of cultures and 20 types of comfort requirements exist. The point we are trying to make here is that you have a custom solution for a specific situation. An infrastructure project in Bangalore would have other consequences then that of a project in Gurgaon or say a building development project in State of Arizona in United State would be following recommendation and strategies which are completely different form a building that needs to be proposed in the coastal desert line of Abu Dhabi.
With the above mentioned background, I would like to introduce few concepts, which are helpful in making a building more climate responsive and having a lower carbon footprint. On an average (Strictly depending on the flexibility an owner gives for changes) one energy efficient building save up to 15 to 40 % of the sustainability impact and also same ratio exist in terms of saving in the annual utility bills.
Now a very important concept which needs a bit more insight is a question. "What can be done to fully and partially to achieve the goal of sustainable development and design?".The value adds of Energy engineering in an infrastructure project can be discussed with the time line and stages of project execution. One can apply energy engineering to a project in the design development phase and the other is to apply the energy engineering in post commissioned environment, when the facility is in real time operation.
Starting from pre-commissioning, opportunities which exist can be broadly classified as following i.e. implementation of Passive Architecture techniques, using whole building Energy Simulation for general energy optimizations, Validation of HVAC System design, incorporating the effect of Transient thermal behavior of the building, Ventilation System & Micro climate design, Building envelop Optimization, Plant energy use optimization, strategic Building Automation System (BAS) Specification and metering, Life Cycle Cost Calculation (LCC) for comparisons between similar looking alternative, Compliance with local energy code.
The post commissioning options can be further classified as timely and Detailed Energy Auditing, Energy Efficiency Monitoring Systems, Energy Benchmarking, Annual Energy Budgeting & Targeting, Energy Efficiency Measure, Retrofits (ESCO type projects) and Design of Smart Energy Management System, Which include Fault Detection & Diagnostics (FDD) using state of the art data logging and analysis framework.
The above mentioned services might be a jargon for clients, who are not directly related to the field, right now the pace of development and the attention given to the cause of sustainable design is more than any other time in the history of this world. This is partially due to the policy change, energy price hikes and few persistent energy conflicts at the supply sides. There is also a desire to live sustainable life and leave a better environment for the upcoming generations. The Pressure from the market leads to practical implementation and testing of many of the above mentioned concepts. Not fully but in most of the places after implementation of various aspect of Energy engineering clients are able to save phenomenal cost in terms of their operations. This is also gaining momentum in terms of company's corporate social structure pertaining to new responsibilities and a way to differentiate the products and services from competitors. Another interesting phenomenon is "green branding", which is capturing the market with a good pace especially in real-estate sector.