Going green makes good business sense
Posted on | September 4, 2010 |
The Philippine Green Building Council (PhilGBC) is intensifying its campaign for green buildings after recent developments showed that investments here provide fast and long-term returns.
Further, designing a building around the concept of sustainability, particularly on energy conservation will help the country address its prohibitive power rates.
“The Philippines, with its expensive energy rates, need to adopt green building concepts if we are to be sustainable in the way we do business,” said Architect Christopher dela Cruz, President of PhilGBC during the recently held Philippine International Eco-Show.
According to Dela Cruz, the PHILGBC is pleased that housing buyers now appreciate the value of sustainable design concepts, even as the cost of these green investments declines substantially. He added that investment in green designs could now be recouped in two to three years and not five years like before.
Highlighting further the marked shift in the mindset of industry players, Architect Nestor Arabejo, President of Ecoteknika, Inc. in a separate presentation, noted that their clients are now keen on value optimization rather than on reducing costs.
Meanwhile, Raymund Azul of TUV Rheinland, in another presentation, referred to a survey wherein more than 60 percent of the respondents reported a substantial improvement in their business services and operations as a result of their green building design and practices.
Dela Cruz, however, pointed out that a big portion of the market for green buildings remains untapped, adding that there is a need for the government to design an effective incentive scheme to realize the benefits of integrating sustainable features into the design of a building.
“A green building is a public good. It does not only shelter a family, but also the whole society and even generations to come against adverse environmental impacts”, said Dela Cruz “Green buildings also contribute greatly to conserving the world’s natural resource base and improving the quality of urban life as it uses less water, improves energy efficiency, preserves nature, reduces pollutants and provides healthier spaces for occupants.”
“With the country’s population growing astoundingly but land area the same, we cannot sustain our natural resource base unless we incorporate green features into the design and construction of our buildings”, Dela Cruz pointed out.
To bolster the mainstreaming of green building, the PhilGBC came up with a green building rating scheme called BERDE or Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence.
When asked about the aptness of making BERDE mandatory, Dela Cruz said that not all local sites are suitable for green building designs. There are varying levels of greening, adding that they need wide stakeholders’ participation in hammering out a new BERDE system this November.
Other efforts undertaken by PGBC to mainstream green building are geared towards educating the market on the benefits of green building; getting the government to design financing schemes for green buildings; beefing up eco-labeling of more green building materials; and stimulating the growth of home-grown green technologies through investments in research and development (R&D).
He added that there is also a need to further strengthen the BERDE system, upgrade professional skills and harmonize environmental rules and regulations.
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