Why Green Buildings? Why EDGE?
Today, humankind utilise the equivalent of 1.7 earths to meet their needs. Meaning, while we use what earth provides in one day, earth needs more than one and a half day to regenerate. If the current trends remain, by the year of 2030 we will need an equivalent of two mother earths. The way people extract materials from earth, consume unsustainably, and dispose our waste accelerate the pace of our biggest enemy - climate change.
The building sector is a major culprit, accounting for 28 percent of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, and consuming more than half of all electricity. The UN Environment Programme projects that if we continue with business as usual in the building sector, these emissions will more than double by 2030. As the demand of new buildings continue in the future, it is critical in how to balance the demand while minimising resource depletion and carbon impacts.
To prevent unsustainable buildings roar in the future market, major real estate stakeholders, including developers, banks and governments need to understand the importance of the green buildings implementation. A holistically approach must be in place throughout the building life cycle, from the design phase to the operational phase, in order to reduce the negative environmental impacts, such as less energy and water consumption. In parallel, building owners and property managers will be also be benefitted through lower operating expenses. Real estate developers can also distinguish their corporate image and/or products in the built environment sector as the market leader who supports the global movement to tackle climate change.
EDGE, Excellence Design for Greater Efficiencies, an innovation of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is one of the well-known green building certifications, especially in the emerging market. In Colombia, for example, 8 percent of new building growth has been certified with EDGE, due to a confluence of banking and government incentives and a powerful lobbying effort from CAMACOL, the national provider for EDGE certification. In Indonesia, forty six on-going or completed EDGE projects were recorded in 2020.
Consistent with its’ name, EDGE only focuses in three efficiencies : Energy, Water, and Materials. At least 20% of better efficiencies compared to the local building standard is mandatory to receive EDGE certification. For example, a retail-mall project in the city of Meanchey, Cambodia needs to have better energy, water, and embodied energy of materials by 20% compared to local Meanchey or nearby cities standard. Another level of EDGE certifications, EDGE Advanced and EDGE Zero Carbon, require more rigorous strategies to achieve the minimum requirement. Arthaland is the world’s first developer to earn the (EDGE) Zero Carbon certification for its flagship office building, the ArthaLand Century Pacific Tower (ACPT). It is the only triple-certified project in the Philippines, having received, in addition to the EDGE Zero Carbon certification, the LEED Platinum rating and BERDE 5-star certification, the highest and most prestigious categories in green building rating standards.
Sustainahaus is one of the few South East Asia companies that is specialised in EDGE, either as EDGE Expert or EDGE Auditor. We provide EDGE Auditor services within Asia as the Partner of Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) and as EDGE Expert services with Sintali-SGS in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam, etc. In our home-country itself, Indonesia, we have more than 10 on-going and completed EDGE project experiences. Contact us to understand how Sustainahaus can help you with EDGE certification.
