IFC’s EDGE expands to over 100 emerging market countries
IFC (International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group), is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, IFC uses its capital, expertise and influence to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In Fiscal Year 15, its long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.
An innovation of IFC, EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) helps property developers to build and brand its properties “green” in a fast, easy and affordable way. EDGE is supported by software that encourages solutions to reduce energy, water and the energy used to make building materials by at least 20 percent, which is the standard for EDGE certification. The program has been generously supported by the following donors: Austria, Canada, Denmark, ESMAP, EU, Finland, GEF, Japan and Switzerland.
The EDGE Program.
The program, which engages financial institutions, developers, government regulators, and homeowners, is supported by software that can be used by anyone in the world to design a resource-efficient building in more than 100 countries. Fast, easy to use, and affordable, EDGE empowers builders to choose technical solutions that reduce environmental impacts while capturing capital costs and projected savings. It only takes a handful of measures to ensure better building performance, resulting in lower utility costs, extended equipment service life, and less pressure on natural resources.
EDGE can be used for new residential and commercial buildings, including homes, hotels, hospitals, retail stores, and offices. To reach the EDGE minimum standard, a building must achieve a 20% reduction in energy, water, and embodied energy in materials when compared to a local benchmark. While the drivers behind EDGE are financial, the results are environmental – EDGE helps mitigate climate change by encouraging resource-efficient development.
Primavera Residences eyed to be the first completed residential building in East Asia certified by EDGE
On August 26-27, 2015, Autif Sayyed, the Regional Green Building Specialist for the East Asia Pacific Region at International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group, visited Primavera Residences to complete the stages of the building’s EDGE certification as he recognized the building’s outstanding initiation and implementation of the green features.
To know more about IFC and EDGE, you may visit their websites at www.ifc.org and www.edgebuildings.com.
By Cesar Stefan Rago | PR & Marketing Officer – November 18, 2015
