Italpinas seeks ‘green building’ certification for all projects

PROPERTY DEVELOPER ITALPINAS DEVELOPMENT CORP. INTENDS TO SECURE “GREEN BUILDING” CERTIFICATION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORP. (IFC) FOR ALL ITS PROJECTS IN AN EFFORT TO SET ITSELF APART IN THE CROWDED REAL ESTATE MARKET.

Italpinas on Monday received the Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) certification for Primavera Residences in Cagayan de Oro City, from the IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank.

Primavera Residences — a 10-storey, twin-tower, mixed used development — is the first completed condominium project in East Asia and the second project in the Philippines to be certified by EDGE.

“All our projects in the pipeline are up for EDGE certification,” Italpinas Chairman Romolo Nati said in a briefing yesterday in Makati City.

Italpinas is seeking EDGE certification for Primavera City in Cagayan de Oro and Miramonti in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, Mr. Nati said.

The real estate firm is upbeat that the green building recognition can translate to higher sales.

“The marketplace has become more and more noisy because it’s very easy to say that a project is green or environment friendly…With this framework available to us, we can show end users that this what we mean when we’re green,” Italpinas President Jose D. Leviste III said.

The design of Primavera Residences, combined with renewable energy that will be produced from solar panels found on the rood deck of the towers, will help bring down the overall energy consumption of the buildings. For example, Primavera Residences saw a 30% reduction in the use of air-conditioning units, Mr. Nati said.

EDGE is a green building certification system for emerging markets created by IFC. It is described to be a “measurable way for builders to optimize their designs, leading to a more investment-worthy and marketable product.”

Shares in Italpinas lost 20 centavos or 7.69% to close at P2.40 each on Monday.