Local builders keen on adopting environmentally friendly designs are advised to start small and reach out to other stakeholders to succeed, experts said in a forum yesterday.
This comes as builders are currently competing to meet a rising demand for green buildings globally, said Tzion Asher, country manager for construction firm BCI Asia Philippines, Inc., at first day of the FuturArc Forum 2011.
“The easiest way to do it is on a small scale. You can try these ideas out on a small development first,” said Kevin Hydes, former chair of the World Green Building Council, at the same forum.
“You can be installing the systems behind them and still do a test sweep, first making sure it’s working the way you intend the building to be and that you’re getting the savings you expect, before you go out and fully adopt it,” Mr. Hydes said.
“All those things, in fact, can be done before you build a hole, to make sure your project is achievable and affordable,” he explained.
Industry players should also work cohesively as the lack of coordination is another hurdle to the successful construction of green buildings, Mr. Hydes said.
“Fragmentation in design and delivery acts as a barrier to green building development,” he said.
Builders must be able to work innovatively with their immediate community, the media, and the government in green building construction.
This includes enabling information research and capacity-building, encouraging appropriate regulation such as tax incentives and penalties, and engaging community action through media campaigns.
In the meantime, the Philippines has been ranked 102nd out of 183 economies in terms of the ease of acquiring construction permits, a recent World Bank study showed.
“It’s not easy. There is really no magic bullet. Green development is an investment, a lifelong journey,” he said.
Benefits to the community should be pursued above all else, Mr. Hydes said.
Other benefits such as tax perks and a potential increase in property value should only come after, he said.
He acknowledged, however, that green buildings have a “profit” side and builders wanting to cut costs may be discouraged from building them because of their perception of being expensive.
The price increase of wholesale construction materials in Metro Manila, for instance, rose by 8.7% last month year-on-year due to higher annual upward adjustments from twelve commodity groups, the National Statistics Office reported earlier this month.
“I’m not surprised construction costs are going up especially in the cities,” Mr. Hydes said. “But green buildings do not need to cost any more money.”
“If you have smart designers, smart owners, and smart builders, and smart tenants, you can design these buildings all without premium,” he said, adding builders must follow an integrated design process that already incorporates green features.
