The British Embassy yesterday hailed the successful development of “Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence,” (BERDE), the first green building rating system designed by Filipinos, even as it noted that it was unveiled at a time when the Philippine construction industry is booming and power costs in the country have escalated to become the highest in Asia.
“We are delighted to have contributed to the development of BERDE through our British experts who shared their knowledge and best practices in using the UK’s BREAAM system, which really pioneered green building rating sys-tems,” British Ambassador Stephen Lillie said in a statement following a courtesy call by Philippine Green Building Council (PhilGBC) officers at the British Embassy last week.
BERDE provides a common language for green building in the Philippines by formulating national standards for sustainable construction that are tailored to Philippine conditions.
In developing its own green building rating system, the PhilGBC partnered with the British Research Establishment Energy Assessment Matrix (BREEAM), the first and most widely used green building rating system which sets the yardstick for energy efficient, sustainable design that minimizes the impact of building construction to the environment.
PhilGBC Chairman and President architect Christopher de la Cruz said there are 13 buildings going through the process of BERDE certification in areas such as Manila, Makati and Pampanga. There are now 100 certified BERDE professionals to assist project proponents in pursuing BERDE certification.
Research and development of several BERDE schemes for communities and educational institutions are also being developed.
De la Cruz pointed out that, with the Philippines among the most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change, he considers it a “primordial concern” to address high energy costs, water and air pollution and a solid waste crisis.
Green buildings, he explained, reduce the strain on energy resources as they need less energy than other structures.
The resulting improvement in resource management practices reduces waste, requiring less landfills and helping the government maintain cleaner water resources.
