IFC cites Italpinas for energy efficiency

MANILA, Philippines – Italpinas Development Corp. has bagged an International Finance Corp. (IFC) certification for the energy efficient design of its 10-story twin tower Prima-vera Residences.

In a briefing yesterday, Italpinas said the Primavera Residences in Cagayan de Oro City is now the first completed condominium building in East Asia certified under IFC’s Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) program.

EDGE is a green building certification system for emerging markets created by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

“We’ve launched EDGE six months ago,” IFC Global Green Building specialist Prashant Kapoor said.

He said the project has been launched in Indonesia, India, South Africa and other emerging markets such as the Philippines.

“To make a project green, you will need to do certain things,” Kapoor said.

Romolo Nati, chairman and chief operating officer, said the Primavera project has energy efficient features.

For one, there is a shading facade that allows the building to reduce temperature in the unit. There is a natural ventilation system and the building has an inner courtyard.

“We have an enhanced natural ventilation which help unit owners to reduce their aircon use,” he said.

The project has solar type panels for renewable energy production to power common areas. This translates to a reduction in condominium dues.

“Plus we have a swimming pool located on the third floor, which uses salty substances so that we use less chemicals. We try to use less chemicals in the project,” Nati said.

Italpinas is an Italian-Filipino company that designs and develops sustainable property developments across the Philippines.

The project started construction in 2010 and was completed in September 2012. Construction of Tower B with 167 residential and commercial units is ongoing.

EDGE helps property developers build and brand their properties “green” in a fast, easy and affordable way.

IFC’s Kapoor said EDGE is supported by a 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.

“By keeping certification fast and inexpensive, EDGE keeps pace with the momentum that developers need to stay at the forefront of the green building trend,” IFC said.