ARTHALAND Corp.’s flagship office tower in Taguig has been accredited anew as a “green and sustainable” building, following the EDGE Zero Carbon certification from International Finance Corp. (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
The first in the world, Arthaland Century Pacific Tower (ACPT), was recognized as such, given its projected savings of 45 percent in energy, 64 percent in water and 34 percent in embodied energy in materials, surpassing the benchmark of 20 percent less use for each category.
This 31-story edifice in Bonifacio Global City is now the country’s only triple-certified project for receiving such accreditation, which stands for Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies, in addition to the acquired LEED Platinum and BERDE five-star ratings since it opened last year.
“We’re really proud of this,” Arthaland Vice Chairman and President Jaime C. Gonzalez told reporters in a briefing before the awarding ceremony at the ACPT lobby on Wednesday.
“By achieving EDGE Zero Carbon certification, we have once again raised green building development standards in the country and have kept true to our unwavering commitment of building boutique, sustainable and exceptional developments,” he added. ACPT is energy-efficient, being powered by First Gen’s Pantabangan-Masiway Hydroelectric Plant in Nueva Ecija. It uses higher thermal performance glass, reflective roof paint, sensorized lighting fixtures, energy recovery ventilation and variable refrigerant volume cooling systems. For water conservation, it has efficient closets, faucets and urinals, as well as gray water recycling, condensate water recovery and rainwater harvesting systems.
Construction materials with less embodied energy were utilized—aluminum window frames, in-situ reinforced concrete slabs for roof and floor, medium weight hollow concrete blocks for internal walls, curtain walling for external walls, and stone tiles and finished concrete floor for the flooring. Gonzalez said that while it costs a lot to integrate all these green features—around 8 percent to 10 percent higher than a base case building—“it’s an investment for the long term” considering their environmental contribution and huge savings for tenants.
Arthaland Executive Vice President and Treasurer Leonardo Po even pointed out that it helps them achieve a “triple bottom line” by providing a better working experience for the occupants’ employees, helping conserve natural resources and being able to charge one of the highest commercial office rates in Metro Manila. “This building has certainly attracted quite a number of multinational locators for our project,” he said of around 10 foreign and homegrown companies now operating in the fully leased building with a total gross floor area of 34,000 square meters.
Seeing the strong demand for green buildings nationwide, the publicly listed developer will continue to adhere to international and local standards for premium green projects with its upcoming two office projects, Cebu Exchange and Savya Financial Center.
“They, too, will be triple-certified with the US Green Building Council [LEED], the Philippine Green Building Council [BERDE] and the IFC EDGE as well,” Po revealed.