THE elusive search for a Philippine-relevant environmental green standard for building and construction may finally come to an end.
I first heard of Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (Berde) via Dino Mañosa of Mañosa Properties many moons back when their projects became the first ever certified by Berde project for residential developments.
The Philippine Green Building Council (PHILGBC) officially launched the Berde Green Building Rating System (GBRS) v2.0.0 during the National Conference on “Collectively Shaping our Nama for the Building Sector,” a conference copresented by the PHILGBC and the Philippines’s Climate Change Commission. The conference was held as part of the PHILGBC National Convention and during the 2017 Climate Change Consciousness Week at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila.
The Berde GBRS—New Construction and Berde GBRS—Renovations v2.0.0 was unveiled by PHILGBC Chairman Ramon D. Rufino, together with the leaders from the World Green Building Council—Asia Pacific Network (WorldGBC-APN) witnessed by government and industry leaders.
Berde is the National Voluntary GBRS adopted by Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) in 2012. Berde is a tool to assess, measure, monitor and certify the performance of green-building projects above and beyond existing national and local building and environmental laws, regulations and mandatory standards.
“The DOE is very proud to have the PHILGBC as our partner in promoting green technology and sustainable development,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi remarked in his message of support for the PHILGBC National Convention.
The latest Berde GBRS has nine core framework which includes: Energy Efficiency and Conservation; Water Efficiency and Conservation; Waste Management; Use of Land and Ecology; Green Materials; Transportation; Indoor Environment Quality; and Emissions.
Cusi added, “Admirable is that the Berde rating system is increasingly being used by both the private and public sectors as a recognizable branding tool to easily identify buildings that meet environmental standards.”
Currently, there are 36 Berde-registered projects representing a total gross floor area of 1,129,490 square meters. Companies that trust Berde for their building projects include: Maynilad Water Services, Mañosa Properties, Arthaland Corp., First Balfour, HT Land Corp., Ayala Land Inc., Filinvest Land Inc., Laguna Lake Development Authority, The Net Group, De La Salle University, Monocrete Construction Philippines, Aseana Holdings, Keyland Corp., Filinvest Alabang Inc., Cebu Land Masters, Prescon and RSP Lim Construction Company.
In his congratulatory speech, BK Sinha, vice chairman of the WorldGBC-APN and CEO of the Malaysia Green Building Confederation shared, “Buildings are complex structures. They may look the same across from New York to Manila, and the rest of the world, but what goes on inside them can be so much different from country to country. In short, building rating system is really like the DNA or thumbprint of any country. A local rating system, in my opinion, is the best rating system for that particular country. In behalf of the Chairman of the World Green Building Council, Mr. Tai Lee Siang, on behalf of the Chairman of the Asia Pacific [Regional] Network, Mr. S. Raghupathy and on behalf of the Regional Manager for Asia Pacific [Regional] Network, [Ms.] Joelle Chen, I congratulate the Philippine Green Building Council for Berde [Version] 2.0.0.”
The public may access the Berde GBRS v2.0.0 thru the official website—https://berdeonline.org. The Berde web site is accessible in various devices, including desktop, tablets and mobiles phones. The web site has a clean and intuitive design and has a print function where users may print a book layout copy of the rating system straight from the website. The search function has been enhanced for an improved experience in navigating through the Berde GBRS. An Addenda Tab is also added to provide users with the latest information on Berde.