SMX Convention Center • Seashell Drive, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, Philippines • 23-26 April 2009
Development
of a Green
Building
Rating
System
for the Philippines
The world is transforming into a
global economy. Presently, the
building and construction sector is
accelerating at a very rapid pace.
The adverse impacts of increased
building activity are remarkable in
our land, in the air we breathe, on
human health, our heritage and
overall quality of life.
Globally, the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP)
estimates that the built environment
is responsible for 25-40% of
energy use; 30-40% of the solid
waste generation, and 30-40% of
green house gas (GHG) emissions
worldwide.
In the Philippines, there is
an alarming increase in the
environmental impact that built
environment creates. The solid
waste problem is mounting in
the metropolis; an energy crisis is
expected in the next few years,
and our water resources are fast
depleting.
There is an estimated 8,000
tons per day of solid waste
generated in Metro Manila alone.
The Department of Energy targets
to increase the Philippines’ current
oil and gas reserves from the year
2004 level of 69.5 million metric tons
of oil equivalent (MMTOE) to 83.6
MTOE by 2014 due to increased
energy demand. Water borne
diseases account to about 30% of
all reported diseases from 19962000, largely due to improper
wastewater management and with
only 6 out of 115 Philippine cities
having sewerage systems. These
figures reflect the current stress in
the Philippine environment that
needs to be directly addressed.
These negative occurrences
are largely due to the tremendous
growth presently experienced
by the economy and the rapidly
increasing construction activity
due to increased population in the
city centers. The property sector’s
expansion is fueled by the demand
for new and premium office space
required by the business process
outsourcing (BPO) and by the
increased dollar remittances of
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW)
that stimulated the accelerated
development of more residential
condominiums.
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Green Building
Green Building is the practice of
designing, constructing, operating,
or reusing buildings in an ecological
and resource efficient manner.
It focuses on the promotion
and practice of sustainable site
development, improvement of
indoor air quality, efficient energy,
water management, utilization
of green materials and the
preservation of cultural heritage.
When buildings use less energy it
reduces the demand for government
to build more power plants. Improved
quality of effluents from buildings
helps the government maintain
cleaner water resources. Improved
resource management practices
enables businesses t o r e d u c e
waste generated at job sites, thus,
requiring less landfills.
The reduction of the negative
impacts associated with building
construction promotes the
preservation of the natural ecology.
It is a major contribution of the
business industry in the protection
of the environment.
Sustainable building improves
the productivity of businesses.
Healthier workspaces promote
building occupants comfort and
health and boosts employees
morale. As the business industry
increases the uptake of sustainable
building strategies, they are
realizing that first costs are now
very competitive. Accessibility
to greener building materials,
technology and information are
accelerating the acceptance
of sustainable building. With a
mature market ready to embrace
sustainable building, businesses will
be reaping the marketing benefits
that are provided by sustainable
building. This enables businesses
to maintain competitiveness and
improve their bottom-line.
Green Building Rating
Tools Implemented
Around the World
Presently, there is an increased
uptake in green building practices
around the world. Several countries
have established rating systems
that are used as a benchmark in
evaluating the level of sustainability
of buildings. They provide identifying