As more building owners learn the effects of climate change and the advantages of green buildings, market players are enthusiastic in participating in the greening of the construction sector through green building and certification.
Greener buildings (i) are energy and water efficient, (ii) cheaper to operate and maintain, (iii) reduced negative impacts to the environment, (iv) creates healthy environment for the users, (v) has improved productivity of users, (vi) and improves the quality of life.
Undergoing green building certification encourages building professionals to design with sustainability in mind, helping them communicate with other building owners, professionals and other practitioners in promoting greener buildings. A green building rating system may be used by architects as a framework in designing greener buildings, and allows them to design in accordance to environmental priorities in a given context, assisting in the delivery of greener buildings with the maximum value for clients.
A green building rating system encourages contractors to implement greener construction practices, and certification also helps the bottomline by helping facility managers communicate the level of sustainability of buildings – enabling them to attract tenants at premium rates.
The Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE) Program was created by PHILGBC as an appropriate response to the Philippine building industry’s need to proactively address the negative impacts of climate change in the property sector.
The BERDE Green Building Rating System is developed under the BERDE Program. It is a tool to measure, verify and monitor performance of buildings above and beyond existing mandatory building and environmental regulations and standards. The rating tool is consensus driven and is achieved through a multi-stakeholder consultation and collaboration process. BERDE Assessment and Certification is credible, unbiased, balanced and impartial and is achieved through a third party certification process conforming with international standards.
Today, the PHILGBC is working with different private and public offices and organizations such as the National Housing Authority, the International Labour Organization, and the Department of Trade and Industry. BERDE is recognized as the National Voluntary Green Building Rating System under the Philippine Energy Efficiency Project - Efficient Building Initiative of the Department of Energy.