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Photo courtesy of Agência de Notícias do Acre
Introducing: The Edge
Climate change and other environmental risks caused
by rapid industrialization are a growing challenge,
threatening poverty alleviation efforts and undercutting
achievements in sustainable development.
Business as usual is no longer an option.
IFC’s first green building office investment, Actis Africa Fund: One Airport Square in Accra, Ghana.
Going green in the building sector can save
investors serious money through lower energy
and water bills. Understanding this, both
investors and policymakers alike are
recognizing that greener buildings can provide
multiple benefits:
• saving operating costs by boosting efficiency,
EDGE is an innovative assessment tool. By using EDGE, the financial viability of a green
building project can be determined at the early design stage. EDGE offers options that lead
to an ideal set of technical solutions that reduce energy and water consumption, calculating
upfront costs and potential operational savings.
Underlying the user-friendly interface is a sophisticated set of country-specific calculations
that create a single picture of building performance over time—making EDGE an effective
intervention tool in combating climate change.
• reducing a community’s carbon footprint
through lower greenhouse gas emissions, and
• generating jobs through home-grown
innovation
Photo courtesy of Jaume Meneses
Until now, going green in the building business
seemed a luxury for the wealthy or for select
multinational companies looking to make a
branding statement. Today however,
middle- and low-income buildings can also
adopt environmentally sound designs.
Imagine a simple, inexpensive, and reliable way
to generate real and dramatic savings on utility
bills no matter what the income of the client or
the kind of building they live or work in—
whether a house, hospital, apartment building,
hotel, or office.
There is a way—the IFC EDGE Green Buildings
Certification System.
The EDGE interface can be used for offices, hotels, and homes.
Building for the Future, Now
Already more than half of all resources
consumed globally are used in construction
and almost half of all energy generated across
the world is used to cool, light, and ventilate
our buildings. Meanwhile, buildings account
for 15 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas
emissions—a number that is expected to climb
higher as more people migrate to urban
centers for work in coming decades.
© Mark Henley/Panos Pictures
One Airport Square in Accra, Ghana.
With this in mind, developing country
governments are focusing on the building
sector as an area for reform and innovation.
IFC too is looking for innovative ways to help
the industry adapt and promote more
affordable, energy-efficient designs and
specifications.
Building-related greenhouse gas emissions
IFC already is committed to sustainable,
low cost solutions for the building industry.
It invested $22.5 million in the rising developer,
Vinte of Mexico, for example, with its green
homes starting at $22,000, making them
attractive to working young adults.
pressing need for a green building
Savings from going green can repay costs
within the first three years of operation.
Green buildings offer the single largest global
opportunity to make deep emission cuts at low
and even negative cost. In addition to using
less water, green buildings reduce energy costs
by 20 percent on average over conventional
buildings, and have lower maintenance costs.
buildings deliver a demonstrably different
are currently set to double by 2030 under a
high-growth scenario, and most of this will
take place within emerging market
countries. Never has there been such a
certification system available to all. It is time
to rethink the sustainability of the
construction industry and ensure that green
carbon footprint from conventional
buildings. Now is the time for EDGE.
EDGE takes this movement a step further by
encouraging more affordable green housing
in high urban growth markets, helping build
sustainable cities at a time when resources
are getting increasingly harder to secure.
Today, IFC offers EDGE, providing technical
solutions for improving resource efficiency
and cost savings with investment paybacks.
© GMB Akash/Panos Pictures
RESIDENTIAL CASE STUDY
Energy, Water, and Materials
Cost Savings
Apartment in Latin America
Low-energy lights
Limiting power density
$110 / yr
Solar collectors
For hot water
Low-flow taps
For kitchen sinks
$20 / yr
Dual flush
For toilets
The EDGE Difference
✓ EDGE reveals the most critical solutions for
going green and captures the capital costs
and projected operational savings at the early
conceptual stage.
Photo courtesy of Prashant Kapoor
Hollow concrete blocks
For external walls
$100
Incremental Capital Costs
$500
Energy Cost Savings
37%
Water Cost Savings
40%
Payback Time
3 years
✓ EDGE provides country-specific advice for the
most relevant project information.
✓ EDGE is hosted on a user-friendly, Excel-based
platform to avoid investment in proprietary
software.
COMMERCIAL CASE STUDY
3-Star Hotel Property
in Southeast Asia
✓ EDGE can be utilized by competent building
professionals without the need for expensive
green building specialists.
✓ EDGE can be used to assess risk reduction for
residential owners interested in green
mortgages.
© Dieter Telemans/Panos Pictures
Energy Efficiency Measures
Energy Savings
Glazing percentage
Window-to-wall ratio on façade
7%
Solar shading
Horizontal & vertical devices
5%
Glass performance
Solar & thermal properties
11%
Efficient air-conditioner
Higher chiller COP
6%
Heat recovery
Adding unit to fresh air inlet
1.5%
Solar collectors
For hot water
5%
Low-energy lights
Limiting power density
6%
T5 fluorescent lamps
For back-of-house lighting
0.4%
Movement control sensors
For corridors
0.5%
Incremental Capital Costs
$300,000
Cumulative Energy Savings
30%
Energy Cost Savings
$144,000
Payback Time
2 years
Working with partners in more than 100
countries, IFC invests, advises, and mobilizes
resources from others, creating opportunity
for clients in a broad range of industries in
emerging markets. Standing between the
public and private sectors, IFC brings
market-based solutions to the challenge of
creating low-carbon economic growth.
IFC has developed EDGE as part of its strategy
in partnering with clients, global financial
institutions, and local banks to wholesale
green building investments. By creating an
international green building standard, IFC is
working with clients to save money and
leverage their own brands of corporate
responsibility and environmental excellence.
Photo courtesy of Prashant Kapoor
For more information on EDGE, contact IFC’s
Climate Business Group at [email protected] or
visit www.ifc.org/edge