C H A L L E N G E :
While iconic commercial buildings were being certified green in emerging markets, the certification of residential buildings was non-existent. At the International Finance Corporation, we set out to create a SaaS platform for property developers to show them the most affordable green interventions for their particular project across energy, water, and embodied energy in materials. Homes were being built in a race against population growth, and the climate change clock was ticking. Achieving scale fast was essential to take advantage of the window of opportunity and convince developers to build and brand green.
S T R A T E G Y:
As IFC is a member of the World Bank Group, we utilized its reputation as leverage, adopting different strategies depending on the market. In Colombia, Bancolombia stepped up to the challenge and provided better financing if developers certified their properties, leading to other banks following in their footsteps. In Peru, neighborhoods in Lima competed against each other, with municipal governments offering incentives to build taller if properties were certified. In Indonesia, we worked directly at the C-suite level with developers and green property funds. Our marketing efforts were aimed at first movers who would get us across the chasm, while building a strong cohort of green building engineers called “EDGE Experts” who could guide them with their insights.
O U T C O M E S:
60 million square meters of floor space in emerging markets has been certified in 160 countries, with 17 million square meters in the pipeline.
Entire markets have been transformed (20% of new-build penetration), including Peru, Vietnam, and Colombia.
There are 12 certifying partners worldwide, 32,000 software users, and 1,200 EDGE Experts.
Thirty-six percent of IFC’s climate investment can be tied to EDGE certification.
A S S E T S :
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Green Buildings Policy Pathways in Emerging Markets
EDGE Brochure
Brand Book & Style Guide