The stars are aligning for Colombia to enter an era of environmental awareness in construction, says Camacol’s technical vice president, Edwin Chiviri. Today there are 138 residential projects certified with the Edge seal.
The growing number of Edge-certified buildings is an indicator of this transformation. Currently, there are 138 certified residential projects in the country, according to the Colombian Chamber of Construction (Camacol). Moreover, the latest report of the Colombian Sustainable Construction Council states that 5 percent of the area licensed for housing in the last decade is in the process of obtaining this seal. To do so, real estate projects must guarantee at least 20 percent savings in energy and water, and in the energy required for the production and transportation of materials.
Starting in 2022, in addition, families interested in buying non-VIS housing with sustainability certification will be able to apply for Ecobertura, a subsidy program launched by the Ministry of Housing with a budget of more than 250 billion pesos. «The stars are aligning so that, over the next four years, at least one out of every two new homes will be certified in sustainable construction,» says Camacol’s technical vice president, Edwin Chiviri.
Savings are in the details
Residential properties produce between 17 and 21 percent of global carbon emissions, according to the World Green Building Council. Today, the main way builders are reducing their carbon footprint is by making designs more efficient. For example, the correct positioning of facades with respect to the sun allows them to make the most of natural light and better regulate temperature. The sum of these efficiencies also means good news for residents’ wallets. According to Camacol’s director of sustainability, Katherine Bobadilla, «the greatest possible cost that can be involved in a sustainable project is an investment that is recovered over five or six years with energy savings alone».
Nothing goes to waste
The energy required for construction materials to reach the building – from the extraction of raw materials to their transformation and transportation – usually occupies between 10 and 25 percent of the entire energy consumption of the life cycle of a real estate project, according to estimates of the manual ‘Ecology of construction materials’. In view of this, Roberto Moreno, president of Amarilo, explains that it is increasingly important to purchase products and materials that require less energy during their production and transportation.
Article taken from: https://www.semana.com/hablan-las-marcas/articulo/en-cuatro-anos-al-menos-una-de-cada-dos-viviendas-nuevas-sera-certificada-en-construccion-sostenible/202229/
