RL Commercial REIT (RCR), the real estate investment trust backed by Robinsons Land Corporation, announced that its Robinsons Cyberscape Gamma office tower in Pasig City is now officially the Philippines’ first EDGE-certified REIT building.
EDGE, or Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies, is an international green building certification system that focuses purely on energy, water, and embodied energy in materials (a calculation of all the energy used to produce the materials that make up a building) for a quantitative approach to sustainability.
Robinsons Cyberscape Gamma’s EDGE certificate was presented by the Philippine Green Building Initiative (PBGI) following a thorough evaluation. In his congratulatory message, PGBI Vice Chairman Amado de Jesus Jr. said, “Our assessment confirms the [EDGE] auditor’s report that Robinsons Cyberscape Gamma’s resource-efficient design will result in reductions of 34% in energy, 31% in water and 69% in materials’ embodied energy compared to a local base case.”
The certificate confirms that Cyberscape Gamma successfully reduced energy consumption through its low window-to-wall ratio, use of high-performance glass, fresh air pre-conditioning system, efficient lighting, and power factor correction. It also employs water-saving measures, such as the use of water-efficient faucets and urinals, and a rainwater harvesting system. In addition, the building uses material-efficient floor and roof slabs, window glazing, and interior and exterior walls.
“This is an important milestone for Robinsons Offices and especially for RCR,” said Robinsons Land Senior Vice President and General Manager for Offices and RCR President Jericho Go. To keep the momentum going, Go added that RLC is looking to increase the impact of its sustainability initiatives – while delivering value to the business – by incorporating sustainable development features in all its properties.
An innovation of the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, EDGE is billed as a “measurable way for builders to optimize their designs, leading to a more investment-worthy and marketable product.” Being an internationally recognized green building certification system, EDGE can be deployed by developers to help meet global standards.
The Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), for example, includes EDGE as a qualifying certification system for improved scoring for the GRESB Real Estate Assessment and the GRESB Developer Assessment. GRESB is the global standard for ESG benchmarking and is used by investors to obtain data on the ESG performance of real assets.
The International Capital Markets Association also recognizes EDGE as a qualifying certification system in its “green bond principles,” a set of guidelines recommended when issuing a green bond. Likewise, the Climate Bonds Initiative includes EDGE as a qualifying certification system to achieve the Climate Bonds Standard and Certification Scheme. EDGE certification fulfills both residential and commercial requirements for the allocation of proceeds from green bonds.
In RCR’s unrelenting pursuit of greater sustainability, Go said that the company “continues to engage green-certified contractors and/or consultants, as well as establish guidelines on landscaping, to achieve carbon neutrality and improve resiliency.”
Consistent with these efforts, RCR will also endeavor to submit its existing office projects for green building certification.
RLC, the sponsor company of RCR, has created its own roadmap toward a net zero carbon ambition by 2050. This is in line with international efforts to limit global warming to within 1.5°C. The company is likewise committed to harnessing clean and renewable energy (RE). It intends to use clean power in all its current and future mall projects, in keeping with its goal of shifting power requirements to RE sources by 2035.
For more information on RL Commercial REIT, visit rlcommercialreit.com.ph
