The Philippine Green Building Council's (PHILGBC) Procurement Hub (Green Building/PH) provides an online platform for companies to acquire or market products, services, and green spaces necessary for green building projects.
PHILGBC has been heavily involved in the push to transform the country's building industry to become greener over the past few years. To understand more about the organization's advocacy, visit Philippine Green Building Council | Together we are transforming the market!
More information on Green Building/PH can be found on Green Building Procurement Hub.
The State of Green Building in the Philippines
On 19 February 2021, the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) issued Department Circular (DC) 2020-12-0026, more commonly known as the "Adoption of the Guidelines on Energy Conserving Design of Building." Under this new DC, existing and newly-built buildings are required to use renewable energy technologies such as solar to source a portion of their electricity.
The move forms a significant part of the government's campaign to jump-start the Philippines' green transition. It is aimed at substantially increasing the country's energy efficiency as well as making the necessary shifts to combat the worsening climate crisis. The guidelines under the DC provide a concrete framework for the building sector, in particular, to help the country genuinely build back better (and greener) moving forward.
Suffice to say, the circular has established a solid foundation upon which the green building industry in the Philippines can be developed from. Despite this comprehensive and heavily supported national policy, however, there are still certain challenges that prove to be a hindrance to green building in the country, namely:
The country's historical and physical context, which have greatly influenced infrastructure planning;
The dissonance between existing policies at the national and local levels;
The decentralized and privatized political environment;
"Hidden costs" associated with green building
Among these relevant problems, the issue of costs stands as the most prominent. Stringent building codes and regulations coupled with time-consuming bureaucratic obstacles just to secure the necessary permits can be an expensive process. This is particularly why going green in the Philippines is widely considered to be much too costly. Hence, the preference for traditional methods and materials persists.
Because of this mindset, there is a general lack of drive to adopt or innovate new practices and technologies. The country has settled for "enduring but unreliable approaches" as opposed to striving for "expensive but efficient techniques" which, in fact, can prove to present greater returns in the long run.
Additionally, green building materials are also scarce in the country. There is a massive lack of local suppliers to help the green building industry to thrive within the modern landscape. This is where PHILGBC comes into play.
Connecting Green Builders Through an Online Hub
Ever since PHILGBC was established on 22 March 2007, it has constantly been promoting an environmentally and socially responsible building industry. Likewise, it has become one of the primary facilitators for knowledge-sharing on green building information and practices. PHILBGC is also the driving force behind the Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE) Rating System, which is the Philippines' own gauge on how a particular structure excels beyond the local environmental regulations and standards.
In its continued effort to promote the transformation of the country's building industry, Green Building/PH was launched as one of PHILGBC's latest initiatives. Essentially, this online platform serves as an avenue to connect project proponents with like-minded partners in the industry to support green building projects — including design, construction, and operations. Green Building/PH was developed for project owners, developers, architects, engineers, and other concerned professionals of green building projects in the country.
The Trade Council of Denmark in the Philippines invites Danish companies to utilize this extremely beneficial platform to advertise their green building technologies, services, or solutions to the relevant stakeholders.
Danish companies may also be provided the opportunity to promote 5 products for free on the Green Building Procurement Hub of the PHILGBC. For interested parties, kindly accomplish the form attached. Afterward, you may send it to GreenBuildingPH@philgbc.org and CC: rezgoy@um.dk.
Contact the Royal Danish Embassy in the Philippines for more information about business opportunities and how Denmark seeks to inspire green transition in Southeast Asia:
Reza Dadufalza-Goyeneche
Senior Commercial Officer at Royal Danish Embassy in the Philippines
Email: rezgoy@um.dk