IFC Recognizes Latin American Companies as EDGE Champions for their Commitment to Building Green

WASHINGTON, February 3^rd, 2022 – IFC has given the "EDGE Champion" recognition to 13 companies in Latin America for committing to decarbonize their building portfolio. To date, these companies have certified 1.6 million square meters of construction using IFC's green building solution, EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies).

The companies are AMG Desarrollos, AshmoreAVENIDA, Bélgica Edificaciones, CANADEVI VM, COMVIVE, Conaltura, Constructora Capital, FIBRA Eco, FIBRA Macquarie, FIBRA UNO, Grupo IKON, Plaza Logística and Prodesa.

As EDGE Champions, they have committed to building green and certifying at least 80% of their portfolio with this certification. Together with these new additions, 21 companies in the region have now committed to greening their portfolios with IFC's green building solution.  

"These Latin American companies are steering the global real estate sector onto a low-carbon path," said Vivek Pathak, Director of IFC's Climate Business Department. "By committing to decarbonize their portfolios and thereby becoming EDGE Champions, they deliver a powerful message to their investors, clients and peers: building green is happening, and it's happening very fast."

The EDGE label is awarded to buildings that demonstrate resource efficiency of at least 20 percent in energy, water, and embodied energy in materials. EDGE has helped these companies save 16,209 tons of carbon annually, which is equivalent to removing 3,525 cars off the road every year. Energy usage has also been reduced by 42,360 Mega Watts per hour annually, which is the energy required to power over 4,152 homes per year.  

In addition to the environmental benefits, resource-efficient buildings offer operational savings, higher commercial returns, and quicker sales cycles. By building green, developers in many countries access benefits from both commercial banking, in the form of green financial products, and the public sector through policy incentives.

"We and our partners throughout Latin America recognize the importance of building sustainable products, and we are thankful that IFC has built such an efficient tool to measure the efficiency in our homebuilding projects," said Randall Loker, CIO and Chair of the ESG Committee at Paladin Realty. An EDGE Champion and also a Zero Carbon Pledger, Paladin Realty achieved zero-carbon certification for its "Villas del Fresno" project in Mexico – the first EDGE Zero Carbon certified housing project in the world.

Latin America is the second most urbanized region in the world, with 81 percent of the population living in cities. The expansion of the construction sector in the region has responded to this urbanization with millions of new buildings constructed every year. IFC estimates that this urbanization presents a $4.1 trillion investment opportunity for green buildings in Latin America.

About IFC
IFC – a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group – is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2020, we invested more than $22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
 
About EDGE
An innovation of IFC, EDGE helps property developers to build and brand green in a fast, easy and affordable way. EDGE is supported by free software that encourages solutions to reduce energy, water and the energy used to make building materials by at least 20 percent, which is the standard for EDGE certification. EDGE's free app offers a state-of-the-art engine with a sophisticated set of city-based climate and cost data, consumption patterns and algorithms for estimating the financial costs and benefits of building green instantaneously. The program has been generously supported by the following donors: Austria, Canada, Denmark, ESMAP, EU, Finland, GEF, Hungary, Japan and Switzerland. For more information, visit www.edgebuildings.com.

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