Posted on
July 24, 2013 10:28:59 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
DAVAO CITY --
Review of the National Building Code has started, led by experts from industry
and government and aimed of incorporating “green” technologies that promote
energy efficiency, an official of a World Bank unit said at the sidelines of a
forum here last Tuesday.
Noel N.
Verdote, International Finance Corp.’s (IFC) sustainable energy finance
operations officer, said the review group has started looking at provisions
that could be amended or inserted in Republic Act No. 6541 to update it with
the needs of the times in mind.
“The code is
very specific on safety, not on energy,” he said at a press conference here on
Tuesday on the sidelines of the Mindanao Energy Efficiency Forum.
“Buildings
should be adaptive (to climate change), have to be efficient (in use of
energy).”
Local
governments, he added, must start formulating regulations that will encourage
new building owners to adopt “green” technologies.
He added that
building code amendments will eventually be submitted to the newly convened
16th Congress.
Government
units, both local and national, can use the “carrot-and-stick” approach to
promote use of such technologies.
In this city,
for instance, the local government has adopted a law that encourages building
owners to set up rainwater catchment areas.
Councilor
Leonardo R. Avila III, author of the law, said he will ensure that implementing
rules and regulations will be issued within the year.
“We are still
studying that as we look into the experience of other areas,” he said in a
telephone interview.
Some of the
new buildings here erected by Manila-based property firms have adopted “green”
technologies.
Villar-led
Camella Davao, for instance, has announced that the fourth building at
Northpoint condominium complex has a “Sky Court” -- a garden that allows the
building to “breathe.”
Mr. Verdote
said rising cost of electricity can persuade building owners to consider
“green” technologies that reduce costs in the long run.
The problem,
he admitted, is that many housing developers have not adopted the technology
because of the perception that it could erode their bottom line.
“Anything
that will not help them meet their rate of return (they will not adopt),” he
added.
IFC, a member
of the World Bank Group, has partnered with four local banks, namely: Bank of
Philippine Islands; BPI Globe BanKO, Inc.; BDO Unibank, Inc. and China Banking
Corp. to extend loans to companies that adopt technologies for energy
efficiency.
Mr. Verdote
said these banks have been telling clients that adoption of such technologies
can result in savings.
“It is just a
matter of educating them,” he said. -- C. Q. Francisco
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