Peru. The Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation (MVCS) promotes efficiency in the use of natural resources such as water and energy for the construction of new buildings within the framework of the approval of the Sustainable Building Code.
"The Technical Code of Sustainable Construction is one of the concrete bets of the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation to promote sustainability in the country's cities. It will allow us to make more efficient use of natural resources and at the same time reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions at the national level," said the Deputy Minister of Housing, Francisco Dumler.
The code will establish technical criteria for the design and construction of public and private buildings so that they are qualified as sustainable.
Regarding water efficiency, the technical requirements will be set to guarantee the rational use of water for consumption in buildings as well as the reuse of wastewater.
To do this, it is recommended that new buildings be delivered with water-saving technology.
On the proper use of energy, it seeks to reduce its consumption in the aspects of lighting and cooling, water heating with solar energy and use of materials that withstand the climatic conditions of the area where it is located.
Currently, housing together with the commercial and public sector are responsible for 44% of electricity consumption.
The next step will be to regulate the specific sustainability parameters for new buildings, including the definition of percentages of savings in water and energy that will reduce the costs of users in payments for public services.
The code was formulated by the Standing Committee on Sustainable Construction – chaired by the MVCS on behalf of the government and with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group – and approved by Supreme Decree No. 015-2015-HOUSING.
This working group is also made up of the Ministry of the Environment, which occupies the Technical Secretariat; the Peruvian Chamber of Construction (CAPECO) and Peru Green Building Council (PERU GBC), among other public and private entities specialized in the issues of design, construction and real estate.
