Mexico.
The meeting room of the SUMe (Sustainability for Mexico), headquartered leED Platinum, was full the week before for a workshop that talked about a new green building tool that is catalyzing the transformation of the mass market: EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiency).
According to Nicolette Mueller, director of global market development for Latin America at the USGBC (Sustainable Building Council of the United States), many of the professionals who attended have helped make Mexico the seventh largest sustainable building market in the world. Now, they continue to maintain their commitment to building a sustainable future for Mexico by learning the pros and cons of the EDGE rating system.
EDGE is a green building certification system for new residential and commercial buildings. Certification requires a green building to achieve a projected minimum 20% reduction in energy and water consumption, as well as energy incorporated into materials as a reference against a standard local building. EDGE comprises a universal standard, a software application and a certification system.
It allows developers and builders to quickly evaluate and compare the estimated costs for the design of strategies aimed at reducing energy consumption, water consumption and energy incorporated in materials. Cost-effective strategies integrated into the project design are verified by an EDGE auditor and certified by the GBCI at a modest cost.
Professionals learned how to use EDGE to evaluate the most cost-effective ways to incorporate energy and water-saving options into their buildings. "EDGE will be a great complement to our LEED business in Mexico," said Miriam Ramirez of Revitaliza Consultores. "It will help us meet the needs and objectives of our clients, to advance best practices and grow the number of green buildings in Mexico and Latin America."
