Latin America. The organization Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI) assured that 2022 was an exceptionally strong year for the green building market, specifically in the investment in LEED projects at the level of Latin American countries.
According to the text "Year in review: GBCI Latin America in 2022", written by María Álex Cardona, this growth was presented in a scenario characterized by the elections in Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica, as well as the economic slowdown and inflation.
That is why the upward trend of LEED projects "demonstrates once again that when times are uncertain and the market is difficult, investors look to LEED both for new construction projects and for operations and maintenance to provide the buildings and spaces with the best performance."
In that sense, the GBCI Latin America team feels confident and optimistic about the prospects for 2023 and beyond. To understand this trust, we highlight 2 of the aspects (that this company shared in its publication) compared to the 2022 data: (1) new projects, (2) new professional credentials and (3) events.
1. More than 520 new projects were registered for LEED in 2022
317 projects achieved LEED certification in 2022, bringing the regional record to more than 2778 certified projects, representing more than 48,300,000 square meters of space.
The main countries for LEED certification are Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia, which together account for 78% of the projects certified annually in the region.
On the Arc platform , 3,773 projects were registered, indicating Latin America in second place for the fourth consecutive year (just behind the United States and Canada markets). It was also found that 8 of the projects received TRUE certifications: four in Mexico, three in Brazil and one in Colombia that are certified as zero waste facilities.
A relevant fact in this regard is that 2 projects achieved pre-certification with SITES in 2022, one in Brazil and one in Peru. In Colombia and Mexico, for the first time we have two new projects registered under this program.
GBCI certified 206 projects for EDGE in the region. The top countries for EDGE for GBCI certified projects are Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, and Argentina.
2. There were at least 736 new professional credentials and education
Among the data corresponding to this point, the 408 new LEED Green Associate credential holders, 328 new LEED AP credential holders with specialty (BD+C, ID+C, O+M and ND), 4 new LEED fellows, 5 new TRUE Advisors in four countries, 12 new EDGE Auditors and 615 Experts, as well as more than 30 hours of continuing education in English, stand out. Spanish and Portuguese.
Events
3. Events
November 2022 stood out for its events. Greenbuilding Brazil reached more than 12,700 attendees. In Mexico, GBCI participated in Inmobiliare's annual EXNI event, providing sustainability sessions and stories to Mexico's top real estate professionals and investors.
Throughout the year there were other meetings that are worth highlighting:
Along with SUMe, Rebeca Ortiz hosted 10 webinars for a monthly series called "LEED Innovators," plus workshops and training for the Mexican Stock Exchange Group as part of its Climate Finance Certificate program. Ortiz and SUMe also collaborated in the training for the REIT association of Mexico, AMEFIBRA, as well as for the Green Finance Advisory Council.
With the partners in CCCS in Colombia, María Alex Cardona presented the third year of Encounters for Sustainability with leaders of the Colombian green building market throughout the country. In June, we were honored to be part of CCCS' annual Construverde conference. In its second year in a hybrid format, Construverde reached 200 people in person in Bogotá and more than 800 people from Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. With GBCI's support, more than 100 green building newcomers in 11 Latin American countries received a full scholarship to attend the event.
In Costa Rica, the company was part of CICS with partners in Costa Rica GBC. Its ninth annual congress in May reached more than 250 people in person and more than 150,000 virtual connections from 14 different countries. USGBC and GBCI presented on "The Future of LEED", "LEED for Cities and Communities" and "The Business Case for LEED in Latin America", as well as trends in sustainability in higher education and advocacy.
At El Salvador's annual GBC congress, the advancements of LEED in Latin America, LEED for Cities and Communities, and data-driven green buildings through Arc were presented.
Ecuador GBC, called CEES, hosted its first annual Net Zero event, Latitud in May, where GBCI presented LEED, ESG and trends in green lending and tax incentives in the region. The first LEED Lab was held there in Ecuador, developed by the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador.
During Green Building Week in October 2022, Chile GBC held its annual congress, Construye Sostenible, with days dedicated to carbon neutrality and the circular economy for an audience of more than 300 people. Stephanie Barger from GBCI delivered a keynote address on the circular economy and a special workshop on TRUE Zero Waste.
