How Green is Green?

The need to address the environmental problems caused by industrialization has long been overdue.

In the case of the Philippines, buildings are estimated to account for 40 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, a major culprit behind the climate change that everyone is witnessing.
Nonetheless, it is still better to be late in delivering solutions to this pressing problem than not do anything at all.

"Environmental sustainability is not only a concern for the Americans or the Europeans. It is also an issue that developing countries like the Philippines should face," Christopher dela Cruz, chair of the Philippine Green Building Council, said in a briefing held last week.

PGBC (a private-sector group advocating for environmental awareness among the country’s construction, architecture, and related industries) is pushing for the adoption of a "Green Ratings System."

Under the system, the environmental sustainability of buildings will be evaluated based on a set of criteria.

Dela Cruz said it would be a prudent move for the government to adopt and implement this system in regulating building construction and maintenance.

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Source: Inquirer, 2009-08-30, Link