THE Philippine Green Building Council (PHILGBC) is developing a ratings program that will measure a building’s performance based on how its features impact the health and wellness of users.
In a statement, the council said it will launch the first version of the PHILGBC Health and Well-being for Buildings (H+W) rating scheme on the first episode of the Building Green Conference 2022 on Sept. 8.
PHILGBC said the H+W program is designed as “a tool to measure, monitor, and certify the performance of projects based on social, economic, and environmental priorities that affect the health and well-being of users.”
The rating scheme will focus on health, comfort, lifestyle, social and environment.
“Health focuses on maintaining a physically and mentally healthy environment throughout the building life cycle. It emphasizes the need to address physical and mental health, and the safety of the building users and employees,” PHILGBC said.
Projects are also assessed in terms of the comfort level for users, as well as social and environmental sustainability.
There will be an online H+W Professionals Training Course, a formal accreditation program for professionals and project proponents on the PHILGBC Health and Well-being for Buildings rating scheme. Individuals that pass the qualifying examination for the course will be recognized as H+W Accredited Professionals.
PHILGBC is holding the digital edition of the Building Green Conference 2022 this month. The conference, which runs from Sept. 8-30, focuses on the theme “Experience Circularity and Pursue Regeneration — Today.”
“With circularity, we close the resource loop. We ensure nothing is wasted. We ensure that precious resources are conserved. It is important that our cities, along with the private sector, work together in completing the green shift. We owe it to the next generation,” PHILGBC Chief Executive Officer Christopher C. de la Cruz said in a statement.
PHILGBC advocates for healthier buildings, communities and cities, by introducing green and innovative design and construction solutions. It is a coalition of public and private sector leaders representing more than 300 organizations.
September is known as World Green Building Month, while Sept. 8 is National Green Building Day in the Philippines.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. will deliver the keynote address at the conference.
The conference will also feature speeches from officials of the Department of Energy and Department of Environment and Natural Resources, World Green Building Council (WGBC) Chair Ilari Aho, WGBC Chief Executive Officer Cristina Gamboa and WGBC Asia-Pacific Network Chair Cary Chan.
Those interested may register for the different episodes of the Building Green 2022 conference by sending an e-mail to PHILGBC National Secretariat at firstname.lastname@example.org.