Ayala Land has long been dedicated to environmental conservation and green design, championing sustainability in all of its development projects in the Philippines. Echoing the call for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which seeks to achieve a more sustainable future for the world, Ayala Land’s green developments are continuously improving. Climate change, for instance, is an important issue that demands immediate action. Oftentimes, environmental and socioeconomic factors such as this come into play, and it can only emphasize the significance of following through on sustainable real estate development
Green Properties and Carbon Neutrality
In the real estate sector, green development projects can easily be confused with sustainable development, given their similarities. However, the distinction is located in green real estate development projects’ features, which often serve to further sustainability. An example of this is the focal point of green initiatives in real estate, which is to address the social and environmental impact of property development.
There are three sub-categories that define green development:
• Environmental responsiveness is determined by how a developer acts towards reducing the damage to any given ecosystem and valuing the property’s nature.
• Efficiency in the use of resources refers to energy conservation and environmental preservation.
• Community and cultural sensitivity, lastly, is the attention and consideration provided by the real estate developer to the cultural values in a particular community.
With around 40 percent of the entire world’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions found in the construction industry, green development projects that intertwine with sustainability goals have grown to become the standard. In the US, real estate owners and property developers are looking to build nothing but new carbon-neutral buildings by 2030, while targeting to redevelop and transform older structures into green buildings by 2050.
Carbon neutrality, which is a crux in the property development sector that addresses climate change, relates to the measurement, reduction, and offsetting of any building’s production of carbon energy. Sustainable development approaches this through designs and methods such as the following:
• The integration of passive design strategies in building projects.
• Making use of design concepts that emphasize high performance building envelopes.
• The specific use of energy-efficient HVAC systems, lighting, and home appliances.
• The installation of on-site renewable energy sources, such as solar.
• Offsetting carbon production through the integration of green properties.
Ayala Land and Green Real Estate Development
Ayala Land’s push for green development projects and long-term sustainability includes reducing its carbon footprint to zilch by next year. As of the end of Q1 this year, Ayala Land has already achieved 91 percent carbon neutrality throughout all of its commercial properties – a project that began in 2017 and is on-pace to be 100 percent completed by 2022.
How did we make it happen? By switching to renewable energy sources and through massive reforestation projects; 63 percent of our leasable commercial properties have been powered by renewables; and 25,000 trees sprawled across 24 hectares – 80 percent of our total carbon forest area is now covered in towering heights of lush greenery. Ayala Land’s sustainable property development projects also include fully moving away from fossil fuels as an energy source for all its properties and protecting 586 hectares of carbon forests by 2022.
Following through on our commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth, Ayala Land supports the nation’s collective goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent in 2030 – a global commitment in addressing climate change through sustainable, green development projects.
Source: Ayala Land, Inc. (2021 October 05). https://www.ayalaland.com.ph/on-green-real-estate-and-sustainability-development/