Lima, Peru, June 2, 2015
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is working with the Government of Peru, the Peruvian Construction Chamber (CAPECO) and the Peru Green Building Council (Peru GBC) to promote a new regulatory framework for making buildings more efficient by saving energy and water.
The goal is to formulate a “Green Building Technical Code”, reflecting one of the strategies developed during COP20, hosted by Peru in 2014. The project demonstrates the country’s commitment to reduce water and energy consumption in future buildings, thus achieving a reduction in carbon emissions.
The project is being implemented through the Ministry of Housing (MVCS) and the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), with the support of the Canadian cooperation program CANAMBER, with the goal of promoting sustainable development in the region. The project is also part of a regional IFC program supported by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD).
Work on the project started in 2014, when the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation established a Standing Committee on Green Building. This joint technical group consisting of 14 public and private bodies is responsible for formulating Peruvian policy on green building for constructions and cities.
Latin America is the world’s most urbanized region, where 80 percent of the people live in cities. Global studies have shown that the building sector accounts for 45 percent of energy use and 17 percent of clean water consumption when the buildings are in use. In Latin America, buildings consume 21 percent of treated water and 42 percent of electricity and are responsible for 25 percent of CO2 emissions.
The construction sector in Peru has grown rapidly in recent years. National reports show that buildings in Peru consume 45 percent of the total energy generated in the country and that consumption is on the rise. This means that the country has considerable potential for reducing greenhouse gases by shifting the building market towards green.
This effort is part of a global program which IFC, as a member of the World Bank Group, has undertaken in order to help Colombia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Vietnam, among other countries, to develop green building codes.
Kristian Rada, the head of the IFC Latin American cities program, highlighted certain innovative aspects of the Peruvian project: Rada stated “Both the public sector and the private sector are doing very good coordination work, with emphasis on technical and objective analysis to ensure sustainability in the construction sector in an efficient and effective manner without increasing building costs.”
Marc Tristant, IFC Country Head and Representative for Peru, stated “The Government and the private sector in Peru are succeeding in developing practical instruments designed to deal with climate change and promote green building. This is an important step in this direction.”
Carlos Maldonado Herrera, Director of the Construction Department and of the General Department of Construction and Sanitation Policies and Regulations, has emphasized that this partnership with IFC is important in reducing consumption of natural resources in the construction industry in Peru. The Environment Ministry, for its part, considers this issue to be crucial, since it will play a vital role in the reduction of carbon emissions in Peru.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in about 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, we provided more than $22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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