Building Green - The Government Forum

“UK and the Philippines: Working Towards the Development of BERDE – The National
Green Building Rating System”
Makati Shangri-La, Manila

Opening Remarks of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Philippines

Stephen Lillie
January 28, 2010

Thank you very much for that introduction.

Ms Lilia Cassanova, Mr Johnson Ongking, Architect Christopher Dela

Cruz, Mr Jason Pomeroy, Mr Matthias Gelber, distinguished panelists,
members of the Philippine Greenbuilding Council and guests,

Maganda umaga sa inyong lahat. A very pleasant good morning to

you all.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the second forum on Working

towards a greenbuilding rating system for the Philippines supported by
the British government.

I would like to applaud the Philippine Greenbuilding Council in their

efforts to pursue a local assessment method for buildings. We’re
delighted to have the opportunity to partner with the Council to stage
this monumental event here in Manila this week.

This is a great way to be starting the year 2010. Just before

Christmas, the world came together in Copenhagen at the UN Climate
Change Conference. We didn’t achieve as much as many of us had
hoped. But we took some significant steps forward. The Copenhagen
Accord – agreed by major developed and developing country leaders
and backed by a large number of countries – highlights the urgent
need for concerted international action to tackle climate change.

The Accord agreed to take action to limit global temperature rises to

below 2 degrees. It lists commitments to cut emissions by developed
countries and actions by developing countries. It introduces real
scrutiny and transparency to ensure emission targets are put into
effect.

Crucially, it provides $30 billion of immediate short term funding from

developed countries over the next three years to kick start emission
reduction measures and help the poorest countries adapt to the
impacts of climate change. Longer term, it commits developed
countries to work to provide long term financing of $100 billion a year
by 2020, a figure first put forward by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The UK and other countries are now working to convert the accord into
a legally binding agreement as soon as possible.

Locally, we have to translate the work negotiated in Copenhagen into

concrete action on the ground. This means strong domestic action to
transform societies to a low carbon economy, just as the UK is itself
doing through its Low Carbon Transition Plan.

For me, effective action on climate change needs to be a public-private

partnership. Establishing a local rating system for green construction
is a way forward to promoting the practice of sustainable site
development and improving the use of energy efficient and green
materials, while incorporating and preserving cultural heritage.

Globally, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

estimates that the built environment is responsible for 25-40% of
energy use, 30-40% of the solid waste generation, and 30-40% of
green house gas (GHG) emissions world-wide.

Because they need less energy than other structures, green buildings
help the environment by reducing the demand for government to build
more power plants. The resulting improvement in resource
management practices enable businesses to reduce their waste,
requiring less landfills and helping the government maintain cleaner
water resources.

The UK’s Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment

Method (BREEAM) is the earliest building rating system for
environmental performance assessment. This was developed by the
British Research Establishment in 1990. In the past decade, BREEAM
has evolved from a design checklist to a comprehensive assessment
tool to be used in various stages of a building life cycle. BREEAM
is recognised by the UK building industry as the benchmark for
assessing environmental performance. I’m delighted to say that the
British Embassy in Taguig was given an “Excellent” rating by BREEAM.

Mr Martin Townsend, The Director of BREEAM has expressed support

for the development of a similar rating system in the Philippines known
as Building Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence or BERDE. He
will soon be visiting the country to share best practice and lessons
learned from creating BREEAM. I believe that he will be able to impart
valuable insights to contribute to the development of BERDE.

The Government forum last Tuesday turned out to be a success, with a

huge turn out of people with local government entities signifying their
commitment to utilise BERDE in their cities and municipalities. We
welcome this significant step by the government to show its support in
responding to climate change and to promote a more sustainable
environment in the country.

Today, we also seek the same support from you, as leaders of the
corporate sector to sign up and be counted as an organisation that
employs sustainable practices.

Ladies & gentlemen, the need to reduce our carbon footprint has never
been greater or more urgent. We all have a part to play in tackling the
challenges of climate change and achieving the goal of a low carbon
economy. The UK stands ready to work together with the Philippines in
this respect. I hope today’s discussions will further inspire you to be
part of this partnership, and I wish you a very productive day.

Maraming salamat!