Mexico City, Mexico, November 6, 2012—IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, awarded its first two EDGE (Excellence
in Design for Greater Efficiencies) green building certifications to Mexican
hotel chain Hoteles City Express and homebuilder Vinte Viviendas Integrales.
The two IFC clients were selected to
pilot EDGE, an innovative green building certification system for emerging
economies. EDGE was created to encourage business development in green
buildings and to meet demand for a faster, simpler, and more affordable
green-building certification process. It helps identify technical solutions
at a building’s early design stage to increase resource efficiencies and
reduce impacts on human health and the environment.
City Express was the first company worldwide
to receive the certification for its hotel in Villahermosa, Mexico. VINTE
received its certification for Privada Cresida, an affordable housing development
in the Mexican state of Querétaro de Arteaga.
For their projects to earn certification,
both companies had to achieve EDGE’s minimum standard 20 percent reduction
in the use of energy, water, and other materials when compared to local
benchmarks. Four more City Express hotels are being assessed by the EDGE
program, along with one additional VINTE housing development.
"City Express was founded with
a vision for sustainability, and this has been reflected in the company's
actions across its hotel network,” said Luis Barrios, CEO of City Express.
“IFC's EDGE certification provides an incentive to maintain and improve
our processes for protecting the environment.”
"The EDGE certification provided
by IFC will help expand sustainable financing from development institutions,
which will facilitate the replication of our inclusive business model,”
said Sergio Leal, CEO of VINTE.
With building-related greenhouse emissions
likely doubling by 2030 and 70 percent of the world’s population living
in urban areas by 2050, the demand for low-cost and energy-efficient buildings
is growing. Green construction responds by lowering operating costs, reducing
carbon footprints, and generating jobs through home-grown innovation.
“Now is the time to encourage large-scale
adoption of green building design, before it is too late,” said Prashant
Kapoor, IFC’s Senior Industry Specialist for Green Buildings. “By introducing
EDGE, IFC has brought a solution to the marketplace that spells out the
cost advantages of building green, while at the same time defining a much-needed
universal green building standard.”
For more information on EDGE, contact
IFC’s Climate Business Group at edge@ifc.org,
or visit www.ifc.org/edge.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group,
is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the
private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth
by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial
markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments.
In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion,
leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation,
and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more
information, visit www.ifc.org.
About City Express:
Hoteles City Express, S.A.P.I. de C.V.
(“City Express”) was founded in 2002 and is engaged in the development
and operation of budget business hotels for the middle and mid-low income
markets in Mexico and Latin America. It has successfully implemented
69 hotels and contributed significantly to increasing the competitiveness
and standards of the hotel industry in Mexico’s second- and third-tier
cities. City Express will open its first property outside of Mexico in
San Jose, Costa Rica in November 2012. For more, visit www.cityexpress.com.mx.
About VINTE
Founded in 2001, VINTE is a homebuilder
specializing in affordable, sustainable housing for low- and middle-income
families in Mexico. As a vertically integrated company, VINTE has operations
that span land acquisition, housing design, housing development planning,
and construction. VINTE’s shareholders have a collective vision
to raise housing standards in Mexico while providing innovative, value-added
affordable housing. For more information, visit www.vinte.com.mx.
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