Robinsons Land Corporation’s Giga Tower in Bridgetowne has obtained its Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) certification as the firm focuses making its existing and future office buildings more sustainable.

The Giga Tower is RLC’s fourth building to be LEED certified after Robinsons Tera Tower (LEED Gold) and Robinsons Exxa & Zeta Towers (LEED Silver). All three buildings are also located in Bridgetowne.

RLC’s Cybergate Iloilo Towers 1 and 2 are currently pursuing LEED certification while GBF Towers 1 and 2 in Bridgetowne are also aiming to for LEED Gold certification.

“As the leading office building developer in the Pasig-Quezon City area, we are committed to building greener office towers and apply for LEED certification for theseongoing and upcoming Metro Manila projects as well as some provincial offices,” said RLC Senior Vice President and Business Unit General Manager Jericho P. Go.

He noted that, “We plan to install solar panels on our future buildings that meet the minimum requirements. We also plan to enroll with independent power producers to provide us with electricity coming from renewable energy sources.” Aside from greener power sources, RLC is also aiming to be more responsible in using water by adopting sustainable practices.

“In select existing office buildings, we will explore the possibility of installing rainwater harverting facilities to reduce water consumption for cleaning and watering of plants,” said Go.

He added that, “We will also incorporate rainwater harvesting facilities in the plans and designs of office towers that we will be building in the future.” LEED, a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership, provides a framework for sustainable practices in building design, construction, and operations and maintenance.

Levels of LEED certification are Certified (40 to 49 points), Silver (50 to 59 points), Gold (60 to 79 points), and Platinum (80 or more points).

Being LEED certified makes a building more attractive as there is increasing demand for green office spaces with sustainability features, highlighted by a LEED certification, from multinationals with growing ESG (environmental, social, and governance) requirements for their workplaces.

For Giga Tower to be certified for LEED Gold, RLC restored a third of the building site by using native or adapted vegetation toconserveexisting natural areas and provide habitat and promote biodiversity.

Heat island effect is reduced by having all parking under cover and having compliant Solar ReflectanceIndex (SRI) for all paving and roof area.

Indoor water use was reduced to 45.90 percent by installing low-flow and low flush plumbing fixtures.

The building was also able to achieve energy cost savings of 9.5 percent by reducing consumption with the use of LED lights, double-glaze facace and daylight sensors at parking areas.

There is also marked waste reduction due to the building’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) which includes compartments for mixed paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, metals, batteries and electronic wastes.

The building also implemented the use of non-CFC refrigerant (R-410A) to reduce stratospheric ozone depletion.