Bamboo, the tallest grass on Earth, has great environmental benefits. It absorbs lots of carbon, improves soil health, and helps clean the air. This material is used for housing in rural areas, but only for one to two story structures.
In turn, a bill seeking to strengthen the use of bamboo as an eco-friendly construction material in high-rise structures has been filed in Congress, highlighting its potential for improved green building.
House Bill 9144 or an “Act Integrating Bamboo as a Sustainable Material for the Built Environment,” filed by Rep. Jose Manuel Alba of Bukidnon, covers the development of Bamboo Stuctural Code.
The code will set guidelines, standards, and best practices for using bamboo safely and sustainably in building design and construction, aiming to introduce bamboo as a material comparable to steel in tensile strength.
“Bamboo can be our single biggest source of revenue that can enable many of our countrymen to rise above poverty, especially our Indigenous People who are also the guardians of our environment,” said DA Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano.
Alba, in the "Beyond Bamboo: Bridging Green Construction in Codes and Standards" forum on June 7, said there will be a certification process to boost consumer confidence and ensure the quality of materials.
Meanwhile, non-profit organization Base Bahay, initiated by Hilti Foundation, aims to promote sustainable housing along with its cement-bamboo frame technology, certified by the National Housing Authority's Accreditation of Innovative Technologies for Housing.
The organization seeks to help shape local structural codes for bamboo, aligned with standards that “inform testing procedures for obtained bamboo culms” and “aim to institutionalize bamboo use in structural design.”
Bamboo’s green cause has found an unlikely ally in the construction industry, helping prove that practicing sustainability, even in fields where environmental concerns are largely overlooked, is possible and a conscious choice.