Colombia. On July 10, the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory (MVCT) announced the implementation of the first national regulation that promotes sustainable construction, it is Resolution No. 549 of 2015 of the MVCT through which the Guide for saving water and energy in buildings is adopted.
The commitment of the first regulatory phase of the Decree goes through the establishment of mandatory percentages of savings in water and energy for new constructions, according to the climate and the type of building. The Guide will have gradual application for the national territory according to the number of inhabitants of the municipalities. These savings percentages were established between 10% and 15% for water and energy in the first year, and for the second year they vary and do not exceed 40%, explain from the Colombian Council of Sustainable Construction, CCCS.
The cities chosen to start the mandatory implementation from June 2016 of this standard are Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla, and the uses covered by the guide are hotels, hospitals, offices, shopping centers, education and housing.
Cristina Gamboa, director of the CCCS, said in this regard that "for the Colombian Council of Sustainable Construction this regulation is a very good sign for the market, as more industry players will be interested in innovating and investing in green businesses."
Gamboa added that "the baseline in efficiency in these resources will improve as its application progresses. Citizens will be able to access a better offer of solutions, which in their life cycle will save them money due to their lower consumption. This new generation of real estate projects will also help reduce the ecological footprint of the sector by representing lower greenhouse gas emissions at the operating stage."
On September 9 and 10, within the framework of ConstruVerde , this initiative will be socialized and presenting methodologies so that the private sector can comply with the standard.
