Colombia. Bancolombia's General Management is the first building in Colombia to certify its energy consumption practices through ASHRAE's new bEQ building energy labeling program.
bEQ is a building energy labeling program developed by ASHRAE, which establishes standardized procedures that certify the energy performance of buildings, both in their design stage (with the bEQ-design certification), and in their operation stage (with the bEQ- certification in operation).
The challenge of certifying the energy consumption practices of Bancolombia's flagship building was supported by ASHRAE (International Society of Refrigeration, Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers), ASHRAE - Colombia Chapter, Bancolombia, Sodexo (Bancolombia building operator), ACAIRE (Colombian Association of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration), and CSL (Comercial y Servicios Larco), who accepted the initiative formulated from ASHRAE in the United States to carry out the first bEQ (Building Energy Quotient) certification process in Colombia.
This field certification process began with a previous work of evaluating the design plans of the building and ended with an inspection tour. It was led by Engineer Ross Montgomery, ASHRAE certified engineer in "Evaluation and Performance of Buildings", and supported by the engineers members of the ASHRAE Colombia chapter, José Luis Correa and Fabio Clavijo, Gabriel González (Sodexo Administrator), and members of the CSL team.
The headquarters building of the General Directorate of Bancolombia, located in Medellín – Colombia received the 'bEQ-in operation' certification with the classification of A-, which confirms the excellent operational practices of the use of energy in the building and classifies them as 'very good'. Both the rating and its corresponding description are displayed on a label, so that the public easily understands the energy-efficient characteristics of the building when making real estate investment decisions.
