Recently, EDGE has broadened its scope beyond new buildings to meet a growing demand for certification. An innovation of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, EDGE is a green building certification system focused on making buildings in emerging markets more resource efficient. EDGE certification is now available for new construction, existing buildings and major renovations of homes, offices, hotels, retail and hospitals.
This move solidifies EDGE’s place as one of the most inclusive tools in the market and helps IFC further advance a mission of resource efficient buildings for all. EDGE is a tool for the residential and commercial market that when deployed at scale will help us make progress towards sustainability. By opening up certification to existing buildings and major renovations, EDGE has expanded to include more of a building’s lifecycle.
Regardless of the age of the building, a project must always meet the minimum EDGE standard of predicted savings of 20 percent less energy, 20 percent less water and 20 percent less embodied energy in materials compared to a base case building. EDGE certification for existing buildings serves as an asset rating instrument—it assesses the building’s features as constructed, not its actual performance. On the other hand, retrofit projects may be eligible for design stage reviews and building owners can use the EDGE software to identify the most cost effective aspects of the building to improve as they plan their retrofit projects.
The only change to the EDGE software is a new field to indicate a building’s year of completion. Materials in buildings older than five years will be considered as embodied-energy neutral, and project teams may select “re-use of existing materials” within the EDGE software.
GBCI is a global certification provider for EDGE and the exclusive certification provider for EDGE projects in India.
Certify your existing building or major renovation project with GBCI