As the campaign for the green building movement continues,  the PhilGBC continues to receive inquiries about sound green building practices and strategies.  Here are some ideas that you can use for your projects.

Previously Published in FuturArc -  New Architecture,  3rd Quarter 2007

Green building has been promoted in the past few years as the only logical way to design and build. It offers a host of strategies that enable the building to harmoniously coexist with the natural environment. It emphasizes the need to take advantage of renewable resources, the reduction of raw material use and energy used and other techniques that assists in the conservation and preservation of the natural environment.

The uptake of green building lies on the ability of key decision makers to make the right moves in implementing green building projects.  Here are some tips to help jumpstart green building programs. 

MANILA, Philippines – The buzz about being sustainable grows louder because our environmental choices are now dwindling to critical proportions from repeated human abuse of natural resources.

Now is the time, says the Philippine Green Building Council (PhilGBC), to conserve nonrenewable resources by rethinking architecture and construction methods, by going green, and building with sustainability in mind.

CONSTRUCTING and operating buildings can take a terrible toll on the environment. Building materials are continually extracted from unsustainable sources and energy is consumed in manufacturing and transporting them.

Construction methods are oftentimes considered inefficient as they produce so much waste and consume a considerable amount of resource. Once operational, buildings consume a lot of energy for heating, lighting, and cooling.

A Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Special Feature

IN THE cookie-cutter residential community for academic and non-teaching personnel of the University of he Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, the home of the Navals on M. Viola Street is a standout. Amid rows of abodes with roofs inclined at a university-mandated 15 degrees, the cream-and-terra cotta Naval house has 30-degree sloped roofs and a two-meter wooden balcony that splits the upper portion of the structure.  Of course it didn’t use to look like this. But when Jimmuel Naval, an award-winning writer and Filipino professor, took over the house in August 2004, he consulted architect-friend Clifford Espinosa on how to make the place more suitable for his young family. By the time Espinosa was done with the revamp, almost a year had passed — and the house had a roof structure that was in complete disregard of the university’s
building regulation.

The Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines (SWAPP) in cooperation with the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) will hold its annual conference entitled SWAPPCon 2007: Solid Waste, Health and Sanitation for a Livable Community on November 19-23, 2007 at Pines View Hotel, Baguio City. About 200 participants are expected to attend the Conference.

SWAPPCON 2007 will serve as a forum for learning and sharing of innovative practices and technologies on solid waste, health and sanitation. It will also strengthen and promote networks with other environmental practitioners and organizations.

According to the Department of Tourism, international visitor arrivals to the Philippines hit a record high of 2.843 million in 2006. This year the number is expected to rise by 8-10 percent. At this rate, the industry has an immense impact on the economy. It is estimated that around Php50,000 pesos is spent by every tourist when visiting the country and this roughly amount to around Php130 billion pesos on an average year. That amount helps create jobs for the Filipino.

This renewed interest by other countries in the Philippines is largely due to our remarkable natural resources. With around 36,000 square kilometers of coast line, the Philippines is considered one of longest coastlines in the world. This natural feature offers a tremendous amount of opportunity for investors both foreign and local. Coastal tourism is considered to be one of the fastest growing areas of present-day tourism.

Get connected @ the Coffee Break 2007 : COFFEE CONNECTS YOU!

This event will be held from Oct 12 - 28, 2007 @ Glorietta 4, Ayala Center & at Kape Isla, Serendra (across Market! Market!) & with select participating merchants along Bonfacio in High Street in Bonifacio Global City.

Aside from drinking all the excellent Philippine coffee you want (dozens of brands & blends  to choose from!) we have brewed a calendar of exciting coffee events -- all designed to support the Philippine Coffee Industry.

For more details, pls. drop by @ Kape Isla anytime from 12 nn to 12 midnight. Or call us @ Tel. 9013485 / text at 09178234268 or 0917.8111632 / or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more details.

Thank you for celebrating Philippine coffee!