Residents of Lekki Pearl, a moderate mid-income estate in Lagos, will have more money saved in their pockets following the EDGE certification given to the estate by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
EDGE is an innovative green building certification meaning Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies. It helps developers to reduce their buildings’ energy and water consumption while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
By this certification, residents of the estate developed by Alpha Mead Development Company (AMDC), will be saving 40 percent and 30 percent of their energy and water consumption costs respectively.
Temilola Sonola, Operations Analyst and IFC’s representative at the certificate presentation to AMDC, explained that EDGE was instituted by the IFC in 2014 to promote sustainability in the real estate development sector through the construction of green buildings.
The EDGE certification is another first in the real estate sector by AMDC. This puts the company in the class of multinationals such as Chevron, Accenture and Deloitte. The company is so far the only real estate developer in Nigeria that is certified to international standard (ISO 9001:2015) by the United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS).
“This certification by the World Bank is another testimony of our continued commitment to caring for our customers, protecting the environment and providing leadership for the industry through our unrelenting investment in global best practices,” Dada Thomas, chairman of AMDC, noted.
Femi Akintunde, the Group Managing Director, Alpha Mead Group, also noted that “this recognition by the IFC is very humbling for us as a company; it is another challenge that we will continue to chart a sustainability path for Africa’s real estate sector.”
“When we ventured into real estate development, we were clear that we wanted to do things differently. We wanted to create functional communities that are safe, secure and comfortable for our customers, without destroying the environment,” he said.
“So we invested in both technology and expertise to demonstrate that this is possible in Africa; and we are glad that IFC EDGE has recognised this. This speaks directly to our “We Care” promise to our stakeholders and a reminder that whatever we do, we will always put the environment and sustainability on an equal pedestal as profit,” he added.
To Damola Akindolire, the Managing Director of AMDC, the certification was a testament to their commitment to customers and the environment. “By this feat, it is now confirmed that our construction can save the customers up to 40 percent in energy and protect the environment from both degradation and pollution, which are prevalent in the construction industry,” he said.
Continuing, he said, “this kind of certification goes beyond the recognition; it implies that we do not pay lip service to our promises; The planet is the overarching winner of the whole process as our business strategy revolves around the three cardinal points of people, planet and profit. We want to leave a better world for the future generation and this is our way of doing it.”
IFC is in over 170 countries working with developers to provide green buildings. According to Sonola, Alpha Mead was one of the pioneers of the EDGE Advanced Certification in Nigeria.
“Green buildings are inherently advantageous for both developers and customers in the long run, and a study also demonstrates that owners of green buildings are more likely disposed to paying off their mortgage faster than non-green dwellers. We trust that other developers in Africa will emulate AMDC”, she said.
