WHAT IS EDGE?
EDGE Green Building Certification is the first green building standard of its kind in the world
An innovation of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, EDGE consists of three elements: a cloud-based application, a green building standard and a certification system.
The three elements of EDGE.
Software
Standard
Achieve the EDGE standard by reaching the minimum standard of 20% less resource intensity in energy, water and embodied energy in materials compared to a local basecase
Certification
What does the EDGE software do?
The EDGE App is at the core of the certification program. Anyone can access the free software globally and within minutes compare a building against a local baseline and implement green design principles to make it resource-efficient.
The local baseline is calculated based on comprehensive data collected by IFC, including local building codes, climatic data, and typical utility costs. This is a huge advantage for developers, building owners, and investors around the world, as it saves time typically spent developing bespoke models and makes the business case clear for implementing resource-efficiency measures by showing incremental cost and return on investment data.
How does a building achieve the EDGE standard?
To achieve the EDGE standard, a building must be at least 20 percent more efficient compared to a standard building in that location across three categories: energy, water and embodied energy in materials. But the work doesn’t end there. For those looking to keep striving for excellence, achieve EDGE Advanced or Zero Carbon by improving your energy savings to 40% and implementing renewable energy and/or offsets.
What buildings does EDGE apply to?
EDGE is available for almost every building category, including offices, warehouses, retail, hospitality, hospitals and residential developments, and can be used on new builds or for existing buildings undergoing refurbishment.
Where is EDGE available?
EDGE is a global standard and has been designed to take into account local differences. It is available globally and has local baseline information for every country in the world. Sintali has projects undergoing certification in over 75 countries to date and that number is growing annually.
What is the certification process like?
It all starts with a self-assessment on the EDGE App. Companies can choose to do this self-assessment themselves or work with consultants (known as EDGE Experts) to do this assessment. Once the self-assessment is prepared and relevant documentation is uploaded into the EDGE App, the audit process starts. An EDGE Auditor reviews the documentation, provides relevant feedback and submits the overall assessment to us (the certifiers) for another check. If the building meets the EDGE standard, we issue the relevant certificate.
How long does the EDGE certification process typically take?
The EDGE certification process was designed to be streamlined and time-efficient. EDGE does not require you to conduct additional studies or develop documentation specifically for the certification process. Assuming all the documentation is collected, the process can take 3 months from start to finish.
Is EDGE well known globally?
EDGE is being adopted across the world from countries such as the United Kingdom and Spain, all the way across the world to Hong Kong, China, sub-Saharan Africa, Mexico, Peru and beyond. A large part of this growth is due to the banks, which recognise EDGE and oftentimes prefer it because it aligns with the green finance principles. Alignment and recognition includes the International Capital Market Association, the Climate Bonds Initiative, the EU Taxonomy, CDP and GRESB.
