Your Guide to EDGE Certification

Congratulations on deciding to move ahead with achieving EDGE Certification. The process has been designed by IFC (the owner of EDGE) to be as streamlined as possible. By following the steps below you will be well on your way to achieving EDGE for your project.

Pricing and Contracting

A client submits project information and receives a quotation for the certification and audit of the project. While an auditor is a separate entity from Sintali, we have a network and can help put all of that information together so that the client only sees one package and gets a “one stop shop”. For the process to officially start, the client will need to sign the contracts and issue some payments upfront.

Yes you can, but you can only choose a Sintali accredited EDGE auditor for your project. We work with a variety of partners across the world to make sure that our clients have the best options available. The list of auditors is available on our website.

If you have an auditor you would like to work with but they are not Sintali accredited, please get in touch as our accreditation process is straight forward and we are always looking for new partners to grow our network.


Project Registration

  • Create the project using the free EDGE App and enter basic information about the building on the Design Tab. Be sure to save the project
    • If the project has already been created, simply log in to the EDGE App.
  • Click on the “Dashboard” button.
  • Click on the name of the project you would like to register.
  • Click on the “Apply for Certification” button.
  • Select Sintali as your certifier and click “Next”.
  • Complete the forms that appear, clicking “Next” to progress screens and clicking “Submit” when you come to the final form.

The Sintali team will check the payment has been made and then accept the project registration on the EDGE App and assign the selected auditor.

EDGE registration will not expire but you will need to complete the post-construction certification process before the version you are registered to is retired.

For example, projects in version 2.1.5. need to complete post-construction certification by the end of 2025.

There are many roles within the EDGE App.

  • Project Creator – The Project Creator can access the subproject and handle the certification process as described under Project Admin below.
  • In addition to the access rights of the Project Admin, the Project Creator can also transfer subprojects. Transferring subprojects will remove the subprojects from the original project creator’s dashboard. Only a project creator can transfer subprojects to another EDGE App user. The user receiving the subprojects will become the new “project creator”.
  • There can only be one Project Creator associated with a project at one time.
  • Project Admin – The Project Admin is the sole point of contact on the client side to handle the certification process. Once assigned, the Project Admin is able to edit measures, upload/download project documents, and manage the certification-related actions from their dashboard. An EDGE Expert can be the Project Admin if you have hired an EDGE Expert or have one on your team. There can only be one Project Admin assigned to a project at one time.
  • Owner – The Project Owner has view, edit and delete access to the project. Once assigned, the Project Owner is able to share the project with multiple EDGE users with any access rights. There can be multiple Project Owners assigned to a project at one time.
  • Editor – The Editor has view and edit access to the project. There can be multiple Editors assigned to a project at one time.
  • Viewer –The Viewer has only view access to the project. There can be multiple Viewers assigned to a project at one time.

The project should be submitted for registration by the project admin role or the creator role.

Once the project has been registered, it is time to collect and submit the appropriate documentation via the EDGE software. The client will then need to identify EDGE Measures to pursue and use the EDGE software to determine if the project meets the EDGE Standard. The client team will then collect and prepare documentation demonstrating the achievement of the selected measures. Once this documentation is collected, upload the completed materials in the EDGE software. Make sure to check of your entire application before submitting for review. Guidance on documentation requirements and each measure can be found in the EDGE version 3 user guide here.

Design Audit + Preliminary Certification

  • Gather all the requested documentation and submit to the Auditor so they can begin the Design Audit.
  • During the initial review of the Design Audit, the Auditor will check the application for completeness and compliance with the EDGE Standard requirements.
  • Through the EDGE software, the Auditor will indicate which measures are approved, not approved, or are pending further information.
  • Provide additional information as requested by the Auditor for the final review of the Design Audit.
  • The Auditor will review the additional information, and if the Auditor is satisfied that the building design meets the EDGE Standard, they will recommend that Sintali award your project Preliminary Certification.

• Sintali will conduct a quality review to make sure that the Design Audit is complete and issue a Preliminary Certificate for the building project, assuming no further issues are found.
• If there are any discrepancies, Sintali may send comments to the Auditor and the Auditor will need to confirm changes with the client, before re-submitting the review for recommendation to Sintali for a second time.
• If Sintali agrees with the recommendation, the preliminary certificate is issued

The EDGE Auditor will set timelines with the client team at the beginning of the certification process. Timelines may vary from 5 days to 15 days depending on the auditor you have selected.

Once an audit is submitted to Sintali for a certification review, the turnaround time is typically 15-20 days.

Site Audit + Post-Construction Certification

  • The client must schedule the Site Audit directly with the EDGE Auditor and provide all the post-construction stage documentation to the Auditor before they can begin the Site Audit.
  • The Site Audit must take place within 12 months of the project’s practical completion for new construction projects.
  • If the Auditor is satisfied that the completed building meets the EDGE Standard, they will recommend that Sintali award your project EDGE Certification.
  • Sintali will then conduct a thorough quality review to make sure that the Site Audit is complete and issue an EDGE Certificate for the building project.
  • If there are any discrepancies, Sintali may send comments to the Auditor and the Auditor will need to confirm changes with the client, before re-submitting the review for recommendation to Sintali for a second time.
  • If Sintali agrees with the recommendation, the certificate is then issued

The EDGE Auditor will set timelines with the client team at the beginning of the certification process. Timelines may vary from 5 days to 15 days depending on the auditor you have selected.

Once an audit is submitted to Sintali for a certification review, the turnaround time is typically 15-20 days.

Communication and Queries

The EDGE Auditor is the primary point of contact for all technical inquiries throughout the certification process. The Auditor can help answer technical questions about the EDGE certification system and clarify requirements in instances where the client is unable to find an answer in published guidance, and/or the project has a unique or complex scenario for which additional support is required. The Auditor should not be viewed as a consultant on the project, and is prohibited from providing design and/or consulting services for a project they are auditing.

The EDGE App is owned and managed by IFC. As certifiers, we can submit errors to IFC to be resolved, but we do not have direct control over the EDGE App. Please submit the error to edge@sintali.com with screenshots and we will work with IFC to resolve the issue, or submit the query directly to the IFC team by emailing edge@ifc.org 

Project Planning

Many of our clients are working with their banks and using the certificates as part of their green financing process. This makes the timelines absolutely critical.

There are several things you can do to prepare for these deadlines:

  • As soon as your contract is signed, communicate the deadlines with your auditor and the Sintali team
  • Work backwards from the deadline using the timelines provided by Sintali and the auditor to see if it they are possible to meet
  • Request an expedited review (at an additional cost) to reduce the certification review timelines to 5 days

We endeavour to deliver reviews and certification decisions within 15-20 business days, depending on the period. Certain periods will be busier than others (for example before the end of the calendar year). Please note that each review cycle (so the first review or the second review) adhere to the same timeframes. Below you will find a visual illustrating a typical timeframe for certification.