KENYA GREEN BUILDING SOCIETY AND IFC PARTNER ON GREEN

BUILDING SOLUTIONS IN KEY MILESTONE FOR THE KENYAN GREEN

BUILDING MOVEMENT
By Kenya Green Building Society
24rd March, 2017

Nairobi, Kenya Kenya Green Building Society (KGBS) has joined forces with the International
Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to promote a greener construction
sector in the Kenyan market. The collaboration was announced at the Africa Green Building Summit,
held in Nairobi on March 22-24, 2017. Through the agreement, KGBS will utilize IFCs EDGE green
building certification system to help move the nations construction industry onto a lower carbon path.

An innovation of IFC, EDGE was created to respond to the need for a measurable solution to prove
the financial case for building green and help jumpstart the proliferation of green buildings. EDGE
includes free software to empower building professionals to quickly and easily determine the most
cost-effective ways to build green based on occupant behavior, building type and the local climate.
Building projects must earn a minimum of 20% reduction in energy and water consumption and
embodied energy in materials to pass certification.

KGBS is extremely excited and proud to have achieved this milestone, said Elizabeth Chege, Chair
of the Board of KGBS. A cost-effective rating system such as EDGE will allow more building projects
in Kenya to pursue a green standard and push the industry towards greater energy and water
efficiency, as well as less energy in the making of construction materials.

Africas population is tripling between 2010 and 2050 in a challenge unique in terms of size and its
pace of transformation, said Prashant Kapoor, IFCs Principal Green Building Industry Specialist and
the inventor of EDGE. We have a window of opportunity to shape resilient cities by influencing design
and growth plans now. Kenya can play a leadership role in delivering on its potential for green
adoption and make a difference in mitigating climate change.

EDGE was launched globally in 2013 through a partnership between IFC and the World Green
Building Council, which also attended the Africa Green Building Summit and presided over a round
table session of African green building councils. At the Summit, IFCs global partner thinkstep-SGS
delivered a half day training on EDGE, which will resume with an additional session to be held at the
Sustainable Properties Africa Conference and Exhibition (SPACE), June 13 and 14, 2017. Habib
Hahn, IFCs Senior Housing Finance Specialist also presented to delegates about the potential for
financing green buildings through such innovative mechanisms as green bonds.

IFCs ambition is to transform 20 percent of the construction market in more than 130 industrializing
countries with the support of industry leaders, governments and financial institutions. Resource-
efficient buildings provide a tangible value that can be passed from the developer to customers in the
form of utility savings. They also have less negative impact on the environment and reinforce a more
sustainable corporate brand.

IFC has a green building investment portfolio of over $2 billion, which includes its own direct
investments and mobilized financing. Complementing its investment work, IFC advises governments
on green building regulations in Bangladesh, Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Panama, Peru, the
Philippines and Vietnam.
About Kenya Green Building Society

KGBS is an independent, non-profit, membership-based society registered with the World Green
Building Council as its Kenya Chapter in the Republic of Kenya. KGBS is mandated to certify the built
environment, advocate for green buildings and train green building professionals. KGBS is the leading
Green Building movement in the Kenyan market that ensures buildings are designed, built and
operated sustainably.

About IFC

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the
private sector in emerging markets. Working with 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our six
decades of experience to create opportunity where its needed most. In FY16, our long-term
investments in developing countries rose to nearly $19 billion, leveraging our capital, expertise and
influence to help the private sector end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more
information, visit www.ifc.org.

About EDGE

An innovation of IFC, EDGE helps property developers to build and brand green in a fast, easy and
affordable way. EDGE is supported by free software that encourages solutions to reduce energy,
water and the energy used to make building materials by at least 20 percent, which is the standard for
EDGE certification. The program has been generously supported by the following donors: Austria,
Canada, Denmark, ESMAP, EU, Finland, GEF, Hungary, Japan and Switzerland. For more
information, visit www.edgebuildings.com.

Contact

To learn more about this partnership, please contact the KGBS Secretariat:

Milestone Business Centre, Ridgeways Kiambu Road

P.O. Box 50865-00100, Nairobi
Office Tel: +254 710 869547; Mobile: +254 728 762370
Office: admin@kenyagreenbuildingsociety.co.ke

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