I'm extremely grateful Mr. Matthias Gelber accepted my invitation for him to deliver a presentation to the PhilGBC Membership. He delivered a presentation on Climate Change and Green Materials at the recently held PhilGBC General Membership Meeting.  Matthias is an internationally recognized trainer, consultant, speaker and facilitator.  A good friend of the Philippines, he has shared eco efficient ideas to Philippine companies.  Recently he won the"Greenest Person on the Planet Competition 2008"  of 3rd Whale.

He was project champion of the UK based project Acorn, which was an initiative of large UK companies to support the needs of their small suppliers. The experiences of he project resulted in the development and publication of BS 8555, the British Standard on phased implementation of Environmental Management Systems including the use of Environmental Performance Evaluation (EPE). A specific sector initiative was developed for the construction industry.

Matthias is as well member of the board of INEM, the International Network of Environmental Management  Matthias has been working the last few years with the building industry to develop practical strategies for effective environmental and sustainability strategies and systems. He is a member of the Green Building Council in the Philippines and the IISBE, which is the International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment.

Matthias is a board member and shareholder of Maleki GmbH which specializes in low carbon footprint / high performance building materials.

Matthias doesn't own a car even though he is a Director of a company - I consider this his best eco-credential.

The  National Building Management Industry Week was recently celebrated by the Association of Building Managers of Ortigas Center, Inc. (ABMOCI) with the Theme ABMOCI Goes Green.  The whole day affair was held last September 19, 2008 at the Astoria Plaza in Pasig City.  ABMOCI Goes Green was largely participated by the property managers in the Ortigas Center.  I was invited by ABMOCI President Cho Monchua to share the latest news on the green building campaign now being conducted nationwide.  Architects Nestor Arabejo and Pabs Suarez also gave talks on Climate Change, Green Mark, and LEED.  Its great to see that presently the property management sector is gearing up in making green building a part of their agenda.

Congratulations Cho Monchua for a very successful conference.

The Philippine Green Building Council is presently developing the country's green building rating system.  The proposed rating system is envisioned to facilitate green building action in industry and to enable the public to easily identify greener buildings.  BERDE is presently being developed by a technical working group being formed by the PhilGBC.  If your organization is interested in being part of the development of BERDE please contact the council at secretariat@philgbc.org. 

For the past few years, Green Building is slowly evolving from being a trend to being mainstream. More Filipino Architects are utilizing eco-sound strategies in the way they build.

Green building is the practice of designing, constructing, and operating buildings in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. It focuses on the efficient use of water, energy and materials and the reduction of its negative impacts to the environment. Presently, there is an increased uptake of green building practices in industry. Green building promotes the implementation of cost effective and ecologically friendly practices to create healthier living and work environments.

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.