MANILA, Philippines ? For a generation that regards the world it lives in with keener interest, the terms ?greening,? ?energy efficiency? and ?environmental sustainability? are no longer confined to advocacy groups.
Just this week, the city of Makati, in its objective to become Southeast Asia?s first energy-efficient city, had signed on for Greenpeace?s ?Simple Lang, Save the Climate? campaign.
The Subdivision and Housing Developers Association, a 300-member group of developers nationwide, had also revealed to Inquirer Property its long-term plan to develop ?green townships? by dedicating hundreds of hectares of socialized housing into ?green villages.?
In the private sector, Ayala Land Inc. has revealed plans for the Ayala Greenfield Estates in Laguna to become a sanctuary for diverse flora and fauna.
Sanctuary
Jose Juan Jugo, head of the Land and Houses Division of Ayala Land Premier, revealed in a press statement that ?animal lovers will truly enjoy living in Ayala Greenfields Estates, where 35 species and 21 families of endemic and migratory birds such as doves, woodpeckers, flower peckers, swallows, wagtails and shrikes can be seen.?
He adds: ?After a long day, people can relax at the tree house and picnic huts surrounded by gardens at the 15-hectare Nature Park.?
Environmentally safe
In the commercial sector, Pacific Paints (Boysen) Philippines, which claims to use the latest development in nanotechnology, has produced a so-called ?revolutionary water-based paint that converts noxious air pollutants into harmless substances in an environmentally safe process called photocatalysis.? Boysen with Cristal Global (a producer of ultrafine titanium dioxide) is conducting the world?s largest de-polluting paint trial at the Guadalupe MRT station on Edsa.
Boysen claims smaller-scale tests conducted in Europe have proven the effectiveness of the technology in significantly reducing levels of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (known to cause pulmonary diseases and a precursor for smog and acid rain), sulfur oxides and particulate matter.
Compliance
Meanwhile, SHDA President Bansan Choa provided Inquirer Property with a Board of Investments copy that calls for new developers to comply with BOI?s tree-planting program requiring a minimum of 100 forest trees planted not later than one year from the date of registration.
Choa also revealed sewage treatment programs of LGUs and developers.
?This is a project in coordination with the LGUs whereby they require all subdivisions to provide bins for segregation of recyclable and nonrecyclable waste, and then the local government units collect them and sell or dispose of them.?
The press statement reveals that the Greenpeace-Makati project will run an extensive public awareness campaign and establish a multisectoral working group that will introduce energy-efficiency measures in schools, hospitals, commercial establishments and businesses. Among the first steps will be the development and implementation of Energy-efficient Building Guidelines, which will be launched late this year.
Part of the goal is to help combat climate change by reducing the city?s carbon footprint.
