IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) today announced that they will collaborate to rapidly scale up the construction of green buildings in emerging markets. The new partnership demonstrates a shared commitment to playing a leadership role in transforming the built environment and mitigating climate change.

The WorldGBC has agreed to connect its network of national green building councils to IFC’s investment and advisory program. The WorldGBC’s local affiliate councils will certify green buildings through IFC’s EDGE, a new web application that reveals solutions at the early design stage to reduce energy, water, and material consumption by 20 percent.

The partnership will focus on rapidly urbanizing countries with surging population growth that need to build sustainably to avoid emissions growth, bolster energy security, and minimize resource depletion. The built environment is expected to double by 2050; China alone has the potential to add 53 billion square meters of building space, which is equivalent to the building stock of Latin America today.

To date IFC has invested more than $570 million in resource-efficient buildings, including directly and through financial intermediaries. IFC has also worked with the governments of Colombia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam to help develop their regulatory environments.


The partnership was announced at “Transforming the Built Environment in Emerging Markets” on July 16 at IFC’s headquarters in Washington. For more information, visit www.ifc.org/greenbuildings.