EDGE Champions Summit 2022
November 2022 - The first EDGE Champions Summit was held in Washington DC on November 2 and 3rd, 2023 at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) headquarters.
Thirteen Champions from Africa and Latin America attended the in-person event. EDGE Champions are companies who collaborate with IFC to accelerate the adoption of green building options in their respective markets. These trailblazers typically pledge to certify a significant portion of their building portfolio, or meet a minimum floor area commitment, to be certified as a green building with EDGE.
#EDGEChampions #EDGEBuildings
November 2
On November 2, the EDGE Champions were welcomed to the event by Corinne Figueredo, the EDGE Global Head of Operations. She then introduced Vivek Pathak, IFC’s Global Head and Director of Climate Business, who discussed the importance of green finance, the strategies to scale it up, and the investment opportunities in climate business. He discussed the five key systems responsible for over 90% of global greenhouse gas emissions: energy; agriculture, food, water and land; cities; transport; and manufacturing. Following these insights, the attendees then participated in an important roundtable discussion which provided the Global EDGE team with important insights and feedback from their respective markets. The afternoon was closed out by Ommid Saberi, the Global Technical Lead for the EDGE program, who discussed the past, present and future of the EDGE program. He also touched on the important progress the program has made in Colombia.
Official Recognition Ceremony
In the evening, the EDGE Champions made their way to the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC for the official recognition ceremony. These Champions were accompanied by a large IFC team, which included representatives from the EDGE program, IFC investment officers and an IFC senior climate manager and director. During the evening’s proceeding, each Champion who attended was welcomed to the stage by Corinne Figueredo and Vivek Pathak to receive their glass trophy. The evening ended with a large procession to the atrium space of the MC building.
The Final Day
The final day, November 3rd, was comprised of presentations from Finance, Infrastructure, and MAS industry leaders who spoke about each of IFC’s key investment areas. These presentations were followed by private meetings arranged with the various departments within IFC. Ommid Saberi closed the Summit, highlighting the importance of the Champions to the EDGE strategic direction and future goals.
EDGE expresses its appreciation for the following national donors for their generous support: UK Government; the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO); the European Union; the Ministry of Finance of Japan; the Hungarian Export Import Bank; the Canada Climate Change Program and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada; the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and the Danish Green Growth Fund; the Federal Ministry of Finance of Austria; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. EDGE is also grateful for contributors to the GEF-IFC Earth Fund Platform, and the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program of the World Bank whose support helped seed EDGE.
The Government of the United Kingdom has entered into a partnership with IFC to help transform construction markets. The objective is to crowd in as much as $2 billion in public and private sector financing for green buildings in emerging markets that are certified by EDGE and other leading certification systems. The British Government has contributed 105 million pounds, of which 80 million pounds is for investments through the U.K.-IFC Market Accelerator for Green Construction Program, and 25 million pounds is for advisory services, including significant support for EDGE.
A full list of the champions who attended and recognized, as well as their company representatives, can be found here. Vivek Pathak was in attendance to award all the Champions.
