Methodology

Review the following documents in order to gain a better understanding of the EDGE Methodology, including the cost model, embodied energy in materials, and the original EDGE Methodology Report, which is the starting point for understanding the basics of EDGE.

EDGE Methodology Report Version 2.0

The EDGE Methodology Report shows how a base case is established, how demand is calculated and how local climate conditions influence results. The report is intended for those who are inquisitive about underlying assumptions, equations and data sets.

India Construction Materials Database

Commissioned by the EU as part of its Eco-cities program, IFC’s “India Construction Materials Database of Embodied Energy and Global Warming Potential” is a collection of environmental data for 100 building products typically used in India, whether manufactured locally or imported. The data will be incorporated into a future version of the EDGE App.

EDGE Cost Model

The EDGE Cost Model outlines the general overall methodology followed by EDGE to create the cost database used in incremental cost calculations. The document discusses some features that will only be available in Version 3.0.0 of EDGE. Incremental cost calculations are intended to provide a sense of comparative costs rather than definitive cost estimates. The calculations integrate the impact of all options. For example, an upgrade to lighting or windows might be offset by savings from a smaller HVAC system, which can at times even produce a negative (-) incremental cost.

Protocols

This collection serves as a repository of materials on the protocols for EDGE certification.

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Certification Protocol Version 5.0

Read about the roles of the EDGE Auditor, EDGE Partner and IFC’s EDGE Operations and Maintenance Team in this document that sets out the process that must be followed in order for an EDGE Certificate to be issued.

EDGE Governance Protocol Overview
EDGE Protocol Glossary of Terms Version 5.0

Become familiar with definitions for some of the most commonly used terms in the EDGE Protocols.

EDGE Update Protocol 5.0
Licensing Protocol for EDGE Auditors Version 5.0

Discover the purpose of an EDGE Auditor and the pre-qualification and approval process in order to become one.

Licensing Protocol for EDGE Experts 5.0

Discover the purpose of an EDGE Expert and the approval process in order to become one.

Licensing Protocol for EDGE Faculty 5.0

User Guides

When you select a green measure from the EDGE software you can open a tooltip for quick insight. For more in-depth information, connect to the user guides of the five building types, which are also included here for easy access.

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Portfolio Certification in EDGE

EDGE certification of portfolios rather than individual building projects offers clients a more streamlined and economical choice. In portfolio, each subproject receives separate EDGE certificate as normal EDGE certification.

“We are currently reviewing the portfolio certification guidance, in the interim, please email edge@ifc.org for the latest guidance.”

EDGE User Guide and Methodology Report for All Building Types Version 3

This EDGE User Guide for All Building Types (Version 3) contains the Methodology Report and complete list of efficiency measures available in EDGE. The consolidated guide contains a section on the EDGE certification process and policy updates in the last appendix.

EDGE User Guide for All Building Types Version 2.1

This EDGE User Guide for All Building Types (Version 2.1, Release B) contains the complete list of efficiency measures available in EDGE. The consolidated guide contains a section on the EDGE certification process and policy updates in the last appendix.

Information on embodied energy in materials can now be found separately in the Materials Reference Guide.

EDGE Embodied Carbon Overview

The EDGE application has moved away from embodied energy as an indicator on the EDGE Materials category to embodied carbon as the numeric indicator. This change will help EDGE projects to disclose relevant indicators to taxonomies or other international standards and frameworks.

Research Reports

Check here often for new white papers that will be added over time. They are included to help gain a greater understanding of how we can collectively make a difference through green technologies and design.

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MAGC Green Building Market Stakeholder Assessments

The UK-IFC Market Accelerator for Green Construction (MAGC) Research Program includes an assessment of perceived motivations and obstacles in selected Green Building markets. This assessment is based on a survey of nine stakeholder groups, including developers, real estate practitioners (i.e., brokers, real estate agents, and/or property managers), real estate investors (i.e., funds, REITs, and/or corporate landlords), financial institutions, building experts (i.e., architects, engineers, contractors, and Green Building experts), policy makers, commercial occupiers, and residential occupiers (i.e., tenants and homeowners).

MAGC Green Building Market Maturity Assessments

The Green Building Market country notes summarizes key market indicators based on IFC’s research on policy environment, building construction, and Green Building certification and finance.

The notes include the most recent Green Building developments in each country, coinciding with IFC’s with the launch of the UK-IFC Market Accelerator for Green Construction (MAGC) program.

This Green Building Market Snapshot is a summary of key market indicators based on IFC’s research on policy environment, building construction, and Green Building certification and finance. The year of the snapshot coincides with the launch of the UK-IFC Market Accelerator for Green Construction (MAGC) program in the country. Additionally, most recent Green Building developments in the market are included where available. IFC welcomes readers’ comments.

Refrigerant Selection to Reduce Climate Impact

IFC’s EDGE Team has issued this document on coolants as guidance on how to choose a “green” refrigerant in accordance with the Montreal Protocol. Refrigerants have significant environmental impact and care must be taken in their selection and management. Note that refrigerant selection is currently beyond the scope of the EDGE certification system, and this document is only provided as guidance.

Technical Updates

From time to time, technical updates are sent to registered users of the EDGE software to keep them current on improvements. An archive of updates can be found here in reverse chronological order.

Known issues with the EDGE Application are regularly published on this dedicated page.

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EDGE Technical Update No. 39: V3 Building Certification Guidance and New App Known Issues Page
EDGE Technical Update No. 38: Custom Materials in the Materials Tab
EDGE Technical Update No. 37: EDGE Certification for Data Centers V4 - March 2024
EDGE Technical Update No. 36: Embodied Carbon Calculations update
EDGE Technical Update No. 35: Embodied Carbon July 2023
EDGE Technical Update No. 34: Mixed Typology
EDGE Technical Update No. 33: Version 3 Transformation (Apr 2023)
EDGE Technical Update No. 32: Project Study Submissions (Aug. 2022)
EDGE Technical Update No. 31: EDGE Version 3.0 (Sept. 2021)
EDGE Technical Update No. 30: Data Center Certification (May 2021)
EDGE Technical Update No. 29: EDGE App Version 3.0 Now Available (April 2021)
EDGE Technical Update No. 28: EDGE App Version 3.0 Beta Released (December, 2020)
EDGE Technical Update No. 27: EDGE App Version 2.2 is on the Near Horizon (March 2020)
EDGE Technical Update No. 26: EDGE App and Website Maintenance this Friday through Sunday, September 6 - 8 (September 2019)
EDGE Technical Update No. 25: New EDGE App Interface (August 2019)
EDGE Technical Update No. 24: Redesign Of The EDGE App (June, 2019)
EDGE Technical Update No. 23: Request for Information to Improve the EDGE Baseline (January 2019)
EDGE Technical Update No. 22: New EDGE User Guide for All Building Typologies (December 2018)
EDGE Technical Update No. 21: Introducing Projects And Subprojects (June, 2018)
EDGE Technical Update No. 20: Taking the EDGE Exam Remotely (March, 2018)
EDGE Technical Update No. 19: Introducing EDGE For Education (December, 2017)
EDGE Technical Update No. 18: EDGE App Maintenance this Monday & Tuesday, December 11 & 12 (December, 2017)
EDGE Technical Update No. 17: Unavailability Of EDGE App On Saturday, November 11 (November, 2017)
EDGE Technical Update No. 16: Updates to EDGE App Sections (September, 2017)
EDGE Technical Update No. 15: Zero Net Carbon Buildings (August, 2017)
EDGE Technical Update No. 14: New Technical Section (May, 2017)
EDGE Technical Update No. 13: New User Guide Supplement (April 2017)
EDGE Technical Update No. 12: Modifications for China and Version 2.1.0 (March, 2017)
EDGE Technical Update No. 11: Introducing One-stop Shop for Certification within EDGE App (February, 2017)
EDGE Technical Update No. 10: Required Measures & New Light Industry & Warehouses (December, 2016)
EDGE Technical Update No. 9: Versioning & Preliminary/Final Toggle (October, 2016)
EDGE Technical Update No. 8: Introducing Incremental Cost for Homes (July, 2016)
EDGE Technical Update No. 7: New Uploading Functionality (July, 2016)
EDGE Technical Update No. 6: Demo On How to Design A Resource-efficient Building With EDGE (June, 2016)
EDGE Technical Update No. 5: Announcing Open Login For EDGE Software (April, 2016)
EDGE Technical Update No. 4: Introducing EDGE Version 2.0.0 (December, 2015)
EDGE Technical Update No. 3: EDGE Introduces Local Currencies (August, 2015)
EDGE Technical Update No. 2: EDGE Now Available In Six Languages (May, 2015)
EDGE Technical Update No. 1: Introducing EDGE Technical Updates (March, 2015)

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