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From the EDGE perspective, it means living or working in a building that reduces energy costs, saves on water usage, and uses the right building materials. It’s also about ensuring quality indoor ambience and considering how to ensure the sustainability of the planet. The savings result in more money back in your pocket.

Lagos, like many other cities, is growing rapidly. You only have to look at the development in the Lekki axis to confirm that. This is to keep up with high population growth, rapid urbanization and the demand for homes. Green construction can spur low-carbon economic growth and create skilled jobs in Nigeria and other African countries for decades to come.

Emerging evidence indicates that green buildings are higher-value, lower-risk assets than standard structures. Besides lowering energy consumption, and therefore operational costs, green buildings typically achieve higher sales premiums and attract and retain better tenants at higher capacity, ensuring a more continuous revenue stream. In addition, green buildings can help investors and owners manage the risks associated with a transition to a lower carbon economy. This transition will bring regulatory, economic, and resource changes, with some energy-inefficient assets losing their profitability.

When you are looking for a home, search for a green residential building that has been certified so. When searching for an office space to lease, only enter into an agreement when you are confident that utility bills will be much lower than the norm.

For developers and the architects they employ, EDGE has made it easy to design and certify green buildings. EDGE is powered by an intelligent app that can be used to model and then certify a commercial, residential, or mixed-use building green.

Here’s a quick summary of green building benefits for each of the major market players:

• Homeowners – significant utility savings, better resale value and better thermal comfort
• Developers – product differentiation and increased marketability
• Governments – opportunities to raise the bar on building regulations and create fiscal and non-fiscal incentives
• Investors – lower investment risk and a wider share of the market

In addition to the above, perhaps the greatest beneficiary of all is the environment. We must consider how to reduce emissions and save our planet, before it is too late.

No matter what part you play in how buildings are designed and developed, next time you are in a position of choosing a building, think green – and in turn, think EDGE.