Colombia's commitment to sustainable housing development is growing

• 44% of Conconcreto's housing projects feature sustainable design features and are currently in the process of obtaining CASA Colombia certification: Contree Palmas, Primavera Verde, ELE16, and Contree Castropol.

Bogotá, June 2022By 2023, the projection is that one in five buildings in the country will be certified. Furthermore, the first projects under the Camacol Neutral initiative are already operational, which is estimated to reduce the carbon footprint of construction projects by 51%, highlighted the entity's executive president, Sandra Forero.

Those interested in acquiring or investing in projects within a sustainable and healthy community can, for example, rely on the CASA Colombia Certification from the Colombian Sustainable Construction Council (CCCS). This is a user-centered certification system that recognizes sustainable and healthy projects and incorporates the concept of comprehensive sustainability. This certification is in line with the conceptual principles defined in the health and well-being framework developed by the World Green Building Council (World GBC).

Along these lines, it is important to highlight that 44% of Conconcreto's housing projects have implemented designs with sustainability attributes and are currently in the process of CASA Colombia certification: CONTREE Las Palmas, Primavera Verde, ELE16, and CONTREE Castropol.

The latter, located in Medellín, recently received CASA Colombia pre-certification, demonstrating its alignment with sustainable housing development, as highlighted by the Colombian Sustainable Construction Council, which also recognized Conconcreto as a CASA Colombia Green Leader.

The implementation of a sustainable construction project includes an integrative design process, comprehensive management of the project's negative impacts, a construction and demolition waste management plan, air quality management during construction, reducing drinking water consumption, measuring and managing water consumption, efficient energy use, energy efficiency strategies, and generating electricity through non-conventional sources, among others. To this end, Conconcreto identifies sustainable materials through its marketplace, which streamlines the LEED, HQE, CASA, and EDGE certification processes for projects.

This certification analyzes the relationship between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and determines whether they contribute to the Global Agenda. These goals can be highlighted in the project, for example: SDG 3, good health and well-being; SDG 6, clean water and sanitation; SDG 7, affordable and clean energy; SDG 9, industry, innovation, and infrastructure; SDG 11, sustainable cities and communities; SDG 12, responsible consumption and production; SDG 13, climate action; and SDG 15, life on land, along with other SDGs.

In this regard, Carolina Bedoya, director of the Conconcreto Comfort Unit, said:

“Aligned with our higher purpose, we will continue working to ensure that all projects throughout their life cycle have sustainability attributes that allow us to measure their social and environmental impacts. Furthermore, we will ensure that our housing projects in Colombia have sustainable construction certifications, focused on protecting user health, prioritizing comfort, maintaining harmony with nature, facilitating healthy behaviors, creating social value, and taking climate action, as established by World GBC.”