BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest bank in terms of resources, has been attracting massive funds and deploying them toward green projects that mitigate climate change, including its new BDO Corporate Center in Makati City.
“Sustainability contribution is a key priority, which drives practices to not only address environmental concerns, but also enhance human comfort while reducing operational costs and contributing to a more resilient structure which will be enjoyed by generations,” BDO said.
Construction for the new office consisting of two towers and an annex was announced in a groundbreaking and time-capsule laying ceremony last 15 November.
Made from an exoskeleton structure, BDO said the towers will reduce carbon emissions by using 650,000 tons less concrete compared to traditional structures.
“The towers feature an innovative exoskeleton structure, allowing open, flexible spaces without the need for conventional pillars,” BDO said.
Staff and visitors in the new corporate center will experience more breathing space as 75 percent of its rooftops will be covered by an urban farm.
BDO added the new corporate tower will be equipped with “radiant cooling systems” to reduce operational energy by more than 40 percent.
The new building was also designed to allow over 70 percent of potable water to be reused.
BDO said it partnered with British architectural firm Foster + Partners and DATEM, a Philippine construction firm known for environment-friendly projects, to put up the new corporate center.
BDO has been attracting funds and pouring some of them over green projects through bond offerings to investors.
In January, BDO opened its offer period for its second sale of peso-denominated fixed-rate ASEAN sustainability bonds with an aggregate minimum value of P5 billion.
This was BDO’s biggest single bond issuance, with a P63.3 billion.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, BDO said this was 12 times higher than the initial offer of P5 billion, and an increase from the P52.7 billion proceeds from the first batch of its ASEAN Sustainability Bonds issued in January 2022.
In July this year, BDO issued its third batch of ASEAN Sustainability Bonds with a minimum aggregate value of P5 billion. However, due to overwhelming demand, the bank raised P55.7 billion.
Proceeds from the bonds support the BDO Sustainable Finance Framework, which aims to finance clean transport; sustainable agriculture, waste and water management; and disaster resiliency tools for small and medium enterprises.
Moreover, the framework enables funding for the construction of renewable energy projects and green buildings which must secure regional, national or internationally recognized standards.
Such standards and certifications include those from the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Model with the mark of “Excellent,” “LEED” or “Gold.”
The others are the Philippine Green Building Rating System of “4-star” and above and/or IFC EDGE Qualification.
Southeast Asian countries could lose $97.3 billion in this decade if the shift from dirty fuels to renewable energy is delayed, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says.
In September 2022, BDO said it was targeting to reduce exposure to coal-powered plants by 50 percent by 2033.