Current owners and future customers of Lekki Pearl Estate will save 40per cent on electrical bills and 30 per cent on water consumption, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has affirmed.
This was stated by the representative of the IFC, Temilola Sonola, during the presentation of EDGE Advance Certificate to Alpha Mead Development Company (AMDC) – the developer of Lekki Pearl Estate – at the company’s office in Lagos recently.
The EDGE initiative (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) was instituted by the IFC – a member of the World Bank Group, in 2014 to promote sustainability in the real estate development sector through the construction of green buildings.
This new milestone, is another first by AMDC in the Real Estate sector, putting the company in the class of multinationals such as Chevron, Accenture and Deloitte. It will be recalled that AMDC is still the only Real Estate development company in Nigeria certified to international standard (ISO 9001:2015) by the United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS).
Speaking during a virtual press conference, Engr. Dada Thomas, Chairman of AMDC, explained that this certification by an institution like the World Bank is another testimony of Alpha Mead’s continued commitment to care for their customers, protect the environment and provide leadership for the industry through its unrelenting investment in global best practices.
On his part, Engr. Femi Akintunde, the Group Managing Director, Alpha Mead Group, holding company of AMDC commented: “this recognition by an organization like the IFC is very humbling for us and another challenge that we continue charting a sustainability the path for Africa’s Real Estate sector”.
“When we ventured into Real Estate Development, we were clear we wanted to do things differently. We wanted to create functional communities that are safe, secure and comfortable for our customers, without destroying the environment”.
“So we invested in both technology and expertise to demonstrate that this is possible in Africa; and we are glad that IFC EDGE has recognised this. This speaks directly to our “We Care” promise to our stakeholders and a reminder that whatever we do, we will always put the environment and sustainability on an equal pedestal as profit”.
On his part, Damola Akindolire, the Managing Director of AMDC stated: “The certification is a testament to our deep commitment to our customers and the environment. By this feat, it is now confirmed that our construction can save the customers up to 41% in energy and protect the environment from both degradation and pollution, which are prevalent in the construction industry.
For us, this kind of certification goes beyond the recognition, it implies that we do not pay lip service to our promises saying that we do not pay lip services to our promises. The planet is the overarching winner of the whole process as our business strategy is revolved around the three cardinal points of people, planet and profit. We want to leave a better world for the future generation and this is our way of doing it.”
Reiterating the benefits of this achievement to customers, Temilola Sonola, Operations Analyst, IFC remarked said that in over 170 countries, the IFC is on working with developers to provide green buildings, noting that Alpha Mead is one of the pioneers of the EDGE Advanced Certification in Nigeria.
“Green buildings are inherently advantageous for both developers and customers on the long run, and a study also demonstrates that owners of green buildings are more likely to paying off their mortgage faster than non-green dwellers. We trust that other developers in Africa will emulate AMDC”, she said.
Alpha Mead continues to be a pacesetter in the industry, recall that in August 2020 the firm fully-redeemed a ₦1.45bn series 1 bond which was fully invested in closing the housing deficit in Africa’s most populous nation. This remarkable achievement came at a time when the pinch of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global real estate industry was at its peak.
