The Game Changer

Through thick and thin, she stuck to her vision and is now succeeding in giving the people the dream home they can afford

- Chit L Lijauco

It’s not just the cost but the guarantee of savings on electricity and major repairs that attract buyers to the houses Emma Marcha Imperial builds. The group chair and president of Imperial Homes Corporation (IHC) had the vision to provide affordable and sustainable homes using two technologies borrowed from Denmark. Applying both (and more) to Via Verde, IHC’s development in Sto Tomas, Batangas earned for her house model the distinction of being the first recipient of the Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) Certificate. The coveted award for meeting the global standards for green buildings is given by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group. The development’s major source of financing, the Development Bank of the Philippines, also won the Outstanding Sustainable Project Financing Award from Germany’s Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Awards and Certification.

Via Verde is the first net-metered solar-powered community in the country. As such, the homes can generate electricity not only for their own consumption but sell any excess generation to the distribution grid, transforming the consumers into “prosumers”, as the government’s energy commission calls them.