BDO Corporate Center Ortigas (BDO CCO) has earned a certification on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), two years after the 47-storey office structure was formally unveiled by the country’s largest bank.

BDO Unibank took the initiative in registering its Ortigas corporate structure in the LEED green building program. Virtually the newest addition in the expanding Ortigas skyline, BDO CCO is the first high-rise office-commercial building in the Philippines to achieve a LEED Gold "New Construction Category" Certification.

LEED is one of the most popular green building certification programs used worldwide. It is focused primarily on new, commercial-building projects and based upon a points system, which means the more an office structure earns points, the higher will be its rating.

Various sustainable methods were implemented in the construction of BDO CCO that steered its LEED accreditation. These include the installation of automated monitoring and control systems such as CO2 sensors, occupancy sensors, daylight dimming and timer switches.

• With the help of the CO2 sensors, indoor pollutants are mitigated and help the building steer away from catching the sick building syndrome.
• By deciding to go automated, energy is saved from mechanically turning off or dimming the lights when it does not sense any human activity and when sufficient natural light enters the room.
• Sustainable effort was done by employing dual piping in the plumbing system. Grey water, harvested rainwater and condensate water are recycled and re-used for flushing. The combination of efficient water fixtures and grey water flushing were key in reducing the total building potable water use by approximately 5,700,000 liters annually.

BDO CCO, which houses some of the Bank’s major business segments such as consumer lending, leasing and finance, and remittance, is a recipient of the Best Commercial Development, Best Office Development and Best Office Architectural Design awards in the Philippines Property Awards 2015. Meanwhile, at the regional real estate event Southeast Asia Property Awards 2015, BDO CCO was Highly Commended in the Best Commercial Development and Best Office Architectural Design categories.

The Bank’s Ortigas building is part of the grand development plan for the 2-hectare prime commercial property located at the corner of ADB and Julia Vargas Avenues, which also includes the expansion of the upscale shopping mall The Podium, a second office tower and possibly another mixed-use edifice with hotel and service apartment components.