The
iconic World Trade Center, Colombo (WTC) is now a ‘True high
performance green’ building as it was bestowed with the Gold
Certification of Green Rating System from Green Building Council of Sri
Lanka (GBCSL). Another momentous achievement was WTC being the first to
receive the Green Certification under ‘Existing Building’ category.
Organised
by the GBCSL, the Green Building Awards 2013 was recently held at BMICH
with the awards presented by Minister of Economic Development Basil
Rajapaksa. The Senior Manager of the Facilities management team of
Overseas Realty, Indradeva Mendis, a Green Professional, received an
award for his commitment in transforming the twin towers to a green
building.
The
immense initiatives taken by Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC (ORCL), the
owner, developer and manager of the WTC in water and energy conservation
and sustainable operational initiatives over the last few years earned
the building the prestigious title. The building was assessed under
seven categories reviewed by the GBCSL assessment team and then
recommended by the Board of Directors of GBCSL to award appropriate
level of rating.
As
a round the clock operation with nearly 250 tenants and 14,000
footfalls on a daily basis, the WTC strives to manage the building in
the most environmentally friendly manner. The 39-level twin towers are
fitted with energy efficient lighting and controls which aids in the
reduction in light pollution.
To
optimise energy performance, the company incorporated new energy
efficient chillers at an investment exceeding Rs. 100 million in 2013. A
rainwater harvesting system is in place to collect rainwater of roof
and facades, which in turn is used for air conditioning systems and
landscaping of the building. WTC is the only high rise commercial
building to implement this innovative system.
To
further conserve water usage, reduced cistern tank capacities,
self-closing pillar faucets are amongst the many features used. As the
only intelligent building in Sri Lanka, the fully integrated
state-of-the-art Building Management System (BMS) was upgraded to be
fully automated for minimum energy consumption. The Elevators at the
WTC are equipped with computerised Elevator Management System (EMS),
which too was a first in Sri Lanka. The elevators are designed to
generate power during every downward movement.
“We
are committed to best practices in conserving the environment and have
embraced sustainability in our corporate values and energy policy,” said
Overseas Realty Group Director/ CEO Pravir Samarasinghe. “I am proud of
what we have achieved and applaud the efforts of our award winning
Facilities Management Team for their dedication in making the WTC a
Green Building,” he continued.
The
WTC has been recognised asthe most energy efficient commercial
buildings in Sri Lanka on numerous occasions winning many coveted
awards. Just last yearWTC,received the highest accolade as the Most
Energy Efficient Building under Large Scale Commercial Building Sector
at the Sri Lanka National Energy Efficiency Awards. In 2010 the company
won the Gold Flame Award, conferred by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy
Authority, in 1998 the Most Energy Efficient Hotel and Building Sector
Installation conferred by the Ceylon Electricity Board.
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