Sustainable certifications for real estate projects have been around for more than 30 years and, although they have been in use for five decades, their adoption remains slow in Mexico.

Buildings are another cog in the great machinery that is cities, so like any fundamental part, what happens to them has an impact on the rest. If one of these constructions is “sick” it infects its inhabitants and their environment.

If a corporate property lacks sufficient ventilation and natural light, this has an impact on workers, their activities and their emotional health. Likewise, its environment is affected, and will require greater use of mechanisms such as air conditioning that increases energy expenditure and emissions of polluting gases.

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Realizing this influence of buildings made authorities, organizations and companies pay more attention to how they operate and build, raising the standards of environmental care in the process.

As a way to make these practices transparent and standardize, in the 1990s certifications began to emerge that seek to establish requirements for a building to be considered sustainable and, if met, they obtain a star on their forehead.

Until 2023 we find more than 60 certifications endorsed by the World Green Building Council (WGBC) and, in Mexico, at least 10 of them are adopted more frequently, mainly those of American origin, according to the expert, also a director of the presidency of SuMe, a company that represents the world organization in Mexico.

Buildings consume 43% of the world's energy, and cement production produces 7% to 9% of annual carbon emissions, so the goal is for new buildings to be zero emissions by 2050, according to WGBC.

However, in Mexico the culture of caring for the environment has remained in the background, clouded by prioritizing economic aspects, the government and private initiative. On the contrary, foreign investment and banking pay greater attention to ensuring that ecological and social initiatives are fulfilled, as stated by Francisco Solares Alemán, president of the Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry (CMIC).

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The Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) has green bonds that serve to finance, among other things, sustainable constructions taking into account certifications such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, for its acronym in English).

On the northern border of Mexico, where more and more foreign companies are seeking to establish themselves due to 'nearshoring', industrial warehouse developers are seeking certifications because many of these businesses have to comply with “green” requirements, promoted in their countries of origin, to operate.

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