Overseas Realty Receives highest accolade for energy efficiency

Friday, 3 January 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Striving for eco-friendly spaces Overseas Realty – the owner, developer, manager of the most iconic building in Sri Lanka, the World Trade Centre, Colombo (WTC) was recognised as the most energy efficient building under the large scale commercial buildings sector at the Sri Lanka National Energy Efficiency Awards 2013 held at the BMICH. Another milestone was achieved by the company the same night as Overseas Realty Senior Manager - Facilities Management Indradeva Mendis won the Outstanding Energy Manager of the Year Award for his exceptional contribution to energy management efforts at the WTC. The event was organised by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority Award and the awards were presented by Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne. As Sri Lanka’s tallest building, WTC is a round the clock operation with nearly 200 tenants and with approximately 14,000 footfalls on a daily basis. After an on-site inspection and audit of the facility, Overseas Realty was declared the prestigious winner of the Award in recognition of the remarkable work carried on to ensure energy efficiency. With a penchant to manage energy in the most efficient manner, the 39-level twin towers are fitted with energy efficient lighting and controls. The central air conditioning plant was recently retrofitted with energy efficient chillers which resulted in substantial savings.

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. Another remarkable initiative by WTC is the Rainwater Harvesting System. This system has the ability to collect water from the roof and the building’s façade and such harvested rainwater is then used for air conditioning and landscaping, making WTC the only vertical commercial building to implement this innovative system. The WTC has been recognised as one of the most energy efficient buildings in Sri Lanka in the past years claiming the Gold Flame Award 2010, conferred by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, Ministry of Power and Energy and the Most Energy Efficient Hotel and Building Sector Installation in 1998 conferred by the Ceylon Electricity Board. “We strive every day to conserve resources such as water and electricity in order to reduce our carbon footprint and environment impact. We achieved high standards in energy efficiency without compromising the lighting, air conditioning and other building services offered to our valued tenants” stated Indradeva Mendis. “I thank my Facilities Management Team for their utmost effort and invaluable contribution” he added.