Green Home Case Study

‘Green Homes’ or ‘Sustainable Housing’ is an approach that includes household systems that reduce pressure on natural resources and carbon emissions, thus resulting in human wellbeing, social equity, and green economy. Besides energy efficient buildings, it also includes eco-friendly practices for water and waste management systems such as rainwater harvesting, and waste/wastewater recycling. Housing sector contributes significantly to the local economy but it can also cause pollution and promote unsustainable living.

Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are Least Developed Countries, with very rapid economic growth, averaging 7.7% per year in Cambodia, 8% in Laos and 8.7% in Myanmar between 2005 and 2014. Such growth has been accompanied by rapid urbanization,

A vast number of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have emerged in the market for homes and commercial space, catering to all parts of the supply chain. It is clear that these firms do not source materials, design or build with environmental standards in mind. These firms have little incentive to invest in or supply green designs or materials. We need to change this, by demonstrating how green designs and materials can be supplied at low cost, while generating demand and improving the policy and regulatory

It also promotes empowerment of people through knowledge building to be able to make informed decisions and thus be better in charge of their own lives.

The relevance of this initiative may be justified as several elements of sustainable housing are already in the market, but could not be scaled up due to the three challenges: a) lack of promotion of green products and services to make it competitive to conventional, higher-energy level products and services; b) lack of enabling policy and regulatory environment; and c) lack of consumer attraction towards Green