43 international real estate developments stand out in new green ranking
October 24th, 2009
Welcome to our inaugural real estate GreenList where we highlight the master planned communities and international real estate developments in Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua and Belize that are making a public commitment to environmental responsibility.
We’re releasing the list just as an earthship makes landfall in Nicaragua at Casa Llanta. It’s the first building of its kind in Central America - totally off grid and made out of recycled materials. Today is also International Day of Climate Action so it seems like a good time to showcase the greenest real estate developments in Central America.
There is no global standard yet for green building, but there are initiatives in the pipeline and plenty of guidance, webinars, TV shows and research reports on what constitutes a green approach to construction and development.
To build the 2009 GreenList we reviewed public disclosures made by real estate owners and developers against the following 5 criteria: Biodiversity, Energy Management, Green Building, Water & Waste Management and Social Responsibility & Giving Back.
Developments with a general environmental slogan (e.g. “eco-friendly”, “earth-friendly”, “eco-luxury”) that did not provide additional evidence of social and environmental action steps taken or planned were not included.
Like many green rankings, the list is imperfect. It captures commitment (and at worst, just good public relations) and not effectiveness. Also the list probably under-reports what is going on in the region as some developers may keep information private.
We’ll be improving the list over time. But for now these real estate developers are laying down an environmental commitment, and we’re keen to recognize this.
Keeping track of the green pioneers
As more buyers actively seek to invest in a way that helps produce a healthy and livable world for all, how real estate developments perform on environmental and social issues will have a direct impact on their competitiveness and profitability. They’ll be perfectly poised for future growth driven by buyers looking to live green and invest well.
Buyers, if you’re interested in buying green and eco-friendly homes, then have a look at these places. But make sure you dig deeper that we have here. This list is just to get your started. Ask for a copy of the policies and then check for real evidence on the ground before you make your purchasing decision.
The 2009 GreenList
Click on the table headers to sort them. You’ll find more information in the right hand sidebar of each development page by following the links in the table.
B=Biodiversity, E=Energy Management, G=Green Building, W=Water & Waste Management and S=Social Responsibility & Giving Back.
| Name of development | Country | Location | B | E | G | W | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Llanta, Nicaragua | Nicaragua | South of San Juan del Sur | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Finca del Mar | Nicaragua | Central Pacific Nicaragua | _ | Yes | _ | Yes | Yes |
| Tierra Pacifica | Costa Rica | Playa Junquillal | _ | _ | _ | Yes | Yes |
| Better in Belize | Belize | Belmopan | Yes | Yes | Yes | _ | Yes |
| Finca las Brisas, Costa Rica | Costa Rica | Nicoya | Yes | _ | Yes | _ | Yes |
| Las Fincas de Escamequita and Las Haciendas | Nicaragua | South of San Juan del Sur | Yes | Yes | _ | _ | Yes |
| El Encanto del Sur | Nicaragua | San Juan del Sur | _ | Yes | _ | _ | Yes |
| Montecristo Beach and Golf Resort | Nicaragua | Central Pacific Nicaragua | Yes | _ | _ | _ | Yes |
| Portasol | Costa Rica | Dominical | _ | _ | _ | _ | Yes |
| Piedras y Olas a Pelican Eyes Resort | Nicaragua | San Juan del Sur | _ | _ | _ | _ | Yes |
| Parque Maritimo el Coco | Nicaragua | South of San Juan del Sur | _ | _ | _ | _ | Yes |
| Orchid Bay | Belize | Corozal | - | _ | _ | _ | Yes |
| Gran Pacifica | Nicaragua | Central Pacific Nicaragua | - | _ | _ | _ | Yes |
| Finca Java | Nicaragua | Matagalpa and Jinotega | - | _ | _ | _ | Yes |
| Alegria Costa Rica | Costa Rica | Flamingo | - | _ | _ | _ | Yes |
| Los Faros de Panama | Panama | Panama City | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | _ |
| Sea Breeze Mountain | Costa Rica | Tamarindo | - | Yes | _ | Yes | _ |
| Paradise Dreams | Panama | Bocas del Toro | - | Yes | _ | Yes | _ |
| Palmetto Bay Maya Beach Belize | Belize | Placencia | - | Yes | _ | Yes | _ |
| Los Suenos Marriott Ocean and Golf Resort | Costa Rica | Herradura | Yes | _ | _ | Yes | _ |
| San Buena Golf | Costa Rica | Southern Pacific | Yes | _ | _ | Yes | _ |
| Reserva Conchal | Costa Rica | Flamingo | Yes | _ | _ | Yes | _ |
| Secret Cove | Nicaragua | South of San Juan del Sur | - | _ | _ | Yes | _ |
| Rancho Villa Real, Costa Rica | Costa Rica | Tamarindo | - | _ | _ | Yes | _ |
| Balcones de Majagual | Nicaragua | Marsella / Maderas | - | Yes | Yes | _ | _ |
| Belize Reserve | Belize | Cayo | - | Yes | Yes | _ | _ |
| Pacific Palms Jaco | Costa Rica | Jaco | - | _ | Yes | _ | _ |
| Apanas Lake Estates | Nicaragua | Matagalpa and Jinotega | - | _ | Yes | _ | _ |
| Valle Escondido | Panama | Boquete | - | Yes | _ | _ | _ |
| Lake View Estates | Panama | Cumbres Lake | - | Yes | _ | _ | _ |
| Waterside | Belize | Flowers Bank | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Villas Cabo Vela | Costa Rica | Playa Grande | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Selva del Mar | Nicaragua | Tola | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Pura Jungla, Costa Rica | Costa Rica | Paraiso | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Paraiso de Amelia | Nicaragua | San Juan del Sur | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Montanas de Caldera | Panama | Boquete | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Lomas del Mar, Costa Rica | Costa Rica | Playas del Coco | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Ladera del Mar | Costa Rica | Playas de Coco | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Hacienda Matapalo Costa Rica | Costa Rica | Matapalo | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Casa Grande Bambito | Panama | Chiriqui Highlands | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Camino Del Rio | Belize | Belmopan | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Brisas del Los Lagos | Panama | Chorrera | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Azueros | Panama | Azueros Peninsula | Yes | _ | _ | _ | _ |
More details on the 5 criteria:
- Biodiversity (for example re-forestation project; large dedicated green areas that will not be developed, accreditation as a private reserve)
- Energy management (use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, thermal energy)
- Green building (eco-friendly architectural design such as solar chimneys, natural ventilation, thermal exchange, roof overhands, water catchment systems and green building materials such as FSC certified wood products, recycled materials, straw bale)
- Water and waste management (for example water catchment systems, grey water recycling)
- Social responsibility and giving back (support for local charities and community groups; use of local suppliers of goods and services and local employment schemes)
Owners and developers, if our analysis has missed social and environmental action steps that you have taken, we’d love to hear from you, so please contact us with the details or reply in the comments.
From Reveal Real Estate - charting overseas property trends in Central America.
Related posts:
- 5 green real estate developments in Nicaragua located close to surf breaks
- Green building south of San Juan del Sur
- 17 property developments with on-site golf courses less than 90 mins from an international airport
Tags: GreenList, International real estate data, Rankings
This entry was posted on Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 4:34 pm and is filed under Market statistics and data, Ranking master planned communities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
[...] http://www.revealrealestate.com/blog/45-international-real-estate-developments-in-central-america-st…Welcome to our inaugural real estate GreenList where we highlight the greenest master planned communities and international real estate developments in Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua and Belize. … Developments with a general environmental slogan (e.g. “eco-friendly”, “earth-friendly”, “eco-luxury”) but which did not provide additional evidence of social and environmental action steps taken or planned were not included. Like many green rankings, the list is imperfect. … [...]
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Costa Rica…why did you miss The Oaks Tamarindo? They have water treatment, double paned windows, low flush toilets, they maintained the biological corridor? I believe this to be one of the few communities up and running that actually fit your criteria.
Lisa, thanks for the comment and for pointing out The Oaks Tamarindo. Following your suggestion, we’ll add the project to our main database and review their materials on environmental performance. Thanks!
[...] at Reveal Real Estate reveals a list of the greenest international real estate developments across Nicaragua, Panama, Belize and Costa [...]
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Are you kidding me?!! Have you even been to some of these places on your list? For example, I don’t know how you can call a place like Isla Viveros green. They decimated any vegetation on the island, built a landing strip, a golf course, and are selling nearly every inch of the place as a private lot with 6,000 square foot mansions. The point is that buyers (and their brokers) need to think about what green really is and research themselves. It is not a statement in a brochure or some seal of approval probably bought for $500.
Dear JJ, Your point is well taken and thanks for making it. In the post we’ve been clear to point out that the list is imperfect: “Like many green rankings, the list is imperfect. It captures commitment (and at worst, just good public relations) and not effectiveness.” Another weakness is that a development may do well on one criteria (e.g Energy) but poorly against another (e.g Biodiversity).
With regard to Isla Viveros, we understand that the project will use green energy via the Hatch Group. Following your comment, we have contacted Isla Viveros to get this confirmed once again and to make sure our information is current.
This is our first GreenList. We plan to update and revise going forward. It may make sense in the future to include only projects that cover off more than one criteria as well of course to try and get at performance. Our ultimate goal is to encourage more real estate developers to incorporate green thinking into their master-plans.
[UPDATE: We were not able to get the information we needed. Isla Viveros has been removed from the list]
One gets the impression you’re giving these groups a passing grade for using eco-buzz words in their marketing. Marketing and reality are passing strangers in far too many cases. Virtually every development in Belize has some kind of “ecofriendly” gimmick and some of those are genuine disasters. I don’t know much about your winners there, but you missed some good ones. You really need to tighten up your criteria and outsource this to a reputable environmental group. Get a short list of potential winners. Make them pay to apply so you can afford to get environmental professionals on the ground to visit them before you hand out accolades.
Thanks for the reply Tim, and I agree that we need to improve the list going forward. The field is ripe with greenwash and empty green marketing messages. If developments just had a general environmental slogan (e.g. “eco-friendly”, “earth-friendly”, “eco-luxury”) and nothing else, these were not included. Having said that the list does not verify performance - it is capturing commitments, policies and plans - something we hope to change for 2010. Your idea of contracting an environmental group is a good one, so thanks for making it. It’s certainly something we will consider going forward. (You mention that we may have missed some projects in Belize, do let us know which.)
[...] not just in Costa Rica). It’s sometimes hard to get past the green-washing but here’s a list projects that have made public disclosures. The green trend is here to stay, we just need better ways of distinguishing the projects that [...]
I have been trying to get developers to use my products for 2 years in Costa Rica. With all the government requlations that actually do not exist it drives a person crazy. Add to this developers who put profit ahead of our planets welfare I am still looking for my first customer. Check out my web site. Email me your needs. Let’s make something happen. i truly do have a green product that will save you money.