Prashant Kapoor

Chief Industry Specialist-Green Buildings, International Finance Corporation (IFC)

An internationally recognized thought leader and expert in bioclimatic design, Prashant Kapoor is a passionate advocate for sustainable solutions that align the interests of developers, financial institutions, governments and homeowners. He is the entrepreneur who created EDGE (“Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies”), a universal standard, software application, and certification system to mainstream resource-efficient building growth in emerging markets.

Since 2010, Mr. Kapoor has provided dynamic guidance for IFC’s global green building program on both the regulatory and voluntary fronts. Under his leadership, IFC has created a green building portfolio of commercial and residential buildings that totals more than $1.5 billion, both directly and through financial intermediaries. He has played a critical role in developing the national green building codes for Colombia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Mr. Kapoor invented IFC’s EDGE green buildings program as a coordinated investment-advisory approach to transform the construction industry in up to 20 markets over the next seven years. The goal is for green buildings to reach a 20 percent market share, which is equivalent to one million cars off the road, and over $300 billion in green investment. EDGE is currently operational in nearly 100 emerging markets, with local certifiers in place in such priority countries as Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Vietnam. Other development finance institutions are currently utilizing the EDGE software for their green building investments, including CDC, Proparco and FMO.

EDGE was recently selected as a verification mechanism to provide investor assurance for the Climate Bonds Initiative, which provides eligibility criteria for several categories of climate-related projects, including green buildings. The market for debt instruments that finance projects to help tackle climate change has surged to an estimated value of nearly $350 billion, suggesting an unprecedented opportunity.

Prior to joining IFC, Mr. Kapoor worked as a director at WSP consultants in London, where he led the planning of Masdar City, an innovative zero-carbon city under construction in Abu Dhabi; developed a strategic plan for Dubai, including designing a new green building regulatory system; and created various pathfinder low-carbon property programs.

Mr. Kapoor holds architecture degrees from Manipal Institute of Technology (India) and a master’s degree in energy-efficient building from Oxford Brooks University (UK).