MANILA – Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL), a global professional services firm in real estate and investment management, has supported the Jollibee Group’s Danao Commissary in Cebu to LEED Gold certification — making it the first manufacturing facility in the Philippines to achieve LEED certification for interior design and construction. Appointed as the project’s LEED consultant and sustainability adviser, JLL led the certification from strategy through to award, which was completed in May 2026.
The roughly 18,000-square-meter Danao Commissary, the company’s food-manufacturing facility, earned Gold under the LEED v4.1 ID+C: Commercial Interiors rating system — among the world’s most recognized standards for green buildings, administered by the U.S. Green Building Council and certified by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI).
The achievement marks a milestone for JLL’s Sustainability Consulting team. Because LEED does not offer a standard pathway built specifically for manufacturing facilities, JLL worked extensively with GBCI to establish the appropriate certification route, then delivered the technical scope to meet it. Beyond LEED consultancy, the firm’s mandate spanned fundamental and enhanced commissioning, energy modeling, and a renewable energy study — embedding globally recognized sustainability standards into the plant’s engineering design and operations from day one.
“Manufacturing is one of the most demanding environments to certify, because there is no off-the-shelf LEED pathway for a facility like Danao Commissary,” said Nix Garchitorena, LEED Consultant and Project Manager for Sustainability Consulting at JLL.Working closely with GBCI, we partnered with the Jollibee Group project team to chart the most effective path to LEED Gold certification, developing the LEED scorecard that served as the project’s blueprint throughout design and construction. This achievement demonstrates how strong collaboration can embed world-class sustainability standards into a manufacturing facility while maintaining operational continuity.”
The certification was backed by measurable, third-party-verified outcomes, including 82.1% energy cost savings and an equivalent 82.1% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 76.95% reduction in indoor water use, and 99.38% of construction waste diverted from landfill. The facility also performed strongly across LEED’s core categories, from integrative processes,involving energy and atmosphere to water efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality, earning recognition for innovation along the way.
“Earning LEED Gold while the commissary remained in active operation required tight integration of design, commissioning, and energy strategy,” said Mugundhan Kesavan, LEED Consultant for Sustainability Consulting at JLL. “The results reflect what a disciplined, data-driven sustainability program can deliver for Philippine manufacturers looking to grow responsibly.” The Danao Commissary project signals a wider opportunity for the country’s industrial sector, where energy-intensive manufacturing and logistics facilities account for some of the largest sources of operational emissions. By proving that an active food-manufacturing plant can meet a globally recognized green-building standard, JLL offers a replicable model for owners and operators seeking to decarbonize without compromising output. The firm’s Sustainability Consulting practice advises clients across Asia Pacific on certification, decarbonization, energy efficiency, and the transition to net-zero real estate and operations, reinforcing JLL’s position as a leading sustainability adviser to the Philippine industry.
