Lady innovator shines through

Discipline, coupled with passion and a quick eye to spot opportunities, proved to be pivotal for the lady behind the country’s first solar-powered low cost housing community.

Already well known both here and abroad for her advocacy, Emma Imperial, it seems, is still raring to do more for the country, whose massive socialized housing backlog continues to grow year after year. Latest figures peg this backlog at a hefty 6.5 million units.

“I want to be innovative, I want to have a real impact in the industry I am in and this is one way to do so… I see this to be very good for the communities,” Imperial said in an interview with Inquirer.

And innovate, she did.

Imperial leads Imperial Homes Corp., touted to be the first real estate developer of its kind as it was able to create solar-powered low-cost communities, built using a pre-cast technology offering a 100-year material lifespan. These homes are said to be earthquake- and fire-resistant as well.

These projects—some of which are completed while others are in varying stages of construction—are located across key locations in Batangas, Bicol, Cabanatuan, Cavite and Las Piñas.

Inclusive growth

Beyond making solar power more affordable and accessible, the pioneering efforts of Imperial created a positive ripple effect that dovetailed with the government’s thrust for sustainable and inclusive growth. How so?

Imperial explained that these solar powered households were able to save as much as 31 percent in electricity spending. These savings then gave fresh opportunities for these households to do other things: purchase appliances, health insurances; provide better quality of education for the children; or create home business to generate additional income for the family.

“There was an additional income and this solar solution gave more than savings as it also [spurred] inclusive growth for the community,” she added.

Passionate, driven

Indeed, the impact of these communities proved to be far greater than just the savings and reduction of a developer’s carbon footprint. And it was therefore fortunate that Imperial did not allow naysayers to derail her plans.

“It was in 2012 when I started putting solar panels on the houses in our existing projects. The reason is that when I was traveling throughout Europe, I saw that they were using solar power and these are countries that mostly have a cold climate. The irony is that in our country, nobody was using much solar because at that time, solar was expensive,” Imperial recalled.

“But I pursued in putting solar panels for our developments despite all the negative advice that I got. They said I was crazy to do this, that I’m losing my mind, that I did not study this well and that putting solar panels will lower the (profit margins) for the company. But I continued,” she related.

Imperial admitted that she could have taken the easier road. After all, she already has an established real estate company, which she and her late husband, former Legazpi City Mayor Gregorio Imperial Jr., had put up in 1983. She then had a string of other businesses too, which include a Montessori school and a poultry farm in Bicol.

“I have always been innovative. I want to do something that has not been done yet by others. I am very determined and hardworking—traits that were influenced by my father,” she said.

Needless to say. Imperial was undeterred. She knew the risks but she was willing to go for it, driven by her passion, her discipline and grit. After all, she has always been a driven entrepreneur, even from the time she was as young as 8 years old, when she would sell candies and paper dolls.

Thus, when the chairman of Belgian firm Enfinity, one of the largest solar developers in the world, sought her out, she decided to partner with them and created Enfinity Imperial Solar Solutions.

She partnered with Denmark’s Connovate, too, to provide high performance concrete prefab panels for Imperial Homes’ solar communities.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Today, Imperial Homes is one of the most respected real estate developers in the country today, earning numerous accolades including recognitions from the Financial Times and International Finance Corp. (IFC).

But there’s no stopping Imperial. She’s indeed raring to do more, setting her sights on loftier goals.

“We want to do this globally. We want to scale up our efforts reach a national scope and help more Filipinos have world class homes that are powered by solar,” Imperial concluded.