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MANILA - The Philippines and the International Finance Corp have teamed up to create the country's first ever "green building code" to help private firms reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve the environment.

Once in place, the code will help reduce electricity consumption by 3.9 million kilowatt-hours, cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1.87 million metric tons annually and result in savings of $864 million.

Building environment-friendly structures is especially important in the Philippines, which is at risk from climate-related events such as powerful typhoons.

The code is expected to result in a "transformation" in how companies in the Philippines construct buildings, said Maria Teresita Lacerna, green building country lead, at IFC Philippines.

Roughly a third of electricity demand in the Philippines comes from buildings.

"Green building for climate change adaptation and mitigation it improves results, efficiency and significantly reduces the emission on greenhouse gasses that cause global warming and climate change," said Johnson Domingo, director for buildings management at the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The IFC is a sister organization of the World bank that is focused on the private sector.