Singapore is targeting building tenants in its next push to green its buildings.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) announced on Thursday two new schemes - the BCA Green Mark for Supermarket and BCA Green Mark for Retail - that recognizes tenants for their environmental efforts.
Both initiatives were announced by Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Acting Minister for Manpower and Senior Minister of State for National Development, at the launch of BCA’s new series of green building exhibitions at Singapore’s Lot 1 Shoppers’ Mall.
It follows yesterday’s announcement of a new scheme to rate data centres for their environmental performance.
Four green supermarkets and three green retail outlets were the first to be given the ratings under the new schemes, which rate the operations of tenants on five key areas - energy efficiency, water efficiency, environmental protection, indoor environmental quality and other green features.
BCA said in a statement that there are about 300 supermarkets in Singapore, with floor area ranging from 90 sq m - the average size of a four-room flat - to 4,500 sq m each.
Refrigeration accounts for up to half of the total energy consumed in a supermarket, and installing energy saving equipment can help operators save more than 10 per cent of that, said BCA.
Supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice bagged three awards for three of its supermarkets with its ‘FairPrice Finest’ outlet at Zhong Shan Park being awarded the Green Mark Platinum, the highest award in this category.
NTUC Fairprice chief executive Seah Kian Peng said that “doing our part for the environment is one of four pillars in our CSR framework where we look at ways to manage our resources carefully and promote good eco-friendly practices”.
He added that these new standards set by the BCA will prompt other players in the industry to follow suit and raise environmental standards.
BCA noted on Thursday that the retail sector is one of the highest consumers of energy per floor area.
Data collected from retail buildings assessed under Green Mark showed that retail tenants consume approximately half of the total energy consumption of a building.
The BCA Green Mark for Retail is meant to guide and encourage tenants to fit out their shops in a sustainable manner that reduces the operating costs, energy consumption and cooling load even while the appeal of the shop is not sacrificed.
One awardee, J’s Hair Studio - opened in 2011 at ITE College East - took over a shop space from a previous tenant and minimised materials wastage by retaining a large portion of the flooring, ceiling and light fixtures during the fit-out process.
BCA’s chief executive John Keung said that the various tenants have “proved that businesses, big and small, can save energy and cut costs by putting some consideration in the environment we inhabit”.
Speaking at the launch of the exhibition, Mr Tan noted that apart from legislation, incentives and awards, education is the third pillar of BCA’s green building movement.
This is what BCA’s new series of seven exhibitions over two years across Singapore aims to achieve. The roving exhibitions will focus on green homes and green offices, which feature passive design features like natural ventilation, daylight, and building orientation to help reduce heat gain into homes and offices.
“Ensuring that a building uses energy efficient equipment is not enough. We also need to raise awareness among homeowners, business owners and tenants on the importance and benefits of energy conservation, and how they can contribute to reducing energy consumption,” he said.
Eco-Business.com’s coverage of the International Green Building Conference 2012 is brought to you by City Developments Limited (CDL).
