Singapore is making its mark in the region in green building certification, with its government-led Green Mark scheme being sought by overseas building owners across the region.
President of the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) Lee Chuan Seng said demand has increased for the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA’s) green building rating scheme, known as the Green Mark. The authority has received 115 applications for overseas buildings, 32 of which has been approved.
This is a testament to the growing global recognition of Singapore’s green building expertise, Mr. Lee told a 200-strong industry audience at an industry seminar on Friday.
“Sustainable development is now one of our key national priorities. We should encourage green thinking and integrate green initiatives into the design and construction of buildings,” he said.
Singapore is on the threshold of a nationwide transformation of its building stock, noted Mr Lee. Its Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) has set an ambitious green building target: to green 80 per cent of all buildings by 2030.
Since April 2008, regulations have required that all new buildings be constructed to the Green Mark standard. The certification scheme, launched in 2005, assesses buildings on factors such as energy efficiency, waste management and water efficiency.
The Green Mark certification scheme for green buildings is proving successful. According to Mr. Lee, 551 new buildings and 65 existing buildings are now certified within Singapore.
To encourage more green building retrofits, BCA has created a $100 million fund to help existing building owners with the costs. Mr Lee noted that such costs incurred can be recouped in a relatively short timeframe. A retrofit of a building requiring 24-hour operation such as a hotel will cost between $1.5 million and $3.5 million. But doing so will save $250,000 to $1 million a year, meaning it pays for itself in about four years or so.
Mr Lee was one of several speakers at the seminar organised by US firm Johnson Controls at the St Regis Hotel.
Most of the green building experts at the seminar shared experiences in retrofitting older buildings - an area of expertise much needed for Singapore to meet its green building targets. New building certifications alone won’t be enough: a significant number of existing buildings will need to be retrofitted for energy efficiency, noted the experts.
One of the speakers, Clay Nesler, vice-president for the Global Energy & Sustainability, shared details of his team’s efforts towards retrofitting New York’s iconic Empire State Building. The retrofit led to a 38 per cent reduction in energy consumption and an annual savings of US $4.4 million.
Johnson Controls’ building efficiency division provides integrated energy efficiency equipment and services for building systems including air-conditioning, heating and ventilation, fire alarm and protection systems, and green building certification audits.
The company was one of five that teamed up for an intensive eight month design process to overcome the challenges of retrofitting the historic building. Lessons learned during the project, which was completed early and under budget, are set to be applied to existing buildings in countries the world over, said Mr Nesler.
He gave as a case study the redesign of Johnson Controls’ headquarters in Wisconsin in the United States. Among the innovations in the design were automated sunshades that moved every half hour to ensure no staff were in direct sunlight, geothermal heating and cooling to reduce energy costs and the emission of greenhouse gases. The building also included grey water recycling to reduce the water footprint, and personal environmental modules at work stations that allow staff to individually adjust air flows and temperatures.
Helen Wu, managing director of Johnson Controls Singapore, said the firm was involved with several projects in Singapore such as Resorts World Sentosa and Singapore Management University.
“Through knowledge and experience sharing, we hope to encourage building owners to adopt energy efficiency and sustainability practices that reduce energy and water consumption, lower operating costs and enhance Singapore’s long term competitiveness and sustainable growth,” she said.
SGBC’s Mr. Lee also announced another incentive at the seminar to encourage more such projects, this time for individuals. The BCA and SGBC is launching the Singapore Green Building Individual Awards will be now given to green building professionals who consistently show leadership and outstanding achievements within the green building and construction sector, he said.
Mr. Nesler of Johnson Controls said he has high hopes for Singapore and its green building target: “Singapore is recognised around the world as a leader for setting aggressive goals and establishing innovative programmes to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
