Local developers City Developments Limited (CDL) and Keppel Land beat four other regional companies to clinch the inaugural ‘Business Leadership in Sustainability’ award at the inaugural World Green Building Council (WGBC) Asia Pacific Regional Network Leadership Awards in Green Building .
The Singapore-based companies and fellow winner ITC Limited from India received their awards from Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan at a presentation ceremony, which took place during the Singapore Green Building Council’s (SGBC) fifth anniversary dinner on Wednesday at the Raffles City Convention Centre.
The event, attended by 800 guests, was held on the sidelines of the International Green Building Conference 2014.
The awards were developed by WGBC to honour building companies who prioritised sustainability principles throughout their business practices.
Janet Henley, chief executive officer of the WGBC, said that “the Leadership Awards in Green Building honour companies that are truly walking the talk when it comes to sustainability, but also underscore that designing and delivering a green building is just the first step on the road to sustainability.”
The first run of the awards received 112 nominations from 15 countries for two award categories, namely ‘Business Leadership in Sustainability’ and ‘Leadership in Sustainable Design and Performance’.
In addition to Keppel and CDL, who are both SGBC members, Lend Lease Asia was also a finalist in the Business Leadership in Sustainability category. Two other Singaporean buildings – Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and the Ocean Financial Centre – also qualified for the Leadership in Sustainable Design and Performance category.
This was a testament to the high quality and standards of Singapore green buildings, said SGBC.
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It is imperative that we continue to forge powerful global relationships to advance green building agendas, formulate relevant initiatives to help companies make full use of the various green building resources as well as continue to bring awareness of green building to Singapore’s building community and beyond.
Ng Eng Kiong, president, Singapore Green Building Council
The industry-led non-profit also marked its fifth year by signing a series of agreements with international green building councils and research organisations that will bring about new regional and international collaborations for the council.
These include a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Tanzanian Green Building Council (TZGBC), where SGBC will play a mentorship role in guiding the development of TZGBC, and an MOU with the Taiwan Intelligent Building Association (TiBA) to share green building-related information and technology between Singapore and Taiwan.
SGBC will also collaborate with the Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS) to conduct research on tropical building sustainability, and sustainable energy. BEARS will also contribute research expertise to SGBC’s Singapore Lighting Technology and Design Centre, which focuses on energy efficient lighting solutions.
Ng Eng Kiong, president of SGBC noted that “partnerships are instrumental to advance the green building cause. In the coming months, WGBC will also be exploring how greater regional collaboration can optimise our individual limited resources”.
Ng added that “it is imperative that we continue to forge powerful global relationships to advance green building agendas, formulate relevant initiatives to help companies make full use of the various green building resources as well as continue to bring awareness of green building to Singapore’s building community and beyond”.
Our special event coverage of the International Green Building Conference 2014 is brought to you by City Developments Limited (CDL).
