The concept of sustainable development with green designs is gradually becoming popular in big cities such as HCMC, where fast urbanization triggers a strong demand for apartment and office development.
Following this trend, it has been noted that green designs can improve energy efficiency in buildings, helping reduce not only energy costs but also greenhouse gas emissions and a plus point in the burning issue of climate change.
However, Vietnam still requires time to continue to raise awareness among individuals and developers to further translate concept into reality.
Speaking at a seminar featuring solutions for green buildings held in HCMC last week, Phan Truong Son, department head of urban development for the HCMC Department of Construction, said many developers had yet to realize the importance of saving energy or are still in doubt about the effectiveness of a green values program.
Son said some designers have not been interested in the issue when designing a project, partly because they lack information, knowledge and experience about the sustainable development with green designs, which include elements of sustainable site, water and energy efficiency, materials and resources and indoor environment quality.
Tran Khanh Trung, director of a design company, said the problem was how to convince developers to agree to spend more money toward green values because green designs often require more investment due to the technology and advanced materials required.
Son said the company consulted with a number of clients to follow the trend of green design, but they walked away after hearing that their total investment capital would increase by 20%-30%.
He said some branded companies developed their green buildings as a way to consolidate their brands in the market place, while many others, especially local ones, just targeted a quick return of investment before moving on to another project.
Huynh Kim Tuoc, director of the HCMC Energy Conservation Center, told participants at the event that a good green design might help developers save from 20% to 30% in energy usage, help reduce operation costs and significantly contributing to less carbon dioxide polluting the environment.
Tuoc said following the current trend, green facilities such as office buildings would have an edge over other competitors in the market given more and more companies were aware of environment protection at their workplace.
Nigel Smith, executive director of Hong Kong-based CBRE, said the office market was witnessing a change in awareness of office development among landlords and office leasing among tenants. Location is no longer a priority.
Smith said the market has seen a shift in the way developers, occupiers and investors approach office buildings. The old adage of ‘location, location, location’ used by many developers to promote their office towers in the 1980s has shifted towards a focus on the environmental and sustainable features in the 2010s.
He said it was not surprising that on Monday’s developers and investors were looking at new ways to market their buildings to attract potential buyers/tenants, who are looking to enhance the quality of life for the employees, community and environment.
The market trend comes as pressure mounts on multi-national corporations with the increase in global competition, corporate social responsibility and climate change. To ensure a competitive advantage, companies and developers alike were forced to look at more innovative ways to reduce costs, to enhance employee satisfaction and increase flexibility.
Smith said office buildings were not just big boxes anymore, and that going green with energy efficiency and landscaped gardens were elements tenants always consider before leasing.
That’s why many office developers are trying to improve their facilities and green certification is a way to boost their competitiveness in the market.
There are some well-known green certification systems in the world such as the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) of the United Kingdom and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) of the United States.
In Vietnam, the non-government organization Vietnam Green Building Council (VGBC) has introduced a pilot project offering green building certification named Lotus for property projects in cities around the country, and is calling project developers to join the program for energy saving and greener surroundings as a contribution towards sustainable development.
Lotus will rate property projects through energy, water and material savings, waste and pollution minimizing, health enhancing for occupants and its impact on the surroundings. According to VGBC, a green design will help project developers save 30% of energy, from 30-50% of water usage and reduce by 35% the carbon footprint.
Tuoc said that besides offering energy saving solutions, the center has run a fund worth some VND1.1 billion used to support developers to improve their building projects for greener operations.
