Taking the effort to go “green” has paid dividends for several companies.
The latest batch of recipients of the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) Eco-Office Label yesterday said they saw savings of between 5 and 30 per cent in utility costs.
One of the new recipients of the Eco-Office label, Gammon Construction, said they positioned their site offices in a north-south direction.
Its quality assurance manager, Mr Thng Seng Huat, said this prevented them from getting the full glare of the sun, cutting down on the need for air-conditioning.
Mr Thng said having “greener” offices has also changed staff behaviour. Employees now switch off computers and room lights once they are no longer in use. They also try to car-pool and cut down on overseas travel by video-conferencing.
Another recipient, the Changi Women’s Prison, said that, by installing energy-efficient light bulbs and water-saving taps and flushes, there has been a 30 per cent reduction in electricity cost and 20 per cent savings in water.
Singapore Environment Council executive director Howard Shaw said the eco-certification scheme will be rolled out to two more sectors in the second quarter of this year.
He said: “We’ve identified the retail industry, where there are significant issues such as energy consumption, packaging and waste as well … we feel that some standards in this field would be useful.”
Another sector is community clubs, which the SEC feels is a high-traffic area.
Twenty-two new recipients received their certificates yesterday, bringing the number of green offices in Singapore to 73 since the Eco-Office label was first launched in 2005.
Speaking at the event, Dr John Keung, CEO of the Building and Construction Authority, added that beyond using energy-efficient technology, it takes commitment from users of buildings to achieve results.
He cited the example of tenanted buildings where landlords face the challenge of reducing total energy consumption, despite having little control over individual tenants’ energy use.
