Go for gold by going green: Even parks can do more

Sheralyn Tay, Today Online 23 May 08;

A GREEN Mark for a park?

While it may seem strange for a park to win a green prize, apparently, parks — green as they are — could be greener still. For example, they can use rainwater for irrigation, energy efficient lights or environmentally friendly fertilisers, which all go towards ensuring a park that is not just green, but environmentally-sustainable.

Last night, three parks — the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Fort Canning Park and Chinese Garden — were presented with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and National Parks Board's inaugural Green Mark for Parks award.

This extension of the Green Mark award comes as further enhancements are made to the three-year-old incentive scheme for environmentally-friendly buildings.

Speaking at the annual BCA Awards last night, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan, said the scheme would now recognise the role of architects and engineers and the critical role they play in the drawing board and building stages.

Mr Mah said: "With the green building movement in Singapore gathering momentum, it is timely for us to enhance the scheme, as well as apply the Green Mark concept to the wider physical environment."

Smaller buildings — with a gross floor area (GFA) of 2,000 square meters and onwards — will also now be eligible for the scheme.

The pick up of Green Mark has gone from just 17 projects awarded in each of the first two years, to 100 last year. According to the BCA, more than 200 are already being assessed this year.

And it's no wonder. According to a BCA study, the cost of meeting Green Mark requirements is only a small portion of development costs, but the returns are significant.

A basic Green Mark rating adds 0.3 to 1 per cent to costs, but the return-on-investment (ROI) is two to five years. And though a platinum rating costs the most at 2 to 8 per cent with an ROI of two to eight years, the higher the rating, the higher the energy savings, which can range from 15 to 35 per cent.

Some 19,000 green homes now enjoy $1,000 worth of utility savings for each household each year thanks to green features.

More awards under Green Mark scheme
Lim Wen Juin, Business Times 23 May 08;

MINISTER for National Development Mah Bow Tan emphasised the need for a sustainable built environment at the Building and Construction Authority Awards Night by announcing enhancements to the Green Mark scheme.

'The scheme has been well accepted by the industry and is now a recognised achievement. With the green building movement in Singapore gaining momentum, it is timely to enhance the scheme and apply the Green Mark concept to the wider physical environment,' he said.

The enhancements include two revisions to the Green Mark Incentive Scheme, a $20 million fund set aside in December 2006 to reward developers of projects certified Gold or above. A total of $2.6 million has been awarded to 17 projects so far.

The first change extends the incentive scheme to smaller buildings by reducing the minimum ground floor area eligibility requirement to 2,000 square metres from 5,000 sq m, while the second broadens it to include architects and engineers involved in new developments.

Offering architects and engineers monetary motivation to incorporate green features into building designs from Day One would lead to 'lower green cost premiums', defined as cost of greening over total construction cost, pointed out BCA chief executive John Keung.

Mr Mah also inaugurated the stringent Green Mark Champion award for developers. To qualify for the award, a developer or building owner must have no less than 10 projects rated Gold or above, with at least three Gold Plus and three Platinum awards.

With a stable of 21 projects rated Gold or above, including five Gold Plus and five Platinum efforts, City Developments Ltd was the sole recipient of the new award.

The subsequent benchmark, Green Mark Platinum Champion, demands no less than 50 Gold or above projects, of which at least 15 must be Gold Plus and at least 15 Platinum.

The final enhancement announced was the Green Mark for Parks scheme, a collaboration between BCA and the National Parks Board. Open to a wide variety of parks both here and overseas, it looks out for waste and material minimisation, water and energy efficiency, park management, and conservation and heritage.

Fort Canning Park and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve won Gold, while Chinese Garden attained certification. Key features at the parks include designated composting areas, use of rain water for cleaning and plant maintenance, and preservation of heritage trees.

Government extends cash incentive scheme for green buildings
Architects and engineers can also claim up to $100k
Jessica Cheam, Straits Times 23 May 08;

THE Government's bag of carrots to encourage the construction of green buildings just got bigger.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan announced yesterday that cash incentives paid to developers who put up green buildings will be extended.

In addition, key industry stakeholders such as architects and engineers will now be offered incentives, too, in recognition of the important roles they play, he said.

The Green Mark incentive scheme, launched by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in December 2006, pays out cash grants of up to $3 million for buildings that reach high environmental standards.

Developers will see no change in the scheme, but architects and engineers can now claim up to $100,000 in cash incentives, depending on the building standard achieved and the floor area.

To encourage more green buildings, the scheme will now also apply to smaller buildings, said Mr Mah. The minimum gross floor area requirement will be cut from 5,000 sq m to 2,000 sq m.

The BCA Green Mark scheme, launched in 2005, rates buildings for their environmental impact and performance.

'With the green building movement in Singapore gaining momentum, it is timely to enhance the scheme,' said Mr Mah at BCA's annual awards dinner last night.

BCA launched two new awards yesterday: the BCA Green Mark Champion Award for developers and the BCA-NParks Green Mark for Parks Award.

Local developer City Developments clinched the first award, with 21 projects rated Green Mark Gold or above. Five attained GoldPlus or platinum standards.

BCA chief John Keung said yesterday that the BCA Green Mark 'has received strong support from major developers like City Developments', and he hopes that more developers will 'take the lead in achieving excellence in environmental sustainability...and strive for the higher ratings'.

For the first time, Singapore parks will be benchmarked against environmental sustainability standards.

Mr Mah gave out the new parks awards to Fort Canning Park, the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and the Chinese Garden. In addition, building professionals were honoured for construction excellence, safety and universal design.