Singapore's BCA Green Mark debuts in Malaysia, set to go beyond

Developers adopting green yardstick for projects in China, Thailand, Indonesia
Ong Boon Kiat, Business Times 14 Oct 08;

AS Singapore continues to shape an eco-friendly habitat by getting developers to embrace the Green Mark, this green building yardstick is starting to find its mark beyond these shores.

The Green Mark scheme - a four-tier green building benchmark developed by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) - made its debut in Malaysia last month, and looks set to move into regional countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and China.

Before last month, there were two Green Mark certified buildings outside Singapore, both in Beijing. Upcoming projects could substantially add to this tally and lift Singapore's green credentials in the region.

BCA told BT that it recently received Green Mark applications from 'major' Singapore developers for their projects in Thailand, Vietnam, China and Malaysia. It has also received requests from developers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The Singapore construction industry regulator declined to elaborate on these projects at this early stage.

Replying to BT's queries, a BCA spokesman said: 'Our priority is to shape a sustainable (building environment) in Singapore using the Green Mark. Some of our Singapore developers and consultants are keen to get their overseas projects certified under the BCA Green Mark; hence, we will provide the assessment for them.

'Arising from this, some of their overseas counterparts become aware of the Green Mark and decide to adopt it in their projects as well.'

Singapore energy consultant G-Energy Global has also been receiving similar requests from abroad.

The firm last month helped Malaysian developer Goldis Berhad secure a provisional Green Mark rating for its upcoming 30-storey office tower, named GTower, in Kuala Lumpur.

G-Energy director Vincent Low told BT that his firm is now talking with two Singapore developers in China and three from Indonesia on getting the building certified.

BCA said that it was 'heartened' by the Green Mark's rising regional prominence and hopes this yardstick would eventually become the de facto green building rating system for the tropical region. 'The Green Mark provides a meaningful differentiation of buildings in the real estate market,' BCA said.

Mr Low said that overseas developers he has spoken to have been impressed with this benchmark's premium image, which they say helps increase tenant appeal. Overseas developers also like the fact that their energy savings can be expressed in concrete terms under this yardstick, he said.

The Green Mark rates a facility's eco-friendliness based on criteria such as energy and water efficiency, building management, indoor environmental quality and innovation. There are four tiers in the Green Mark - Certified, Gold, Gold Plus and Platinum - with the last tier the most rigorous.

Around 130 buildings and parks in Singapore have so far been certified. In April, this benchmark was made a mandatory requirement here for new buildings and retrofitting works with floor area exceeding 2,000 square metres. To encourage take-up in Singapore, the Green Mark offers cash incentives for developers, building owners, project architects and engineers.

Overseas adopters do not qualify for such incentives. But none was needed to entice Malaysia's Goldis.

'Achieving the Gold standard will mean GTower has an approximately 20 per cent energy savings compared to a similar sized development without energy saving features,' said Colin Ng, Goldis head of corporate investments.

He said that GTower's green investment will come up to RM30 million (S$12.6 million), which would be spent on achieving more stringent building specifications, as well as on energy-efficient gear like air-con chillers.

GTower 'will save an equivalent of 9,125 trees per year', Mr Ng said.

According to BCA, meeting the Green Mark's basic tier will require an extra outlay equivalent of less than one per cent of the overall construction cost of a building.

The additional cost of achieving the Gold rating is between 0.7 and 1.2 per cent of construction cost.