Singapore scores in green efforts

Canadian-based World Green Building Council gives nod to environment-friendly plans here
Jessica Cheam Straits Times 26 Sep 10;

The little red dot has been determinedly going green these past few years and its efforts are noteworthy, a first-of-its-kind report has said.

The report by the Canadian-based World Green Building Council (WGBC) on the global green building movement compiles examples of how such buildings can help provide affordable housing, job creation and even disaster recovery.

'It's the first time we have reported on the wider social-economic benefits a better built environment can play,' said WGBC chief executive Jane Henley.

Singapore stood out for its concerted efforts to green its buildings, particularly in its green labelling programme for products, and its leadership in water efficiency standards, she added.

The report, released last week, is titled Tackling Global Climate Change, Meeting Local Priorities.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Ms Henley said the report is 'living evidence of examples across the globe' where buildings are addressing local needs while reducing carbon emissions as well.

Green buildings are doable. Built to reduce their negative impact on the environment, they not only improve occupants' comfort, but they typically cost only 3 per cent to 5 per cent more than standard buildings to construct, said Ms Henley.

Costs are coming down, and there is much potential for buildings to further reduce their carbon emissions - by more than 35 per cent, she said. Green buildings have also been shown to cut waste output by 70 per cent, water usage by 40 per cent, and energy usage by 30 to 50 per cent, and in some cases, producing surplus energy that can add to the national grid, she added.

In some cases, green buildings can even help in disaster recovery. In Australia, for example, through the Build It Back Green programme following wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed over 100 people in Victoria in February last year, greener and more resilient homes were built for the community.

In the US, after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the Green Building Council brought in experts in urban planning, waste and water management, and architecture to work with local communities in the post-disaster, green reconstruction.

In Singapore, the green building momentum has been kept up in the five years since the launch of its first green building rating system, the Green Mark, said Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) president Lee Chuan Seng.

When it was launched in 2005, the Green Mark attracted only 17 buildings that could be certified as environmentally friendly. Today, the number has grown 30 times to tip past 500 such buildings.

The scheme has also 'gone overseas'. More than 80 overseas projects have applied for the Green Mark stamp and over 32 of these projects have achieved it, said the Building and Construction Authority, which oversees the Green Mark scheme.

The SGBC recently hosted an international congress on green buildings to celebrate World Green Building Week, which began on Sept 20, and to gather experts to share their knowledge and best practices.

'The event helped to boost Singapore's image as the leading hub for green buildings in the tropical climate zone,' said Mr Lee. Also, the incentives provided by the Government have seen the building sector rising to the challenge.

'Many industry designers and professionals are now equipped with the skills and capabilities to develop and run buildings on a sustainable level not achieved before. This is something that Singapore can now export,' Mr Lee added.

Mr Russell Cole, principal and building group leader at the Singapore office of British architecture firm Arup, said green building design 'is becoming the new orthodoxy rather than a passing fashion'.

'The industry is quickly developing skills and taking a harder look at all aspects of the building, and seeing how it can be made more comfortable, using less energy and resources,' he said.

Energy consumption is also being reduced by good insulation, shading and other passive design features, he added.

Another push factor in the growing adoption of green buildings: regulation. On the whole, building regulation standards worldwide are getting increasingly higher and greener, said Mr Cole.

Singapore, meanwhile, is not resting on its laurels, said SGBC's Mr Lee.

Some industry critics have questioned if the Green Mark is a standard too easily obtained, to which Mr Lee pointed out: 'The standards go up every year'.

'Instead of setting the goals too high, which make people give up and say 'it's too expensive', we decided to start with something that had a decent standard but was not too difficult to achieve,' he said.

BCA's Green Mark for new buildings is now into Version 4 - where the minimum energy efficiency standard is 28 per cent higher than that set out in the first building code released in 2005.