Ever since Singapore launched its Green Mark programme for green buildings five years ago, the city-state has experienced a concerted shift towards the development of green buildings.
The growing momentum for green buildings certified with the Green Mark has grown beyond Singapore’s shores into Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China, noted Dr Gao Chun Ping, Senior Executive Development Officer, Green Mark Department, Building and Construction Authority.
Speaking at the National Sustainability Conference organised by the National University of Singapore and the University of Sydney, Dr Gao noted that the explosion of green buildings will also lead to 18,000 green collar jobs for building professionals in the Republic.
Dr Gao on Thursday spoke on Singapore’s green building movement as a case study of how a combination of legislation and government incentive helped to spur the industry.
As some 30 to 40 percent of global energy use and associated emissions comes from buildings, it was an imperative to drive a shift towards leaner, more efficient buildings, he said.
Recent legislation had required all new developments and refurbishments on buildings in Singapore to meet the minimum Green Mark standards since April 2008.
The Green Mark Certification for Non-Residential Buildings currently covers new and some existing buildings in Singapore. The assessment criteria include energy efficiency, water efficiency, environmental protection, indoor environmental quality, and other green features such as renewable energy. There are currently three levels in the programme: Certified, Gold, Gold Plus, and Platinum.
Uptake of the certification has been steady due to government mandate for green buildings. The Inter-Ministerial Council for Sustainable Development (IMCSD) has a target that 80 percent of local buildings should be green by 2030.
To increase certifications in the years ahead, the Government had launched a $20 million Green Mark Incentive Scheme for New Buildings. This scheme offers financial incentives per square meter to encourage high certification levels for development projects, explained Dr Gao.
Another carrot available to developers is the Green Mark Bonus GFA Incentive Scheme. This offers up to 2 percent additional gross floor area (GFA) for Platinum rated projects, and additional 1 percent GFA for Gold rated projects.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) also has an awards programme to recognise leaders in the industry. Called the Green Mark Champion Award for Developers, this accolade honours excellence in the area. It has previously been won by City Developments Limited (CDL), widely recognised as a local pioneer in green buildings.
Mr Lee Chuan Seng, President, Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) also spoke at the conference on upcoming developments in the Green Mark Certification tool.
The ratings system will be upgraded to a higher standard, lifting the bar for green buildings in Singapore.
According to the BCA 2nd Green Building Masterplan, there is also an upcoming shift in focus from new buildings to include existing buildings. To that end, the Green Mark tool will be updated to Version 4. This new version will come into effect at end of 2010 with both residential and non-residential building criteria.
“Singapore has 210 million square meters of existing building stock, and approximately 2-4 percent new buildings developed every year,” Mr Lee said. “The main users of energy are commercial buildings.” As a result of this, the Singapore carbon intensity per dollar of gross domestic product (GDP) is a notable 0.35 tonnes. While this number has leveled out in recent years, Singapore’s greenhouse gas emissions are still an upward march.
Thankfully, changes made to the building industry locally in Singapore are sped along by an effective public-private-partnership, Mr Lee said, and this applies to the green building space. This close partnership ensures that regulatory changes can be implemented rapidly, and is advantageous compared to many other countries like Australia which are more fragmented.
Addressing the perceived additional cost of developing a green building, Mr Lee noted the latest statistics. Green Mark Platinum buildings may sustain an extra project cost of 1-2 percent, but have payback in approximately 2-4 years, demonstrating even faster payback than noted in recent years.
Several Green Mark Platinum rated buildings already are demonstrating large resource and operational cost savings. Some include Ocean Center, Goodwood Residences, and City Square Mall.
In one innovative example, Lend Lease created a Green Lease programme limiting the amount of energy used by mall tenants and measures to increase energy efficiency.
“We invest resources to develop a calculator to help determine the energy use and carbon footprint of every fixture, and the cost it poses to the tenant,” said Mann Young, Head of Sustainability, Lend Lease Asia. “We then work with collaboratively with tenants to optimise their store fit-outs and cut their energy use.”