Going green drive going strong [News]

By Uma Shankari, The Business Times, 26 Jan 2012.

Iconic building projects are important for any city as they showcase the city’s achievements and capabilities, said Tai Lee Siang, president of the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC).

‘For Singapore to stand out, it is important to have iconic green building projects as we scale the ranks to become a beacon of green and sustainable development in Asia,’ Mr Tai told BT.

‘They define the city’s values, convey its desired image and serve as inspiration for innovation among urban planners and even the community at large.’

Singapore has seen a number of iconic green projects come up of late – including the The Gardens by the Bay, which is aimed at providing Singaporeans with a verdant environment in which to live, work and play. Mr Tai said that The Gardens embody the principles of environmental sustainability. Among its key features are cooled conservatories which will house plants from the Mediterranean and Tropical Montane regions. Read more

International Recognition for BCA Singapore and its Green Building Masterplan [Press Releases]

Singapore, 6 December 2011 – The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has been conferred the inaugural Regional Leadership Award, one of the six World Green Building Council Government Leadership Awards, for its exceptional Green Building Masterplan and efforts in steering the construction industry towards sustainable development in Singapore, and leadership in the green building movement in Asia Pacific.

2. The annual World Green Building Council Government Leadership Awards highlights world-leading government policies that maximize the opportunity of buildings to mitigate carbon emissions in the environment. WorldGBC’s Chief Executive Officer, Jane Henley said, “The WorldGBC’s ‘Regional Leadership Award’ recognises the outstanding vision and commitment of Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority. We congratulate the Singapore Government for developing a Masterplan that sets minimum environmental standards for building codes, provides incentives for the private sector and promotes research, development and capacity building. Singapore’s achievements clearly demonstrate that green building is not only achievable, but also affordable and practical.” Read more

Green buildings make value propositions [News]

By Mindy Tan, The Business Times, 29 Nov 2011.

Retrofitting commercial buildings can lead to an increase in their value.

Companies can not only expect average savings in operating expenses of 10 per cent, but commercial buildings can also potentially see an increase in capital value of about 2 per cent.

Specifically, it was found that retrofitting to achieve the standard BCA Green Mark certification can result in significant reduction in energy consumption; average savings from the 23 buildings (comprising office, retail, hotel, and mixed-used developments) sampled earlier this year after retrofitting was about 17 per cent of the total building’s energy consumption, compared to before retrofitting.

These were some of the key findings of a joint study conducted earlier this year, by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the department of real estate at the National University of Singapore, in collaboration with six real estate consultancy firms. Read more

Can S’pore buildings go “green” by 2030? [News]

By Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia, 22 Oct 2011.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said the goal of “greening” 80 per cent of Singapore’s buildings by 2030 is an “ambitious target”.

Most buildings were constructed before new energy efficiency guidelines kicked in.

So far, about 12 per cent of existing floor areas had been “greened” and most of this took place in new buildings.

But BCA said the situation is improving, and it is working with existing building owners to recognise the benefits of being energy efficient.

In the National Development Ministry’s addendum to the President’s address, Mr Khaw Boon Wan pledged to step up efforts in “greening” buildings to make them more energy efficient and eco-friendly. Read more

BCA and UNEP Establish a Centre on Sustainable Buildings in SE Asia [Press Releases]

(18 October 2011 – Paris/Singapore) The Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have joined forces in the fight against climate change. The two organizations finalized an agreement to collaborate on work to promote and establish sustainable building policies and practices in the Southeast Asia region. On 14 September, at the International Green Building Conference 2011, held during Singapore Green Building Week, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed, formalizing cooperation between BCA and UNEP to provide policy advice and outreach activities related to sustainable resource management in the building sector.

The agreement between UNEP and BCA formally established BCA’s Centre for Sustainable Buildings as a “Centre Collaborating with UNEP” to assist in developing tools, approaches and support to countries in the region in a coordinated effort to elevate sustainable solutions in the building sector. Through identification of successful policies, strategies and technologies at the regional and national levels, BCA will support the propagation of sustainability in the building sector in Southeast Asia. Read more

Singapore wins big at energy awards [News]

By Esther Ng, Today, 21 Sep 2011.

For their efforts to be environmentally sustainable, eight organisations received the ASEAN Energy Awards, making it the largest number bagged by Singapore since the Awards started in 2000.

The Galen, an eight-year-old building in Singapore Science Park II, won in the Retrofitted Category, while the 30-year-old Ministry of Manpower (MOM) building emerged first runner-up.

Business space solutions provider, Ascendas, which owns The Galen, spent S$3.5 million replacing its air-cooled chillers with four 600 refrigeration ton water-cooled centrifugal chiller plants with an efficiency of 0.56 kilowatts per refrigeration ton.

As a result, the building now only generates 1,300 tons of carbon emission annually, from 4,000 tons before retrofitting. Read more

Going green could ‘build’ up rewards [News]

By Feng Zengkun, The Straits Times, 17 Sep 2011.

Going green for the environment may add ‘green’ to the wallet.

Adding environment-friendly features to buildings here adds to their property value by about 2 per cent, a new study here has found.

The study by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) surveyed 23 commercial buildings, including offices, malls and hotels, to pin an economic value to green buildings.

It found that adding green features such as skylights and water-saving taps to buildings gives owners leeway to charge higher rentals.

Utility bills are lower as well. In the buildings surveyed, electricity costs fell by 6 per cent to 35 per cent, with hotels benefiting the most as major users of power. Read more

Tapping business opportunities in “green” buildings [News]

By Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia, 15 Sep 2011.

The Singapore government has set an ambitious target to green 80 per cent of buildings by 2030, and it is not alone in the region.

This trend is opening up big buck opportunities for construction and eco innovation firms, to tap into this budding building market.

The Empire State Building recently underwent a retrofit to streamline its efficiency, cutting energy usage by 38 per cent, resulting in cost savings of $4.4 million annually.

Smart technology firm Johnson Controls worked on the project, and said that it is enjoying growth of around 30 per cent in Asia. Read more

$5m green loans to retrofit buildings [News]

By Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, 15 Sep 2011.

COMPANIES that want to retrofit their buildings to make them greener but cannot afford to pay upfront will be given a helping hand, in a new initiative by Singapore’s building authority.

Fifteen loans of up to $5 million each will be made available for commercial property owners, condominium managements and energy services firms.

These will help them carry out work such as installing more energy-efficient air-conditioning or lighting systems or improving their recycling facilities.

Meanwhile, those who go ahead with the retrofitting will have to meet higher environmental standards and conduct compulsory energy audits once every three years under planned amendments to Singapore’s building laws. Read more

New Financing Scheme and Minimum Standards for Existing Buildings Announced at the International Green Building Conference 2011

Minister of State for National Development and Manpower, BG (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin announced a new financing scheme and minimum Green Mark standards for existing buildings at today’s opening of the International Green Building Conference (IGBC) 2011, which is part of the annual Singapore Green Building Week.

In the Singapore Sustainable Blueprint, the government has set a target to green 80% of Singapore’s buildings by 2030. 95% of Singapore’s building stock are existing buildings. The challenge is how to green the existing buildings, given the higher cost of retrofitting and the lack of financing.

To help existing building owners overcome the barrier of high upfront retrofitting costs, BG (NS) Tan announced that the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will launch a pilot scheme from 1 Oct called the Building Retrofit Energy Efficiency Financing (BREEF) Scheme. Read more

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