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

Raffles Institution engage NEC to deploy real-time energy monitoring solution campus-wide [Press Releases]

Raffles Institution (RI) announced today that it has engaged NEC Asia Pacific (NEC APAC), a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation (HQ: Japan), to deploy real-time energy monitoring solution throughout its entire campus, as part of its bigger plan to improve energy efficiency and to achieve cost savings.

This initiative is part of RI’s continuous efforts towards creating a more environmentally-friendly campus. In August this year, RI was named the first recipient of the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark GoldPlus Award [1], the second highest Green Mark rating under the BCA Green Mark for Existing Schools, which places stronger emphasis on raising the awareness among students and educating our future generation on the importance of environmental sustainability and conservation. 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

Green buildings help sustain Asia’s growth [News]

By Rod Leaver, The Business Times, 14 Sep 2011.

This week marks the opening of Singapore’s third Green Building Week since it was established in 2009. Yet, in many ways, this amazing nation-state has already leapt ahead of its time to reflect what future green cities in Asia can look like as the region strives to adopt the kind of sustainable practices that are vital for maintaining long-term development and growth.

Going green is not some lofty ideal. A sustainable built environment is all about using our available resources more efficiently which, in turn, lowers costs in the long term.

The basic unit of a sustainable built environment is a green building. Buildings have become our standard dwellings and we spend a significant amount of time in them, making a critical impact on the environment. Read more

BCA extends its Green Mark certification to restaurants [Press Releases]

1. BCA is extending its Green Mark scheme to another category beyond, or rather, within buildings – the restaurants. In the latest initiative to raise greater awareness of the importance of users’ sustainability thinking and behavior within buildings, BCA awarded five restaurants with the BCA Green Mark – the national green certification for buildings and one of the world’s first green building rating system to be developed for the tropical environment.

2. Four outlets of global restaurant chain McDonald’s were amongst this pioneer batch of restaurants to receive the accolade. They were also McDonald’s first restaurants to be certified ‘green’ in Asia. American-style diner Brewerkz at Riverside Point is the other recipient of the Green Mark certification. Read more

Restaurants awarded BCA Green Mark certification [News]

By Channel NewsAsia, 12 Sep 2011.

Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) announced on Monday that it is extending its Green Mark scheme to restaurants.

Four McDonald’s outlets and an American-style diner, Brewerkz, were the first restaurants to be awarded the BCA Green Mark – the national green certification for buildings.

BCA said its new Green Mark for Restaurants scheme was introduced as a result of McDonald’s interest to “green” their restaurants as an extension of their global green strategy.

The McDonald’s outlet at Jurong Central Park, Asia’s first restaurant to be awarded the BCA Green Mark Platinum – the highest rating for green buildings – was conceptualised as a green building even before it was built. Read more

Green Mark building scheme gets UN attention [News]

By Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, 12 Sep 2011.

You might not have noticed, but Singapore’s buildings have been getting greener.

Across the island, 840 have been awarded the Green Mark – which certifies them as environmentally friendly.

The programme has come a long way since it was launched in 2005. That year, only 17 buildings were given this stamp of approval.

But since then, more offices and homes – both existing and new – have been brought up to standard, adopting measures such as energy efficient air-conditioning and meeting targets on recycling.

The United Nations was so impressed by the Green Mark scheme, it wants to work with the Building and Construction Authority, which runs it. This tie-up could involve research and training programmes to promote environmentally friendly buildings, and an agreement is due to be signed on Wednesday. Read more

Cultivating Singapore’s green landscape [News]

A blueprint for Singapore’s sustainable development was unveiled in April 2009 by the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Sustainable Development. Titled ‘A Lively and Liveable Singapore – Strategies for Sustainable Growth’, it set out the key goals and initiatives covering the next 10 to 20 years.

Shortly after, the government and regulatory bodies launched various initiatives to encourage individuals and business sectors in Singapore to go green. Among the initiatives was the $100 million Green Mark incentive scheme for existing buildings by the Building and Construction Authority to incentivise commercial building owners to retrofit their buildings to improve energy efficiency.

There have been other initiatives by the Singapore authorities to promote sustainable development, and this article summarises some of the more recent regulatory developments across Singapore’s green landscape. Read more

Momentum to “green” buildings picking up [News]

Green buildings are picking up momentum in Singapore, with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) giving out a record number of BCA Green Mark awards to 164 winners this year, up from 102 last year.

Incentive schemes have been introduced encourage developers to go beyond the mandatory basic Green Mark standard for new buildings, such as additional floor area, which could translate to higher profit, said BCA chief executive office John Keung. “As a result, nowadays, you see a lot more Platinum projects, a lot more Gold Plus projects being developed,” he said.

Other incentives include reimbursements for engaging environmental experts, who can help in achieving an energy-efficient design for buildings. Read more

Wanted: green buildings for MNCs [News]

Demand for green buildings and green architecture is growing as businesses – especially multinational corporations (MNCs) – now have corporate requirements that restrict them to taking up new space only in sustainable projects.

But while developers recognise the benefits in going green, many are still concerned with the capital outlays that come with constructing environmentally-friendly and sustainable buildings.

The answer, market players say, is to come up with integrated solutions and make sure that all relevant parties are involved in the initial planning and design stages of a project.

‘Many of our customers have expressed a need to be located in environmentally-friendly spaces, in particular, multinational and larger corporations which have established such corporate requirements as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement,’ said Tan Yew Chin, executive vice- president for real estate services at business space provider Ascendas. Read more

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