More buildings aiming for best-in-class energy performance certification

Wednesday, 19 August 2020

-     More building owners are aware of the positive impact of green buildings and recognise them as key in efforts to fight climate change as 22 projects obtained the BCA Green Mark Super Low Energy Building Award.
-     Number of Non-Residential Building projects obtaining higher tier Green Mark certification (Green Mark Platinum and above) has doubled to 149 over the past five years.
-     CapitaLand is this year’s Green Mark Platinum Champion.

Singapore, 19 August 2020 – A total of 376 projects, including 16 overseas, have been awarded with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Award, this year. 22 of them have obtained the pinnacle level Green Mark Super Low Energy Building (GM SLEB) Award, including 3 Positive Energy and 3 Zero Energy buildings. To date, a total of 39 projects involving 50 industry stakeholders, have been accorded with the GM SLEB Award. More information on Green Mark certification and SLEB can be found in Annex A.

2          The upward trend of building owners going for higher tier Green Mark Certifications (Green Mark Platinum and above) is indicative of the industry’s awareness of the positive impact of green buildings and recognising them as key in our efforts to fight climate change. For example, the number of Non-Residential Building projects obtaining higher tier Green Mark certification (Green Mark Platinum and above) has doubled to 149 over the past five years. Major Singapore developers, such as CapitaLand, City Developments Limited (CDL) and Keppel Land have also been setting targets for reducing energy use and carbon footprint in their building portfolios.

Benefits of making investments for higher Energy Efficiency (EE)

3          EE measures adopted have been shown to reap net positive savings throughout the building lifecycle, with energy savings outweighing the upfront investment cost. An independent review of BCA’s Green Mark scheme carried out in 2019¹ assessed the total lifecycle cost across both residential and non-residential buildings. The study affirms that Green Mark certified buildings would be able to reap net positive savings throughout its lifecycle and the energy savings outweigh the upfront investment cost.

Green Mark Champion Award

4          CapitaLand Group has clinched the Green Mark Platinum Champion Award this year, setting a high standard among the Green Mark Champion winners. CapitaLand is the third organisation to achieve this feat. The award recognises developers who demonstrate strong commitment towards corporate social responsibility and have achieved a substantial number of Green Mark Gold buildings or higher. Refer to Annex B for more details on the Green Mark Champion Award.

5          The real estate group has also achieved BCA’s Green Mark Platinum SLEB certification for LogisTech, the first logistics building in Singapore to achieve this recognition. The four-storey building underwent a major upgrade to achieve higher energy efficiency standards. CapitaLand Group has separately accomplished the installation of 21,000 solar panels atop LogisTech and five other CapitaLand industrial properties in Singapore. It will enable CapitaLand’s corporate offices in three locations in Singapore to be 100% powered by renewable energy by end 2020 through Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) from the clean energy generated. As such, CapitaLand will reduce over 700 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year, equivalent to emissions generated annually from 400 four-room HDB flats’ electricity consumption.   

6          Aside to that, CapitaLand has installed a climate-friendly refrigerant chilled-water system at the newly developed Funan. This has prevented about five kilo-tonnes of greenhouse gas being emitted – equivalent to the emissions of about 1,500 cars. Over time, the energy cost savings from the improved energy efficiency would more than cover the initial cost of the equipment. CapitaLand has also secured S$1.2 billion in green loans which will be used to accelerate its efforts towards greening its global portfolio by 2030.

7          Ms Lynette Leong, Chief Sustainability Officer, CapitaLand Group said: “We place sustainability at the core of what we do, and we are heartened by BCA’s recognition as a Green Mark Platinum Champion. It endorses CapitaLand’s position as a responsible real estate company and a sustainability leader. Over the past decade, CapitaLand’s efforts in sustainability have reaped tangible benefits and other positive externalities for the Group. For example, we have achieved utilities cost avoidance of S$208 million since 2009 and captured interest savings from our sustainability-linked loans as a result of meeting our sustainability targets.”

8          Other winners of the Green Mark Champion Award are: National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore Police Force (SPF), UOL Group Limited and GuocoLand, who have shown their strong commitment to shaping a sustainable built environment. Refer to Annex B for more details.

BCA-HPBGreen Mark for Healthier Workplaces

9          Strengthening the good linkage between energy efficiency, resource efficiency and healthier interior spaces, BCA collaborated with Health Promotion Board (HPB) to develop the BCA-HPB Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces (GM HW) scheme in 2018. Placing occupants’ health, well-being and comfort at the forefront of office design and daily operations, GM HW seeks to create a supportive environment through the establishment of workplace health structures, policies and programmes. Further details in Annex C.

10       In achieving the GM HW certification this year, Space Lab One Pte Ltd stood out with their project, csuites. The project is the first co-tenanted workplace in Singapore to be awarded the Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces Platinum certification. csuites carries both green and health promoting features, including a biophilic design to promote mental well-being, active workspace elements, energy efficient lighting along with comprehensive Green Lease for all tenants. As part of csuites’ workplace health promotion efforts, a range of structured programmes covering mental well-being, healthy eating, physical activity and chronic disease management, are also made available to employees. More details can be found in Annex C.

Bringing BCA Green Mark overseas

11       The BCA Green Mark has received strong acceptance internationally since it was launched 15 years ago. To date, some 305 projects across 16 countries have attained the Green Mark certification. Singapore consultants such as GreenA Consultants (an environment sustainability consultancy firm) is exporting their expertise overseas to meet the strong demand for green buildings in other cities. GreenA is currently involved in 4 SLEB projects and has participated in more than 15 overseas Green Mark projects. Some of the firm’s notable international projects include New Bugesera International Airport (Rwanda) and Galleries Lafayette Shanghai (China). Refer to Annex D for more details.

Updates on the Singapore Green Building Masterplan

12        Since the beginning of 2020, BCA and the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) together with industry stakeholders have formed the Singapore Green Building Masterplan (SGBMP) Working Committee to collectively set a shared vision and aspirations for the next phase in Singapore’s green building journey. A vital part of the work has been to engage a wider group of stakeholders, beyond the traditional Built Environment stakeholders, in the co-creation process. This includes tenants and youth who represent the ultimate beneficiaries of a greener Built Environment as envisaged in the SGBMP. We continue to invite members of the public to share their views on green buildings through a survey and other digital platforms.²

13        The SGBMP Working Committee will continue to finetune the initiatives and proposed policy levers towards the SGBMP launch to push boundaries in building performance to mitigate climate change.

14        Mr Hugh Lim, CEO, BCA, said, “BCA would like to congratulate all Green Mark Award winners for their commitment to fight climate change by doing their part to raise environmental sustainability standards for all buildings. Aside from environmental performance throughout the building life cycle, the Green Mark scheme also takes into consideration building occupants’ health and well-being – an immediate concern now with the current COVID-19 pandemic. BCA would like to thank all in the Built Environment sector for your partnership and contributions to this long term effort. With your continued support, we continue to work collectively towards a greener and healthier built environment for Singapore.”

¹ Independent Consultancy Study on BCA Green Mark Schemes may be found at https://www1.bca.gov.sg/resources/guidebooks-and-publications/green-mark-for-independent-consultancy-study-on-bca-green-mark-schemes
² The public perception survey may be found at https://go.gov.sg/sgbmp-survey and other digital engagement platforms here

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Download PDF version of the Media Release here
Download Annexes here