Speech By Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister For National Development, At The Singapore Green Building Council Gala Dinner 2025 On 11 July 2025, 7pm, At Orchard Hotel Singapore

Friday, 11 July 2025

Good evening. I am happy to join all of you tonight at the Singapore Green Building Council Gala Dinner.

Over the past two days, the Singapore International Green Building Conference 2025 has generated valuable insights and strengthened partnerships. I hope these exchanges will spark new collaborations and unlock fresh opportunities to advance the greening of our buildings.

Green buildings bring benefits to the environment, businesses, and our quality of life

As climate change intensifies, green buildings have become more critical than ever in achieving Singapore's national climate goals. They help reduce embodied carbon through sustainable construction materials and lower operational carbon through energy-efficient designs.

Green buildings also offer compelling commercial benefits. Developers typically recover their investment in new Green Mark Super Low Energy commercial buildings in about 5 to 6 years, with energy cost savings continuing throughout the building’s lifespan. According to recent research by Cushman and Wakefield, Green Mark Platinum certified office buildings can command up to 12 percent higher rents compared to lower-rated buildings, giving their owners a competitive edge.

Green buildings also enhance our quality of life. Green Mark-certified buildings integrate well-designed features and technologies intended to enhance the wellbeing of its occupants, for example, improved thermal comfort, better ventilation to improve air quality, and greater accessibility to nature.

Steady progress in greening our buildings

Singapore must continue to press on with the efforts to transform our built environment, and strive towards a more sustainable future. On that front, we are making good progress towards our “80-80-80 in 2030” targets in the Singapore Green Building Masterplan.

First, we aim to green 80 percent of our buildings by Gross Floor Area by 2030. As of last year, we have greened 61 percent of our buildings. Second, we target for 80 percent of new developments to be Super Low Energy buildings from 2030. About a quarter of the new buildings met this standard last year. Third, we are working towards best-in-class green buildings achieving 80 percent improvement in energy efficiency from 2005 levels by 2030. As of last year, we are at 72 percent and progressing well.

This year is especially significant as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the BCA Green Mark scheme. Over the past 2 decades, we have certified over 2,500 buildings. Building owners are also saving $1.3 billion every year in energy costs. To put this in perspective, the 4.2-billion kilowatt hours of energy saved is enough to power one million four-room HDB flats for an entire year. This is a remarkable achievement that we can all be proud of. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners, many of whom are here tonight, for all your support over the 20 years of our Green Mark journey.

Recognising the key partners in our Green Mark journey

From pioneering sustainable design solutions to implementing cutting-edge green technologies, you have helped establish Singapore as a regional leader in sustainable urban development.

This evening, I would like to acknowledge SGBC for its 16 years of outstanding partnership with BCA. SGBC’s support in certifying green building products, services, and professionals, and advancing the global green building movement has been invaluable to Singapore's sustainability journey.

I would also like to thank our industry leaders in Singapore's green building movement. In particular, nine developers from both public and private sectors, who will be recognised later this evening. Through their efforts and commitment, they have consistently championed sustainability throughout our Green Mark journey.

Alongside them, 11 buildings have maintained a high Green Mark rating through repeated certifications over the two decades. Collectively, these 20 developers and buildings are saving more than $200 million in energy costs every year, demonstrating that improving sustainability and doing what is good for the environment can also be good for business and economic competitiveness.

Our environmental sustainability design firms and various professionals have been crucial in realising our green building aspirations. Please allow me to share two examples.

At Arup, Ms Elaine Tan leads the sustainability team and has successfully delivered over a hundred sustainability projects, including developments like CapitaSpring and Paya Lebar Quarter. Through her collaborative approach towards design implementation, Elaine transforms ambitious sustainability goals into tangible achievements, establishing herself and her firm as a driving force in Singapore's green building movement.

Next, is Mr Joseph Loh, founder and CEO of G-Energy. He has directed more than 400 energy conservation projects. Under his leadership, G-Energy has become renowned for its tailored approaches to energy efficiency. Joseph’s commitment to knowledge sharing has established him as a respected authority across Asia-Pacific, exemplifying the leadership needed to drive the region's green transformation. And I believe there is still quite a bit of scope for the region to adopt green and sustainability projects, technologies, and also for green buildings to be more widespread.

We will continue to support the transformation and upgrading efforts of our firms, as well as the development of industry professionals like Elaine and Joseph, to make the Built Environment sector even more vibrant and dynamic.

Supporting access to technology and finance to develop more green buildings

Ladies and gentlemen, as we commemorate two decades of Singapore's green building achievements, the road ahead requires us to think out of the box, be bold and keep a positive attitude in continually pushing boundaries and raising our ambitions.

Today, I am pleased to announce two initiatives that will help to drive wider adoption of green buildings.

The first is our updated Built Environment Decarbonisation Technology Roadmap. This collaboration between BCA, SGBC, A*STAR, and industry stakeholders, advances the work that was first initiated by our 2018 Super Low Energy Building Technology Roadmap.

The updated roadmap identifies more than 50 technologies and strategies to reduce operational and embodied carbon. Key strategies include maximising natural ventilation, adopting alternative cooling technologies, and implementing AI-controlled building energy optimisation systems.

As we work towards our 2050 net-zero ambition, this roadmap will guide our research and innovation efforts. We are starting a series of public consultations on the updated roadmap, and I encourage all of you to share your views and feedback with BCA, to help us strengthen this roadmap further.

Our second initiative focuses on expanding the financial sector’s role in supporting Singapore's green building journey. Banks have pioneered many green finance solutions, such as green loans and sustainability-linked financing. At the consumer level, local banks have introduced Green Mark-linked home loans to stimulate awareness and demand.

To take sustainable finance even further, the World Green Building Council and OCBC will publish a report that aligns green building rating tools from Asia-Pacific countries, including our BCA Green Mark, with the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance.

This report is developed by the World Green Building Council Asia Pacific Network, which includes SGBC. It shows how we can harmonise our efforts towards a low-carbon, resilient future. By establishing clear links between national schemes and regional guidelines, we can help unlock global capital flows and scale up investments in decarbonisation and green building projects.

It also provides valuable insights into our Built Environment sector’s readiness, highlights emerging opportunities, and outlines how policy, industry, and financial levers can accelerate the adoption of sustainable finance.

Conclusion

To conclude, the green building movement in Singapore has come a long way over the past two decades. Our journey must continue. With your continued partnership and shared commitment, I am confident that we can meet our sustainability targets and build a greener, more sustainable built environment for generations to come.

I wish you all a pleasant evening. Thank you.