Mr John Lim, Chairman BCA,

Dr John Keung, CEO BCA,

Distinguished guests,

Good morning.

Updates on Green Building Masterplan

1 Three months ago, I announced three key initiatives under the BCA’s Green Building Masterplan to promote green building technology and the BCA Green Mark scheme. This is in line with our aim to deliver a world class built environment for our people and to enhance Singapore’s position as a distinctive global city.

2 To recap, firstly, the public sector will take the lead. From 1 April onward, all new government buildings or existing ones undergoing major retrofitting will have to be Green Mark certified. HDB has embarked on this move in January 2007 by requiring all new public housing developments to be Green Mark certified.

3 The second initiative was the $20 million Green Mark Incentive Scheme. This is to encourage private sector buildings to achieve the higher Green Mark ratings of Gold, GoldPLUS or Platinum. I understand that the response has been good. The number of private sector projects going for the Green Mark certification has more than doubled, increasing from 13 in 2005 to 33 this year. And for the first time, we are likely to see at least two private buildings achieving the highest Green Mark Platinum rating.

4 The third initiative was the $50 million MND R&D Fund. This Research Fund was launched in January this year to support R&D in enhancing the quality of our built environment. Green building technology is a key research focus of this Fund. We have received overwhelming response in our first call for research proposals. Over 60 proposals were received, coming from a good mix of academia, government agencies and private firms.

More Need to be Done

5 These three initiatives would help to steer the real estate and construction sectors towards higher standards of environmental sustainability. But we will do more. Let me elaborate.

6 Need for Switch to Sustainable Construction. We have a big building programme in the pipeline and it must be in a sustainable way. The recent Indonesian ban on export of concreting sand and the disruption in granite supply serve as timely wake-up calls. We must quickly make a switch to sustainable construction. Instead of relying on concrete as the main construction materials, we have to make use of alternative materials, including steel, other metals, glass and composites. We should also promote the recycling and re-use of construction materials.

7 We can learn from the experience of countries like the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Germany and Netherlands. Today, only about 5 percent of our buildings are constructed using steel. In the U.K. and the U.S., at least 50 percent of the commercial buildings have steel structures. Presently, most of our construction and demolition waste are either used for filling up excavations or simply dumped. In Japan, Germany and the Netherlands, it is mandatory to recycle and re-use such waste for construction works.

Greater Push for Green Buildings

8 To meet these challenges, BCA will introduce new measures to push for more green buildings.

9 Legislation of Green Mark. First, as I have announced in Parliament earlier this month, we are looking at mandating requirements on environmental sustainability for new buildings and existing ones undergoing major retrofitting works.

10 Currently, the Building Control Act has mandatory Envelope Thermal Transfer Value or ETTV requirements for air-conditioned buildings. Over the years, this has helped to prevent the proliferation of inefficient air-conditioning systems in our buildings. However, ETTV requirements do not apply to “non-air-conditioned” buildings such as residential, institutional and industrial buildings, which were largely naturally ventilated in the past. Given the increasing use of air-conditioning in these buildings, it is necessary to review and enhance the current regulatory framework to ensure that it stays relevant in our current state of economic development.

11 We intend to go beyond energy efficiency to promote environmental friendliness. We are considering amending the Building Control Act to impose minimum requirements on environmental sustainability that are equivalent to the Green Mark certified standards for new buildings and existing ones that undergo major retrofitting. While a green building is likely to involve higher development cost, on a life-cycle basis, the savings gained from operating a green building would more than offset the higher upfront cost. With widespread adoption of green building technologies, the construction cost will also decline.

12 Public and Consumers Education. While we can mandate minimum requirements on environmental sustainability for our buildings, the demand for high quality green buildings should be consumer-driven. It is hence important to educate our consumers, be it homeowners or office tenants, on the benefits of green buildings in terms of lower energy and water consumption, and better indoor environmental quality. Ultimately, it is consumer demand that would motivate developers to go beyond the mandatory basic requirements to develop a highly sustainable built environment.

13 BCA is rolling out a comprehensive outreach programme to educate the public on the benefits of green buildings and sustainable construction. As part of this programme, I am glad to announce that BCA is launching an Info-Portal to promote Green Mark as the standard for local buildings. This portal will have useful information on green features and their benefits, as well as provide a guide of the various green buildings in Singapore. Once our consumers are convinced of the benefits of green buildings, we will see a surge in demand for high standard green buildings in Singapore.

Conclusion

14 The various initiatives that I have announced demonstrate Singapore’s commitment to achieve high standards in environmental sustainability. The proliferation of green buildings will be yet another attribute that can help make Singapore an endearing home, and a distinctive global city. Thank you.

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