2022 Summer Issue - 21

ments
deliver real-time monitoring. The
data created provides the " foundation
for future improvements, " she
says, adding that CBRE changing
its work practices to become more
efficient was as important as monitoring
and improving technology to
reduce energy use.
Susan Rao, associate director
and chief urban planner at Arup,
spoke about the low-carbon ecosystems
the firm was designing
for various projects in China and
elsewhere and their moves toward
carbon neutrality with efficient
design, on-site solar, and other
methods.
Singapore's Master Plan
The webinar series also followed
the experiences of two other Asian
cities of moving toward a net zero
carbon future. Kian Seng Ang,
group director of environmental
sustainability at Singapore's Building
and Construction Authority
(BCA), gave an overview of the
city-state's efforts to build a more
sustainable future.
Singapore has had green building
measures in place for 16 years;
however, they have evolved and
become more ambitious. Starting
with the launch of Singapore's
Green Mark accreditation system
in 2005, the city-state has moved
through a number of iterations
of its green building master plan,
culminating in last year's Singapore
Green Building Masterplan,
launched by the BCA and the Singapore
Green Building Council.
To create the latest master plan,
there was a consultation with
more than 80 built-environment
stakeholders and over 5,000 stakeholders
in the wider community
to create the master plan's shared
vision. Over 90 percent of the
stakeholders agreed that Singapore
needs to do more to tackle the
impacts of climate change and that
new measures need to be put in
place over the next five to 10 years
to make all new buildings " superlow-energy
buildings. "
However, the research revealed
that individuals were less keen to
take action themselves, with only
two-thirds agreeing that individual
actions such as making the choice
to live and work in green buildings
were an essential part of taking
climate action. Ang said: " Nevertheless,
it is a journey, and we will
continue to engage the end users
of buildings so they are fully committed
to the cause. "
The headline goal for the Singapore
Green Building Masterplan is
to achieve three key outcomes by
2030, summarized as " 80-80-80 by
2030. " This means that by 2030,
80 percent of the city-state's buildings
would be green, 80 percent of
new buildings would be extremely
low-energy-use buildings, and 80
percent would achieve energy efficiency
improvements from 2005
levels.
Driving Higher Standards
Singapore already has 49 percent
of buildings by gross floor area
rated as green and will raise this
percentage with a new incentive
scheme for existing buildings as
well as revising the Green Mark
scheme to drive higher standards.
In 2021, only 7 percent of new
buildings were rated as super-lowenergy
structures, so new publicsector
buildings will face increased
requirements, as will new projects
that are built on sites sold by
public land tender. There also will
be the incentive of up to 3 percent
more gross floor area allowed for
super-low-energy buildings.
In addition, the Singapore government
is funding support for
research and innovation for new
solutions and funding demonstration
projects that " are really pushing
the boundaries, " Ang said.
Data transparency lies at the
heart of Singapore's efforts. Commercial
buildings have been
required to report energy use since
2013; however, now that data will
be published and individual buildings
will be identified.
" Data is important because it
tells building owners how far they
are from the norm and we want
to use this as a lever to pressure
building owners to do more,
because when this information
goes public, there will be pressure
from stakeholders over why buildings
are not doing so well, " Ang
said.
The new Green Mark system
rates buildings on energy efficiency,
a key metric for Singapore, and
also building intelligence, health
and well-being, whole-life carbon
emissions, and ease of maintenance
and resilience.
Singapore is creating an online
green tech directory as a resource
to share knowledge and best
practices with built-environment
stakeholders, and to serve as a
super-low-energy building smart
hub.
Ang also highlighted the example
of Keppel Bay Tower, an office
building in Singapore that has
implemented several initiatives,
including installing improvements
such as solar panels, an energyefficient
air distribution system,
and an intelligent building control
system.
Link REIT
Calvin Lee Kwan, head of sustainability
and risk governance at Link
Asset Management, the manager
of Link REIT, Asia's largest real
estate investment trust, outlined
the actions that his company, as
a large property owner in Hong
Kong, is taking to move to net zero.
Link also owns assets in Mainland
China, London, and Sydney.
At present, 68 percent of the real
estate investment trust's portfolio
has achieved some sort of green
accreditation. Link is a subscriber
to the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals and the Principles
for Responsible Investment,
and other sustainability-linked indices
for listed companies.
" The way Link looks at sustainability
is that it's a dynamic balance
of governance, environment, social
issues, and, lastly, prosperity, "
Kwan said. This means transparent
disclosure, an ambition to minimize
the business's negative environmental
impacts, understanding and
measuring how Link creates social
value, and creating places that
people want to visit and where tenants
want to do business.
Link is focusing its sustainability
efforts on climate change resilience,
progress toward net zero, and
sustainability reporting. The first
involves an assessment of physical
and transitional risks, such as
SUMMER 2022
URBAN LAND
21
2022 Summer Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2022 Summer Issue
