Understanding Green Building Construction in Singapore

Abstract:
Given the pressing environmental issues that is plaguing the world in the 21st century coupled with the global changing of the climate each day, Green Building Construction is starting to be more recognized among counties. Most countries around the world are looking more towards sustainable development in the long term. Such is the case of Singapore as it established various schemes and initiatives to address the environmental degradation problems that it is facing at the moment. In this paper, I will be elaborating the approach that has been undertaken by the Singapore Government in its efforts to developing Green and sustainable buildings in Singapore. From up to date, the initiatives were quite successful but there are still certain limitations which will be addressed at the later part. No doubt that Singapore has enjoyed some success in the area of Green Construction, it will still be imperative for Singapore to continuously improve itself and maintain its success should it want to keep its competitive advantage internationally in the long run.

Key words: Green Building Construction, Climate change, sustainable development, environmental degradation, continuous improve

Contents Page | | Abstract | 2 | 1.0 | Introduction | 4 | 2.0 | Research Methodology | 6 | 3.0 | Benefits of Green Construction | 6 | 4.0 | Singapore’s Commitment to Green Construction | 8 | 4.1 | Green Mark Scheme 2005 | 8 | 4.2 | Green Mark Rating Score | 9 | 4.3 | Green Mark Scheme Success thus far | 11 | 5.0 | Launch of Green Building Masterplan 2006 | 11 | 5.1 | Improvement of Green Building Masterplan 2009 | 12 | 5.2 | Revision to Green Building Masterplan 2014 | 13 | 6.0 | Non-Profit Organisations | 14 | 6.1 | Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) | 14 | 7.0 | Limitations of Green Construction | 15 | 7.1 | High initial costs for raw materials used in carrying out Green Construction | 15 | 7.2 | Unforeseen technical difficulties during the process of construction | 15 | 7.3 | Inadequate Communication between Project Manager & Various key personnel | 15 | 8.0 | Conclusion | 17 | 9.0 | References | 18 |

1.0
Introduction:

Buildings have lasted for decades and are recognized as one of the largest contributors towards energy consumption in the world, accounting for 40% of the energy worldwide and emitting about 30% of the total greenhouse gases (UNEP, 2011). Such increase in greenhouse gas emissions will inevitably lead to global climate change in the long run as it causes a large amount of carbon dioxide and other gases to be released to the atmosphere. The construction of such buildings will also lead to environmental degradation as more toxic materials are being used in its construction at times. This is why more Green and environmentally-friendly buildings are developed around the world.

Simply to mean, the aim of these countries is to create buildings that use resources such as energy, water and low-maintenance products for construction needs efficiently and do not pose any environmental threats as well as health issues to the public throughout the building’s life cycle. In return, these buildings will be able to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (WCED, 1987). Therefore, it can be seen that construction of Green buildings will lead to promoting a sustainable built environment in the long term.

This is evident in the case of the resource-scarce Singapore as she takes on the role to be a leading global city in environmental sustainability (BCA, 2010). For the past few decades, Singapore has undergone a rapid transformation from being a developing nation to one of the world’s most developed nation and city-state in terms of its efficient economy and infrastructure. Its vision is to develop both a competitive economy as well as pursuing a sustainable built environment in order to enhance the quality of life and attract more overseas investors which will in turn boost the overall economy in the long run.
Some of the concerted efforts that Singapore has made in its commitment to Green and Sustainable construction includes the implementation of the Green Mark Scheme in 2005 for buildings as well as the launch of the various Masterplans starting from 2006 and the ongoing Green initiatives by Non-Profit Organizations. First up, the introduction of the Green Rating system was an initiative to drive Singapore’s building and construction industry towards environmentally-friendly buildings by implementing some standardized criteria for the industry to follow during the construction of new buildings or retrofitting existing buildings.

Subsequently, this is followed by the launch of the first Green Building Masterplan in 2006, the second in 2009 and the third one in 2014 so as to lead the Green movement in the building industry. (BCA,2009b). Non-Profit Organisations such as the Singapore Green Building Council(SGBC) have also made a conscious effort to raise awareness about the importance of Green Building Construction in Singapore. All these collaborative efforts have contributed to the success of Singapore in protecting and conserving the environment thus far and it seems to suggest with the continuation of such efforts, Singapore’s long term sustainability goal can possibly be achieved. In the subsequent sections, I will be elaborating more about the Green Mark Scheme, the respective masterplans and the On-going Green initiatives as well highlight some limitations of Green Construction before concluding. 2.0
Research Methodology

A comprehensive literature review has been conducted in order to obtain relevant information on the subject matter, ranging from past and current newspaper articles, journals, articles and eBooks so that I am able to have a basic understanding of the nature of Green Construction, do a thorough analysis and a critical evaluation on the subject matter in Singapore. These information is indeed useful in helping me to consolidate my ideas and present it to you concisely in this paper.

3.0 Benefits of Green Construction

Before Green Construction, occupants of the building could be experiencing certain health-related problems that may lead to employee discomfort such as certain allergies, sneezing or drowsiness due to poor Indoor Air Quality. Therefore, these buildings are associated with this “Sick Building Syndrome”. However, after Green Construction is completed, there is an improvement in the overall Indoor Air Quality of a building which results in the comfort level of the employees being increased and previous heath problems have been shown to be greatly reduced with a generally satisfied rate from most building occupants. Therefore, work productivity is increased.

Secondly, research has also shown that occupants' satisfaction with lighting and air quality is higher than their thermal and acoustic satisfaction (Leaman and Bordass 2001). That is why upon Green Construction, these requirements have been met and these greatly increase the occupants’ job satisfaction rate when working in such an environment as well as the quality of work life. Certain studies have reflected that some of the features of Green Buildings such as the integration with nature or having social interaction spaces for occupants help to reduce stress of the building occupants and an improvement in the sense of belonging to the place.

Thirdly, occupants of the building will also be encouraged to engage in environmentally-friendly practices such as practicing Reusing, Reducing and Recycling materials in their work areas. These occupants who are constantly exposed to such practices will bring back these experiences back to their friends and family in their neighbourhood community, thus having a positive influence on the overall wellbeing of the community. This will lead to an improvement of the public health in the long run.

Lastly, with Green construction, there will be potential energy savings and a reduction in operating costs as well as the reduction in carbon footprint produced by the building itself. For example, an office building Cambria County, Pennsylvania, projected potential savings of $843,759 over the study period (GBA, 2003a). This will ensure that buildings will be able to remain sustainable long term and all these will contribute to our efficient infrastructure which will attract more overseas investors to our country for future development, boosting the growth of our overall economy.

4.0 Singapore’s Commitment to Green Construction

4.1 Green Mark Scheme 2005

The pursuit for greener buildings begins with the introduction of the BCA Green Mark Scheme in 2005 as a rating tool that models partly on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED) guidelines in the United States (US). It helps to evaluate the environmental impact of a building and gives recognition to its sustainable performance which is specially designed for tropical climate buildings such as those in Singapore. The aim of Green Mark is to focus largely on reducing both energy and water consumption of buildings so that the operating costs of the building can be greatly reduced over the long years ahead.

Before beginning any assessment, all developers as well as government agencies have to submit an application form to the BCA. BCA will then breakdown their evaluation criteria to them and need them to submit certain documentations as proof to validify their submissions. Subsequently, external auditors will specially go down to the site to inspect their claims. Once the assessment has been completed, the respective organizations will be awarded with the Green Mark Certification Award. However, this award is only valid for them for 3 years. After which, the buildings are required to undergo a reassessment in order for them to maintain the status.

The Green Mark Rating Score is shown below.

4.2 Green Mark Rating Score Green Mark Score | Green Mark Rating | 90 and above | Green Mark Platinum | 85 to <90 | Green Mark GoldPlus | 75 to <85 | Green Mark Gold | 50 to <75 | Green Mark Certified |

The Green Mark Rating Score is the assessment rating for both Residential and Non-Residential buildings. For residential buildings, they will be awarded a maximum of 140 points and those of non-residential buildings will be 190 points based on a set of criteria that comprise of environmentally-friendly features shown in the next section. Simply to say, most of the criteria are targeting the building performance in terms of sustainability and their direct consequence to the state of the environment around them. Under the scheme, there are five key environmental rating criteria namely:

Energy efficiency | This category focuses on the approach that can be used in the building design and system selection to optimize the energy performance of buildings. Some major features that are included are having renewable energy efficient features, artificial lighting, thermal performance of building envelope, natural ventilation, lifts and other energy efficient features. | Water efficiency | This category focuses on the adoption of water efficient fittings and features that would reduce the use of potable water during building operations. Some major features that are included are water efficient fittings, water usage monitoring and irrigation system and landscaping. | Environmental Protection | This category focuses on the design, practices and selection of materials and resources that would reduce the environmental impacts of built structures. Some major features that are included are sustainable construction, sustainable products, greenery provision, green transport and stormwater management. | Indoor Environmental Quality | This category focuses on the design strategies that would enhance the indoor environmental quality that includes air quality, thermal comfort, acoustic control and daylighting. Some major features that are included are noise level and indoor air quality management. | Other Green features | This category focuses on the adoption of green practices and new technologies that are innovative and have potential environmental benefits. |

Source: GM certification (BCA 2012)

4.3 Green Mark Scheme Success thus far

As of 1 September 2013, about eight and a half years after the introduction of the certification programme, Singapore has more than 1,650 Green Mark certified building projects totaling some 49 million square metres and accounting for 21 percent of total existing building floor space. (BCA, n.d.). There is also a recent study by researchers at the National University of Singapore who found that a sample of office buildings designed to meet Green Mark standards shaved about 11.6 % off the total operating expenses on average while boosting a building's capital value by 2.3 percent. (Ives, 2013). Moreover, it was also found that the Green Buildings that have been constructed thus far amounts to about more than a fifth of the floor area in Singapore.

The amount of success accumulated thus far has encouraged the government to set even more ambitious goals such as aiming to have a further 35% reduction in energy consumption of our buildings by 2030 and having 80% of our buildings to be not only energy and water efficient but also having a healthy indoor environment for its occupants. BCA will continue to support the building owners by working closely with them in post-occupancy verifications. This is to ensure that the green features of the building properly are following the regulations and standards that are stated under the Green Mark Scheme.

5.0 Launch of Green Building Masterplan 2006

After the implementation of the Green Mark Scheme in 2005, Singapore’s first Green Building Masterplan was formulated by the BCA in 2006 as an effort to encourage environmental conservation in Singapore. Various financial schemes were implemented to incentivize developers and agencies to raise the awareness of constructing green buildings. For example, in 2006, there was a $20 million Green Mark Incentive Scheme for New Buildings being implemented to incentivize the various stakeholders who have attained Green Mark Gold rating or higher in their newly completed building. The Masterplan also helped to form the basis of the Research and Development in environmental sustainability, helping to gear the construction industry towards a sustainable “garden city” that we have envisaged with a high quality living environment in Singapore for occupants.

5.1 Improvement of Green Building Masterplan 2009

The improved second Green Building Masterplan was launched in 2009 which incorporated a set of minimum legislated standards for existing buildings as well. For instance, retrofitted buildings is still mandatory to hit the minimum criteria for the Green Mark Certified rating after they have done any renovations or upgrading of their existing building features. New Public Sector buildings that have air-conditioned floor areas of more than 5000 m2 are required to attain the Green Mark Platinum award and existing Public Sector buildings with air-conditioned floor areas of more than 10000 m2 have to achieve the Green Mark Goldplus rating by 2020.

Certain incentive Schemes were provided by the National Environmental Agency (NEA) to aid the Public Sector such as the Energy Efficiency Improvement assistance scheme (EASe) which subsidize up to 50% funding for the various agencies or companies to carry out the energy assessments of buildings. Another scheme which is the Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies (GREET) provides 50% funding up to a cap of $2,000,000 per project so as to alleviate the financial burden of developers and agencies to use new Green technologies for Green Construction. The Private Sector also has incentive schemes to incentivize them for their efforts in environmental sustainability. For example, a $100 million Green Mark Incentive Scheme for Existing Buildings is introduced to the Private Sector for them to construct or retrofit more Green Buildings. All these schemes are meant to promote the emphasis on Green Construction to be used in the Construction Industry in Singapore, thereby showing our commitment in developing a sustainable city for all to live in.

5.2 Revision to Green Building Masterplan 2014

The third Green Building Masterplan was launched in 2014 as a revision of the previous plan to focus on the tenants and occupiers of small and medium enterprises this time round. The aim is to be the leading country in the world in Green Building Construction and the plan to go about doing it is to integrate both the Public & Private sectors to develop and implement new initiatives such as innovating new Green technologies or coming up with ideas to further reduce the energy consumption of high and low-rise buildings. BCA will continue to provide its underlying support to this commitment and more professionals will be constantly trained to be groomed into specialists to manage these buildings properly. Some examples of initiatives that have been carried out thus far to engage the tenants and occupiers will be encouraging them to engage in sustainable practices such as switching off lights when not in use in the office, using energy-efficient kitchen equipment in restaurants, implementing energy-efficient lightings that do not strain one’s eyes in retail stores, recycling materials such as cardboards in supermarkets’ operations etc.

Therefore, with this Masterplan in place, Singapore will be able to adopt more energy-efficient measures for its buildings. Furthermore, more efforts have been placed into Research and Development to profile Singapore as an international leader in the area of green development. For instance, there is this Green Buildings Innovation Cluster (GBIC) that is set up which will be given funding of S$52 million for it to come up with projects that have adopted new technologies to increase energy efficiency. All these efforts are being done so that Singapore can continuously seek to improve its Green Construction knowledge to steer the construction industry to greater heights and to keep the built environment a wonderful place to live in the long run.

6.0 Non-Profit Organizations

6.1 Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC)
Non-profit organizations such as the SGBC also made a conscious effort to promote Green and sustainable practices and technologies in Singapore. In a way, they help to complement the Government’s existing efforts. One example of a successful initiative is the Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP) Certification Scheme and the Green Schools Initiative (GSI). The SGBP was launched in 2010 to increase the standard and use of green building products, such as concrete and structural materials and the GSI commenced in 2013 to give ideas to schools to help them integrate with the Green theme of beautifying their environment. With the effective launch of date till now, response has been well-received for both initiatives. Hence, it is necessary to build onto these efforts and keep up the good work.

7.0 Limitations of Green Construction:

7.1 High initial costs for raw materials used in carrying out Green Construction
There is a high initial cost when one is planning to construct Green Buildings due to the sophisticated design as well as modeling costs needed to integrate green practices into projects (Zhang et al.,2011). This is further corroborated in an estimate provided by Tagaza and Wilson (2004) which states that capital costs for green projects range from 1 to 25% higher. Therefore, the high costs will directly add on to the financial burden of the Project Manager as he only has a fixed amount of budget that he can work with for the entire construction project. Should he decide to allocate more budget to Green raw materials, other components of the project may be compromised and eventually might lead to a project cost overrun if not handled properly.
7.2 Unforeseen technical difficulties during the process of construction
Sometimes during the construction phase at the ground site, there might be unforeseen technical issues such as the workers being unfamiliar with the use of certain equipment or the Green technology to construct the building. This can be attributed to insufficient training being provided to the workers or simply the lack of technical expertise or knowledge as green technologies are usually more complex as compared to conventional technologies (Tagaza and Wilson, 2004).
7.3 Inadequate Communication between Project Manager & Various key personnel
Usually in the construction of a building, there are many different key personnel that is managed by the Project Manager such as the engineers, suppliers, subcontractors, workers as well as answering to the various stakeholders who have different interests in the project. New information pertaining to Green construction may not be disseminated quickly enough by the Project Manager to the key personnel at the site in time so there might be instances of miscommunication happening. For example, the Project Manager may require certain sustainable practices to be carried out at the site but these might not be carried out due to inadequate communication. 8.0
Conclusion
Over the years, Singapore has established a series of long-term objectives to balance between rapid economic development of infrastructure and environmental sustainability. Its vision of becoming a clean and Green city has much success thus far and this is contributed by the continued efforts of many different parties such as the Government, Private Sector as well as Non-Profit organisations like the SGBC. It will be important to build onto these efforts so as to maintain the success that we have built thus far. For example, new revisions of the Masterplans can continue in the near future so that there might be new breakthroughs in the area of Green development. Efforts placed in Research & Development must continue so that there will be possible and viable solutions for the above-mentioned limitations. With the combined efforts of all parties, I believe that Singapore will not be too far from its goal of becoming a top class city state in the world very soon.

9.0
References

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