Eco-friendly, low-energy buildings are already being built by developers and business owners across the world for no or a slightly more cost. Not only are green buildings sensitive to the environment they also deliver measurable benefits to businesses and individuals in the form of cheaper energy bills and increased comfort and productivity.

By Chris Mulcairn

In the United States, buildings account for_____________

65% of electricity consumption,
30% of greenhouse gas emissions,
30% of raw materials use,
30% of landfill waste and
12% of potable water consumption

Source: www.globalgreen.org

The Impact of Buildings
Ask someone to imagine a significant agent of environmental damage and most will picture a factory belching toxic smoke, a tanker spilling gallons of oil or loggers ruthlessly destroying acres of rainforest. However, the biggest polluters on the planet are buildings.

Buildings account for over half of total energy use in the developed world and over half of climate-change gases. In addition, most have a useful life of less than a century – at which point they need to be replaced thereby using more resources and generating more waste. As awareness of this issue grows, so does the interest in and support for environmentally friendly design and construction practices – with architects, legislators and developers all striving to create buildings that are cleaner, healthier for occupants and the environment, and which deplete fewer resources.

Fundamental Factors
Green buildings can differ dramatically depending on individual circumstances such as location, climate, purpose and cost but in general they all share certain fundamentals:

1. Energy Efficiency Buildings make their biggest impact on the environment through the energy they consume over their lifetime, so in most cases the priority is to design and build for increased energy efficiency. This can be done via improving insulation, utilising skylights & high-performance glazing, using renewable sources of energy, and designing for passive solar gain/minimal heat loss (or vice versa in hot climates).
2. Choice of Materials Buildings are vast consumers of materials so eco-friendly design involves reducing material use and waste, utilising salvaged/recycled materials, avoiding toxic materials, and sourcing local materials to minimise transportation pollution.
3. Site Impact Eco design means being sensitive to the land by minimising disruption to the existing habitat, adopting sustainable approaches to landscaping, and using Brownfield over Greenfield sites.
4. Water Use & Efficiency Conserving water is an increasingly important issue and can be achieved through using water efficient plumbing systems and appliances, collecting rainwater and recycling “grey water”.
5. Longevity & Flexibility Prolonging a buildings useful life will help minimise the impact it has on the environment over time. This can be done through restoring existing buildings, enhancing flexibility so buildings can be adapted to suit future needs and designing new buildings to be durable and easy to maintain.

Collective Effort
Another key challenge according to Mr Cheong Yew Kee, chairman of the Singapore Institute of Architects Green Practice Committee is to ensure that the entire building chain is immersed in green thinking. “To make it work, sustainability needs all the key industry players; architects, clients and consulting engineers to embrace it; and contractors need to understand what it is to build green”.

Mr Cheong believes that Singapore is one country that has begun to embrace the concept with green design now part of the norm rather than the exception, “inevitably some are ahead of others but it’s very much driven by the market. Developers are asking for it, Fortune 500 companies moving to Singapore are asking for it and if you do not have this expertise you are left behind grasping for answers”.

As principal of local firm 2B Architects Mr Cheong emphasises his own design philosophy to both staff and clients alike - “to touch the earth lightly”.

World Green Building Council
Governments and authorities are also responding to the issue by encouraging eco friendly practices and establishing green guidelines for the design & construction industry.

The not-for-profit World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is an international coalition of Green Building Councils (GBC’s) that represents the worldwide construction industry and whose mission is to accelerate the transformation of the built environment towards sustainability. With over twenty existing members it represents well over 50% of global construction activity and influences thousands of companies and organizations.

Each national GBC implements a range of programmes designed to foster a culture of environmental stewardship within the industry. One common example is the development of green rating systems for buildings such as those found in the USA (LEED), Japan (CASBEE), Australia (Green Star) and the UK (BREEAM).

Rating Systems
Other countries choose to pursue their own green building schemes and standards through a combination of government policy and industry-led initiatives. Singapore, for example, has developed a Green Building Masterplan and Green Mark rating system through its Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

The Green Building Masterplan incorporates a range of initiatives designed to engage, enable, enforce and incentivise stakeholders in pursuit of achieving a sustainable built environment.

The Green Mark provides a comprehensive framework for assessing building performance and environmental friendliness. Buildings are awarded the BCA Green Mark based on five key criteria:

• Energy Efficiency
• Water Efficiency
• Environmental Protection
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Other Green Features

Green Landmarks
Just 14 buildings have been awarded the highest Platinum Green Mark which is given to exemplary green projects that can demonstrate at least 30% energy and water savings as well as environmentally sustainable building practices and features. One such recipient is the 43-storey Ocean Financial Centre (OFC) which is being built by local developer Keppel Land.

Designed by leading architectural firms Pelli Clarke Pelli and Architects 61 the building incorporates a host of eco-friendly design features. The building’s eco-friendly features will provide energy and water savings of 35% and 37% respectively, translating into a monetary saving of $1.8million annually.

As a sign of their long-term commitment towards going green, Keppel Land have also established an Environment Management Committee (EMC) who oversee the development of environmental policies, implement environmental programmes and publish an annual Sustainability Report. With no fewer than 6 Green Mark awards under their belt already and exciting projects such as the Tianjin Eco-City underway (a landmark project between Singapore and China to build a fully sustainable city) it’s clear that Keppel are one of the regions trailblazers in the green building revolution.

Ocean Financial Centre’s Eco-Friendly Design Feature The largest roof solar panel system in Singapore (400 sqm). A cooling tower system which uses recycled water. Extensive vertical greening and roof gardens to improve air quality. A rain water harvesting system for irrigation. Glass with state-of-the-art coating to maximise light & minimising heat gain. Lifts that utilise a regenerative drive system to reduce energy consumption. Use of recycled timber. An “Eco Office” temperature and lighting control programme for tenants to reduce energy consumption during off-peak hours. An integrated paper recycling facility for offices to recycle paper waste.