Committee of Supply Debate 2010: Green Building Policies under the Ministry of National Development

Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development gave her speech during the Committee of Supply Debate under the Ministry of National Development (MND) yesterday. The speech addresses policies related to green buildings in Singapore:

Greening Our Buildings

19 Mr Cedric Foo has asked how HDB estates can be more sustainable. Our existing HDB estates have designs which facilitate cross-ventilation and natural lighting. For new estates, we will continue to incorporate environmentally friendly features and green technologies. For example, HDB is pushing forward the installation of solar photovoltaic panels (PV) at four precincts at Tampines, Bukit Panjang, Tanjong Pagar and Marine Parade.

20 HDB, together with Town Councils, also aims to reduce the energy consumption of common areas in new and existing HDB estates by 20% and 30% respectively. This is done by introducing features such as energy efficient light fittings and lift systems.

21 In addition, HDB has piloted centralised recycling chute systems in our existing estates (Blk 297C and 297D Chua Chu Kang). The results of the pilot study were encouraging, with about 3 times more recyclables collected as compared to conventional door-to-door collection method. With the plan to position Punggol as an Eco-Town for the tropics, such technologies will be explored for testing on a larger scale in Punggol.

22 Our sustainable development efforts must extend beyond our public housing estates. In April 2009, the Government released Sustainable Singapore Blueprint which outlined our efforts to improve our overall energy efficiency by 35% from 2005 levels by 2030. All sectors, including the building sector will need to play their part towards meeting this target.

Raising Minimum Standards for New Buildings

23 By the end of this year, we will raise the mandatory minimum energy efficiency standard for Green Mark certified level for new buildings by 10% from today’s standard. Correspondingly, the energy efficiency standards for other Green Mark levels, i.e. Gold, GoldPlus, and Platinum will be raised. Building owners can enjoy cost savings in the long run by being more energy efficient.

Mandatory Submission of Energy Data

24 To better understand energy consumption patterns, and to monitor the effectiveness of our energy efficiency measures, BCA will require building owners and utilities companies to submit energy and other building related data such as Gross Floor Area (GFA) and specifications of building systems on an annual basis starting from 2011. Building owners can also use the information to pro-actively improve their buildings’ energy efficiency.

25 Going forward, BCA will consult the industry on the possibility of mandating a minimum energy efficiency standard for existing buildings.

Source: MND

Green Buildings China 2010

March 22, 2010

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March 25, 2010

Event Venue: Grand Hyatt Shanghai

Event Website: www.ibc-asia.com/greenbuildingschina

Enquiry: info@ibcasia.com.sg

Booking Hotline: +65 6514 3180

• Be updated on latest updates on green building initiatives and policies in China
• Keep abreast of key accreditation schemes for green buildings in China
• Identify abundant opportunities from up-coming sustainable cities such as the Tianjin Eco-city
• Learn how you can leverage on Eco-tourism
• Gain indepth understanding of the ROI of green buildings and learn about the latest financing options and models in project financing for the built environment
• Understand how you can achieve utmost energy efficiency in buildings
• Get an insight on maximizing renewable energy utilization in green buildings
• Discover the latest trends and issues associated with sustainable and alternative building material

2010 China Sustainable Building Forum

March 23, 2010

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March 25, 2010

Society of Entrepreneur Ecology (SEE) – Top Non-profit Environmental Protection Organization

Initiated China Green Build Movement Meeting in Shanghai

Organized by Society of Entrepreneur Ecology (SEE), China Urban Realty Association (CURA) and China Philanthropist Network, China Green Build Movement was initiated at Chateau 599 on January 5, 2010 in Shanghai. This meeting has obtained positive response from all participants including Zendai Group, Greentown, Landsea，Forte Land Co., Sunny World，Shanghai ZK-Group, Dasso Industrial Group, Somfy China, Shanghai QingYing Sun-shading Technical Development Co., NVC Lighting Technology Corporation, Tongji University and China Green Building Council Jiangsu Branch etc, covering the real estate development, green material, energy saving technology, research organization and other related industries. All participants accepted this campaign unanimously and agreed on supporting the movement. Read more

Asia Eco Green Building Congress 2010

May 12, 2010

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May 14, 2010

The 2nd Annual Asia Eco Green Building Congress 2010

May 12th – 14th,2010 ︱Renaissance Hotel Pudong Shanghai, China

Asia Eco Green Building Congress 2010 is the most high-level summit concerning green building community across Asia. Inspired by the great success of inaugural Asia Eco Green Building Congress 2009, it will be held for the second annual on Pudong Renaissance Hotel Shanghai, China on May 12th – 14th, including one day pre-conference workshop and two full day conference. This event is endorsed by Building & Construction Authority, HK Green Building Council, HK-BEAM, Hong Kong Association of Energy Service Companies （HAESCO）,World Association of Chinese Architects （WACA）, India Green Building Council, China Green Building Council, as well as great support from Dongtan Consulting, and Econet. Read more

World Toilet Summit and Expo 2009

World experts to deliberate on issues of sanitation and toilets

World Toilet Summit returns to Singapore since inauguration in 2001

World experts on sanitation and toilets will converge in Singapore in December to deliberate on almost every aspect of this once-taboo subject.

High on their agenda will be the urgent issue of bringing sanitation to 2.5 billion people who live without having toilets, a market worth an estimated US$1 trillion.

The occasion will be the three-day World Toilet Summit and Expo 2009 (WTSE 2009) to be held from December 2-4 at Suntec Singapore. It will be opened by Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister (Prime Minister’s Office).

The ninth in the series, the event is organised by the locally-based World Toilet Organization (WTO) founded by Singaporean Jack Sim in 2001, and MP Asia, in partnership with Asian Development Bank (ADB). It has the strong local support of the Economic Development Board (EDB), PUB – The National Water Agency, the Restroom Association (Singapore), Singapore Institute of Architects, Singapore Institute of Planners and Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau. Read more

The Brightest Building at Night Competition

The Brightest Building at Night Competition (BBN) is the first competition in Singapore to select the best buildings with the brightest outdoor and facade lighting at night from 1am to 6am.

Phase 1 of the competition will focus on the commercial buildings in the Central Business District. The organiser of the competition welcomes interested photographers to take photographs of the brightest buildings at night from 1am to 6am, and submit the entries for the competition.

Judges will vote for the brightest building based on the entries and the top 10 buildings will receive recognition. The winning building management will receive a commendation prize for their persistent efforts in lighting up the Singapore night sky even when there is no one around to look at the lights.

The photographers of the winning entries will each receive a special prize. Details on the competition start date and registration will be announced soon.

Image credit: olimohd

Sustainable Cities 2009

November 17, 2009

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November 18, 2009

Venue: The Regent, Singapore

Sustainable Cities 2009 will bring together international experts and leaders on urban planning, design and city development to discuss sustainable solutions and opportunities for cities of the future.

Taking place in Singapore on the 17-18 November 2009, and held as part of the Singapore International Energy Week, this is a timely platform to discuss the commercial growth opportunities that have emerged from the Singapore Government’s Clean Green Blueprint.

The agenda is packed with business critical sessions and interactive panels ranging from topics on leading edge sustainable cities to upcoming project investment opportunities. This is an excellent opportunity to network and identify new business opportunities in the property sector.

Website: www.sustainablecitiesasia.com

Enquiry: info@ibcasia.com.sg

Possible Environmental Crises Facing Singapore and Appropriate Responses: The Case of the Poh Ern Shih Buddhist Temple

September 8, 2009
10:00 am	to	11:30 am

Venue: ISEAS Seminar Room II

Speaker: Mr Lee Boon Siong, Honorary President and Director, Poh Ern Shih Temple

The Poh Ern Shih Temple (Temple of Thanksgiving), built in 1954, is an ecologically friendly Buddhist temple located at Chwee Chian Hill, off Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore. In 2000, the Directors decided that the temple had to be redesigned to deal with the rising costs of water, electricity and an over-dependence on fossil fuel. It was noted that environmental degradation had been increasing over the decades and that adopting ecologically friendly technologies was the way to go in the age of rising global temperatures and climate change.

This seminar will focus on Poh Ern Shih Temple’s efforts to protect the environment. The temple takes advantage of Singapore’s abundant sunlight to produce: (i) Electricity by employing three different kinds of solar energy cells – Polycrystalline, Monocrystalline and Amorphous Cells (ii) Hotwater from Solar Heat Collector Cells in Solar Panels, and (iii) Night Lighting of its landscaping and common corridors with batteries charged by electricity collected from hybrid sets of wind/solar energy units.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s abundant rainfall has made it possible to (i) Irrigate the temple grounds (ii) Generate electricity via the deployment of Micro Hydrogenerators for charging the batteries of in-house motorized wheelchairs and lighting for its landscaping and common corridors as well as (iii) Conserve, collect and convert the rainwater to drinkable water by deploying Reverse Osmosis Techonology in Portable Filtration/UV Units available overseas in the event of natural disasters.

Finally, the temple is able to leverage on the abundance of a renewable resource, bamboo, (i) to reduce the culling of our valuable forests by deploying bamboo for all the temple’s new furniture wherever possible since it is readily available from neighbouring states and is a 5-year renewable resource as compared to a 100 year old or 300 year old oak or teak tree and (ii) to reduce the pollution from the steel industries, by making all its in-house new wheelchairs from bamboo.

For details and registration, visit the ISEAS website.

Source: ISEAS

High-Performance Green Buildings, Malaysia

October 12, 2009

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October 14, 2009

Organised & Managed By: My Events International

Augmenting savings, profitability and productivity through sustainable designs

Although green building initiatives in Malaysia are still at infancy stage, yet the awareness of its financial and tangible benefits is increasing. The need for lower operational cost is the main reason for companies to adopt green concepts.

The government is also committed in promoting green concepts with the establishment of Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry, under the leadership of Datuk Peter Chin. In addition, according to Works Minister, Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor, future government buildings will be incorporating green concepts. The launch of Malaysia’s very own green rating tool, Green Building Index, has brought sustainability development in Malaysia to a higher level. Read more

How to Green the Clothes Hanger with bloomerHang

bloomerang Pte Ltd is a young start-up in Singapore, founded by Directors Thian Zhiwen and Wong Joon Ian. The company is driven by the belief that business can address social and environmental challenges through sustainable and innovative practices. To put their belief into practice, they created the bloomerHang, a clothes hanger that is made locally from recycled corrugated cardboard and printed with eco-friendly soy inks.

Dry-cleaners, laundromats and other businesses give out hundreds of thousands of wire and plastic hangers every year. Imagine the resources saved if these hangers were replaced with the bloomerHang, which is 100% recyclable and is collected after use for recycling. The bloomerHang also acts as a new environmental advertising platform, which provides environmental messages or targeted marketing opportunities for businesses, and helps to keep the price of bloomerHang competitive so that they are attractive to laundromats, drycleaners and other distributors.

This young company demonstrates that it is possible to green a normal insignificant product, through eco-conscious design and greening the production process, and most importantly, adding functional and aesthetic value beyond its current purpose. The new bloomerHang hanger is not only made from sustainable material and processes but also provides a valuable platform for environmental messages and advertising from eco-conscious businesses. And best of all, it still hangs.

Find out more about bloomerHang at www.bloomerang.com.sg.

Source and image credit: bloomerang Pte Ltd

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