A STUDY OF PROGRESS IN GREEN BUILDING DEVELOPMENT IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

In view of increasing energy consumption, the Singapore government set forth an island wide effort to support Singapore’s aspiration to be the leading city in environmental sustainability. In 2009, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) targets to green “at least 80% of the buildings by 2030”. However, it has been 10 years and only 27% of Singapore total gross floor area has been ‘greened’. Therefore, it is necessary for green progression to be in pace with IMCSD’s target now that there is 15 more years to 2030. This dissertation investigates and predicts the future progress of ‘greening’ building stock, and ascertains barriers limiting the progress of green development. To meet the research objectives, a thorough examination of current market sentiments regarding the progress of greening buildings in Singapore, in the context of government’s contributions and push in promoting the Green Mark Scheme in Singapore, is reviewed. It is carried out by computing green development figures, interviewing stakeholders of the industry, and surveying tenants. It is concluded that Singapore government will not be able to achieve their target of 80% of green buildings by 2030 based on the current progress of ‘greening’ building stock. The results obtained also reflect other barriers limiting the green development which are not addressed by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). In brief, BCA needs to understand stakeholders’ barriers periodically to keep the progress of green development on track as it serves as a checklist on their next movement to further green developments.