SINGAPORE GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL
ANNUAL REPORT
2021
Introduction About SGBC Green Buildings and Sustainable Development A Part of a Global Movement President's Message
CONTENTS
SGBC Board (2021-2023)
3 4 5 6 7 9
Green Means Go
10 11 18 20 22 23
SGBC Certification
25
Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP)
26
Singapore Green Building Services (SGBS)
27
Green Mark Accredited Professionals (GMAPs)
28
Snapshot: 2021 Advancing Cross-Sector Collaboration For Members, By Members Accelerating Decarbonisation Alliance for Action on Sustainable Spaces
INTRODUCTION The impetus for green building and
More recently, Singapore has raised
sustainability has never been more
its climate ambitions to reach net
intense. The impact of the global
zero emissions by 2050, a major step
pandemic has shown the world that
up from the previous long-term goal
we can all work together towards a
to achieve net zero in the second half
common goal, which is very much
of the century.
needed
to
existential
tackle
the
crisis
that
urgent is
and
climate
change.
As
the
built
environment
is
responsible for more than 20% of the country's carbon emissions, there is
On the Singapore front, the launch of
immense opportunity and potential
the
for green building to make a positive
Singapore
Green
Building
Masterplan and Singapore Green Plan 2030
cements
the
island-state’s
convictions on sustainability, with a whole-of-nation effort designed to inculcate aspect
of
community.
sustainability the
industry
in and
every the
difference.
ABOUT SGBC The Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) enables sustainability across the
building
development
and and
construction innovative
value
chain,
solutions
championing
that
support
capability industry
transformation through our Membership, Certification and outreach programmes. The repository of proven green building solutions helps to enable green procurement in the industry, profiling leading and innovative solutions that go towards building a greener, healthier built environment. Together with a growing pool of industry-recognised Green Mark Accredited Professionals, SGBC addresses every touchpoint of the green building ecosystem.
Green Buildings & Sustainable Development Green building directly contributes towards the meeting of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, (UN SDGs), a global blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The SDGs address the global challenges including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. Sustainable spaces and green buildings help to address 9 Goals of the UN SDGs. SGBC’s efforts are intrinsically tied to the SDGs, helping to advance a greener, healthier and more sustainable built environment. While most (if not all) of SGBC’s programmes contribute to all 9 SDGs, certain events and programmes have a stronger focus on certain SDGs.
Accelerating Sustainable Built Environments for Everyone, Everywhere As part of the global green building community, SGBC is an Established Member of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), Singapore’s national representative to a network of close to 70 green building councils worldwide. The WorldGBC catalyses the uptake of sustainable buildings for everyone, everywhere, transforming the building and construction sector across the three strategic areas of climate action, health & wellbeing, as well as resources & circularity. The WorldGBC works with businesses, organisations and governments to drive the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Through a systems-change approach, the WorldGBC network is leading the industry towards a net zero carbon, healthy, equitable and resilient built environment. SGBC has been well represented on the WorldGBC platform, with SGBC Founding President Er. Lee Chuan Seng having served as a Board Member on the WorldGBC Board of Directors and SGBC 2nd President Mr. Tai Lee Siang taking on the mantle of the first Asian chair of the WorldGBC Board from 20162018. SGBC’s 5th President Mr. Tan Swee Yiow is currently representing SGBC on the WorldGBC Board of Directors, helping to advise and oversee WorldGBC’s organisational strategy and governance.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Dear Members, We are in exciting times. Not only has global attention on sustainability reached unprecedented heights, it has grown into one of the largest movers and shakers of modern-day society.
The green push is also very evident in Singapore, with the launch of both the Singapore Green Building Masterplan and Singapore Green Plan 2030 in 2021 that signals the Government’s strong commitment to sustainability. More recently, Singapore raised our climate ambitions to reach net zero emissions by 2050, a major step up from the previous long-term goal to achieve net zero in the second half of the century. With all these developments in place, going green is no longer languishing on the backburner, it is now front and centre. It’s been a year since taking over the reins of the Council from my predecessor Dr. Ho Nyok Yong, who has set in place strong foundations for SGBC to tide through the challenges of the new normal. With the strong, unwavering support from SGBC Members, SGBC was not only able to overcome the challenges of the pandemic but also managed to put forth several high-impact initiatives in 2021, many in close collaboration with like-minded organisations active in the greening of our built environment. Year of Cross-Sector Collaboration 2021 was very much the year of cross-sector collaboration for SGBC. We actualized many joint programmes and initiatives with SGBC Members from both the public and private sectors, all working together towards the common goal of driving built environment sustainability. While most of these efforts took on a digital slant, they have allowed SGBC to reach out to new segments of the built environment and helping to raise sustainability knowledge in those niches. Thanks to the industry’s support, SGBC delivered 42 digital events in 2021 which attracted more than 9000 attendees. SGBC also rolled out two major industry initiatives last year. In August 2021, the Singapore Built Environment Embodied Carbon Pledge was officially launched at the inaugural SGBC-REDAS Green Real Estate Trends Conference 2021 to help unify and amplify industry action towards addressing embodied carbon emissions, which will no doubt factor heavily into any corporate sustainability plan. To date, we have signed on more than 80 organisations from across the built environment sector as pledge signatories, all united in their commitment to shape a low-carbon built environment. SGBC has since unveiled a suite of programmes to help pledge signatories tackle their embodied carbon emissions.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE SGBC’s latest foray into the consumer space was launched in October 2021 as the Green Means Go green homes campaign. Green Means Go also aims to empower homeowners to make decisions to build green into their homes by establishing and maintaining a resource hub for green homes. Through a suite of interactive activations such as the Singapore Greenest Home Town Challenge and social media tips and tricks on building green in, we have reached close to 3 million people for the campaign, and will continue to engage with consumers and end-users as we solidify Green Means Go’s transition to a dedicated resource hub for green homes. SGBC Gives Back These initiatives, as well as many others that are detailed in this Annual Report, would not have been possible without the robust support from our Members and industry partners. In January 2022, we formally announced the SGBC Gives Back initiative, where we dedicate COVID-19 relief funds received from the Singapore Government back to SGBC Members to build up collective industry and community support for green building and climate action. This is our small way of showing our appreciation to our Members, and we are confident that the programmes made possible by the relief funds will advance the built environment to one that is greener, healthier and more sustainable for this generation and beyond. While 2022 may seem just like another 2021, we are now far better equipped and much further ahead than when the pandemic started. Digitalisation and technological innovations have helped to get the bulk of our business operations in ship-shape and ready for the new normal. Sustainability has also grown rapidly in importance and is fast taking centre-stage in our business focus. It is therefore an opportune time to consider what’s next and to forge ahead into a greener, more exciting future. The Singapore Green Building Council is ready to help you take the next step, no matter how large or small, in your sustainability journey.
Ar. Tang Kok Thye President (2021-2023) Singapore Green Building Council
SGBC BOARD (2021/2023)
SNAPSHOT: 2021
430 Corporate Members
3200 SGBP-Certified Products
800 Registered Professionals
8000 Subscribers 12000 Followers
42 Digital Events 9000 Event Attendees
ADVANCING CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION 2021 was very much the year of cross-sector collaboration with like-minded industry organisations, all working together towards the common goal of driving built environment sustainability. SGBC's
collaborations with government agencies are some of the longest-
standing, with annual events taking place to shed light on new industry legislation or highlight important trends and developments pertinent to the sector.
Building and Construction Authority (BCA) SGBC worked with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) to organise a sharing session that offered A Glimpse into the Singapore Green Building Masterplan. Featuring presentations and a panel discussion on the then-upcoming Green Mark 2021 certification standard, close to 1000 attendees from across the green building industry gained firsthand knowledge on the next big thing in Singapore built environment sustainability.
COLLABORATIONS WITH BCA After the Green Mark 2021 standard was formally launched in November 2021, SGBC kicked off the first session of its SGBC Green Mark Webinar Series that same month, dedicated to unpacking the standard and providing industry professionals with deeper insights into the
changes
to
the
Green
Mark
standard and understand the rationale behind these developments. On top of events specific to Green Mark, BCA also collaborated with SGBC to organise a webinar dedicated to Creating Sustainable Districts through Climate-Responsive
Design,
where
close to 200 attendees got a closer look at
environmentally-friendly
sustainable
practices
in
and master
planning, design and implementation of district-scale developments.
COLLABORATIONS WITH HDB-BRI AND JTC CORPORATION Housing Development Board – Building Resources Institute On the residential side of things, SGBC continued the annual tradition of holding a joint webinar with the HDB Building Research Institute (BRI) to highlight some of
the
key
developments
in
public
housing. HDB-BRI took the opportunity to share on Tengah Town, which is set to become the model for low-carbon, smartenabled and energy-efficient townships with a suite of green features and smart technologies.
SGBC
Members
also
chipped in with their unique perspectives and provided much insight into the future of smart and sustainable living.
JTC Corporation Industrial properties sometimes get the shorter end of the stick when it comes to environmental sustainability, but JTC has been hard at work greening Singapore’s stock of industrial properties. The JTCSGBC
Joint
Technology: Sustainability
Webinar: Bridging webinar
Leveraging
Digitalisation illustrated
& the
value that artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics can bring to the built environment.
COLLABORATIONS WITH SP AND SPM SGBC formalised collaborations with five institutional organisations - who are also Members of the Council -
in 2021, leveraging their strengths, expertise
and network to deep-skill industry professionals on sustainability knowledge. This allowed SGBC to broaden our reach and help the stakeholders of these industry organisations to enhance their own capabilities and capacities.
Singapore Polytechnic (SP) As
part
of
the
Understanding
Memorandum
(MOU)
of
cemented
in
December 2020, SGBC worked closely with
Singapore
conceptualise
Polytechnic and
(SP)
deliver
to
three
webinars that explored smart cities, electric vehicles as well as circularity. These
CPD
events
allowed
industry
professionals to widen their breadth of knowledge and gain more awareness of key built environment trends and their knock-on developments.
Society of Project Managers (SPM) To
help
project
managers
better
understand the impact of sustainability in
the
built
environment,
SGBC
collaborated with the Society of Project Managers (SPM) on two webinars: one on
Financing
Integrations
and
Renewable a
Energy
deep-dive
into
Jewel Changi Airport from a Project Management Perspective.
COLLABORATIONS WITH SIDS AND SCAL Society of Interior Designers, Singapore (SIDS) Priming SGBC’s foray into the interior design space, the Council worked with the Society of Interior Designers, Singapore (SIDS) on a webinar dedicated to exploring health and wellbeing in the built environment. As part of a twowebinar series devoted to the topic, SIDS anchored the session on putting health at the core of the new normal where SIDS provided perspectives from the angle of interior space organisation and utilisation.
Singapore Contractors’ Association Limited (SCAL) With the building and construction sector undergoing a paradigm shift, construction professionals need to stay abreast of technology and innovations to meet the rising call for environmental sustainability, starting from the worksite. SGBC co-organised a webinar with the Singapore Contractors’ Association Limited (SCAL) to shine the spotlight on green and sustainable construction, allowing contractors to get to know some of the solutions that can help to enhance sustainability on site.
COLLABORATION WITH REDAS SGBC-REDAS Green Real Estate Trends Conference 2021 Put together for the built environment sector in collaboration with the Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore (REDAS), the inaugural Green Real Estate Trends Conference 2021 was held virtually on 5-6 August 2021 to close to 400 participants from across the industry. Aiming to be the foremost thought leadership digital event for next-generation green building, the Conference opened with a keynote address by Mr. Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and convened on 3 key trends to provide
the
industry
holistic
and
actionable
pathways
sustainability objectives towards a low-carbon future.
to
accelerate
COLLABORATION WITH RAS Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS) Restroom products with Detect, Feedback, Eliminate & Clean (DFEC) smart features will now be certified under the Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP) certification scheme through a collaboration between SGBC and RAS. The new certification will leverage SGBC’s existing proficiency in green building product certification and complements RAS’ Happy Toilet Programme (HTP) grading system for public toilets to raise the standard of restroom products. The memorandum of understanding between the organisations was formally signed in-person on 19 November 2021 at the Lifelong Learning Institute during the 13th Let’s Observe Ourselves (LOO) Awards ceremony, graced by Guest-ofHonour Dr. Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment.
FOR MEMBERS, BY MEMBERS Throughout 2021, SGBC worked with our Members to conceptualise and deliver webinars intended to improve understanding and enhance knowledge of key developments in green building and built environment sustainability. Selected recordings and materials of these webinars are all hosted on the SGBC Digital Academy, an online learning platform that was launched in February 2021. The platform enables SGBC Members and GMAPs alike to access green building and sustainability material at their own time and pace, while providing greater longevity to the content covered during webinars. SGBC Webinar Partners: Armstrong Fluid Technology CapitaLand Green Building Council Australia HELVAR HSBC Singapore Schneider Electric UL Environment
SGBCONNECTS
Cosy, informal virtual sessions were organised throughout 2021 to update Members on key SGBC developments, news and announcements through the SGBConnects series of events. These include updates by the SGBC Secretariat as well as government agencies and other industry bodies. Delivered quarterly, these sessions served as an onboarding avenue for new SGBC Members while also allowing existing SGBC Members to be refreshed and updated on the expanding suite of value-added services that SGBC provides.
A
special
Christmas
edition
of
SGBConnects was held on 10 December 2021, where SGBC Members got to chat with one another through facilitated networking sharing Trends.
of
breakouts World
after Green
a
short
Building
ACCELERATING DECARBONISATION The built environment is responsible for 40 percent of global carbon emissions,
with
embodied
carbon
emissions
often
being
overlooked.
Embodied carbon emissions are associated with the full supply chain of all materials and systems put into any built environment project and cannot be improved over the lifetime of a building, unlike operational carbon emissions. To bring attention to this important issue
and
the
built
environment
sector's influence on embodied carbon emissions,
SGBC
launched
the
Singapore Built Environment Embodied Carbon Pledge on 5 August 2021 to help unify and amplify industry action.
ACCELERATING DECARBONISATION
More than 80 organisations have since pledged their commitment, including the
Ministry
of
National
Development,
government
agencies,
building
developers and owners, consultants and specifiers, builders and contractors as well as manufacturers and solution providers.
ALLIANCE FOR ACTION Together with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC), SGBC established in November 2021 a new Alliance for Action (AfA) on Sustainable Spaces to bring together stakeholders from across different sectors to create and enhance sustainable spaces. This collaborative effort is supported by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) and aims to help solution providers and adopters seize opportunities in the green economy. The AfA will focus on the supply and adoption of low emitting materials and furnishings in indoor spaces, where human beings spend up to 90% of their time. This is a key opportunity area in Singapore’s journey towards a green economy, with more to be done to raise awareness of the significance of indoor air quality on occupant health and wellbeing. The AfA convened in-person for the first time on 13 December 2021 at the Sustainability Experience Centre @ Nanyang Polytechnic (a project catalysed by SGBC), where the AfA members outlined key actions to dive into areas of public awareness, industry buy-in as well as potential standard applications.
GREEN MEANS GO
SGBC’s latest foray into the consumer space was launched in October 2021 as the Green Means Go green homes campaign. A public education initiative intended
to
help
homeowners
and
the
wider
public
have
a
better
understanding of green buildings and their benefits to human health and well-being, the campaign also seeks to empower homeowners to make decisions to build green into their homes. The campaign is driven by SGBC and supported by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) as well as the Housing & Development Board (HDB), in line with the Singapore Green Building Masterplan and the Singapore Green Plan 2030. A predominantly digital campaign, Green Means Go is anchored on a dedicated website at greenbuildings.sg, where the main engagement mechanics are housed along with an extensive set of resources to help homeowners and the general public learn more about green homes and sustainability. The
campaign
reached
nearly
has 3
collectively
million
people
online, across engagement from the campaign
website,
social
media
activations, influencer communities and collaborations with renovationcentric platforms.
GREEN MEANS GO Central to the Green Means Go campaign is the Singapore's Greenest Home Town Challenge, a digital activity that invites homeowners to share photos of their own green home efforts with other homeowners and to make their towns the greenest.
At the end of the activity period, more than 300 entries were submitted to the Challenge, collectively garnering more than 5000 likes and shares. Green Means Go’s second campaign activity – the Build Green In Home Planner – is now online to help familiarise homeowners with the types of green products that can be introduced into their homes.
CERTIFICATION
The Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP) and Singapore Green Building Services (SGBS) certification schemes continue to be relevant benchmarks of environmental performance for the building and construction sector. To better reflect industry developments and accommodate changes in green building technology, SGBC's certification programmes are constantly reviewed and refined. Catering to an increasing focus on the carbon data of building materials, especially concrete and steel, by sectoral demand drivers, the SGBP actively promotes the use of greener concrete with lower clinker content and steel with higher recycled content. The criteria for these product categories are undergoing rigorous review with the aim of transiting to a more direct measurement of carbon footprint emissions through placing greater emphasis on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Four notable SGBP categories were launched in 2021: Public Hygiene for Detect, Feedback, Climate and Clean (DFEC) products as part of the RAS-SGBC collaboration Reclaimed Aggregates for products composed of upcycled building and construction waste Ready-Mix
Concrete
(Carbon
Capture
and
Utilisation)
for
concrete
products that use carbon sequestration in production Smart Indoor Air Quality for devices that help to monitor and track IAQ conditions such as VOCs and formaldehyde
SGBP CERTIFICATION
Distribution of Certified Building Products
SGBS CERTIFICATION
Distribution of Certified Building Services
GREEN BUILDING PROFESSIONALS SGBC actively supports the men and women behind the greening of the Singapore built environment through the Green Mark Professional Qualification Scheme,
with
qualified
professionals
known
as
Green
Mark
Accredited
Professionals (GMAPs). The continuous professional development of the nearly 800 registered GMAPs is facilitated by a robust CPD framework maintained by SGBC and counts technical events (virtual and in-person), learning journeys, conferences and courses as qualifying activities. SGBC also works with other industry associations and organisations to cross-recognise relevant events for mutual CPD accreditation, allowing GMAPs with multiple qualifications to expeditiously fulfil professional renewal requirements. GMAP professions cut across the building and construction value chain, with the more conventional roles of architects, engineers, consultants, quantity surveyors
along
with
non-traditional
roles
such
as
property
developer
management personnel as well as representatives of government bodies and other trade associations/ chambers.
Distribution of GMAP Professions
SGBC DIGITAL ACADEMY
Since February 2021, GMAPs have been able to improve their technical knowledge through the SGBC Digital Academy, an e-learning platform designed to facilitate learning anytime, anywhere. The Academy provides on-demand access to green building knowledge, expertise and insights through a variety of digital formats, with more constantly being added to give GMAPs an extensive list of content to select and internalise at their own time.