Aside from visiting sites in Singapore, officials tasked to assess the eco-friendliness of buildings now have to go abroad to calculate energy savings and examine architectural features.
As the Green Mark certification of Singapore earns recognition in other countries, more developers are striving to receive this stamp of approval for their projects abroad. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said there have been 74 applications since 2006.
The Green Mark rating “has gained popularity in the region because it is developed specially for the tropical climate,” said BCA. BCA officials have to go abroad when developers want certification for their properties located outside the country.
BCA introduced the Green Mark scheme five years ago. Buildings that conform to standards in areas like indoor environment quality and energy efficiency are qualified for the rating. The system is among the 21 recognised rating systems by the World Green Building Council.
Since 2006, the BCA has been accepting applications from foreign and local developers for overseas projects. These properties are based in China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Middle East, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Among the Malaysian developers that have subscribed to the scheme include Sime Darby Property, Sunway City, and Ken Property.
Ken Property has won a Green Mark stamp for its three projects. The company turned to the Green Mark scheme since there was no option in Malaysia during that time. “The Malaysian Green Building Index (GBI) had not yet been launched, so we went ahead with the BCA rating first,” said Sam Tan, executive director of the company.
One of the projects is the Ken Bangsar, a 15-storey residential building located in Kuala Lumpur. The building, which saves about 640,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year, has recently received a Green Mark Gold Plus Award. It had another assessment and won a GBI Gold award when Malaysia introduced its own green building system.
Sunway City has received Green Mark ratings for its five properties and it intends to get certification for its other projects. The scheme is suitable and well established for the tropics, the company said.
Many developers in Singapore have also sought certification for their projects abroad. These include CapitaLand and Keppel Land.
When asked if BCA intends to promote the Green Mark scheme overseas, it said it is open to provide services abroad to help develop quality built surroundings. “Green Mark certification is one of the most popular services requested,” said BCA.