The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is planning to implement a new law in Singapore to get homeowners to renovate their properties in a more environmentally-friendly manner.
With only 8 percent of nearly 210 million sq m of existing floor area of establishments in the country have been “greened”, the new law is expected to be implemented in two to three years. It will cover all existing buildings, office and commercial buildings and hotels.
Singapore is hoping to achieve its goal of renovating 80 percent of establishments by 2030. More than 450 buildings in the country are part of the Green Mark Scheme, a BCA programme that has promoted sustainable development since 2005.
BCA hopes to get existing buildings to meet minimum Green Mark standards that are now imposed on all new establishments. A Green Mark Incentive Scheme amounting to $100 million for Existing Buildings was introduced to encourage owners to do the necessary retrofits in upgrading their buildings.
The URA has a grant covering additional floor area to encourage the private sector to continuously develop buildings with higher-tier Green Mark ratings. Dr. John Keung, chief executive officer of BCA, said, “We haven’t gone very far yet but we’re looking at whether there are interested developers, good consultants, designers to re-design the buildings to retrofit the buildings.”
Additionally, the Singapore Contractors Association is raising environmental awareness to its members through a new two-day workshop programme, which it hopes to bring to other countries in five years. “What the association has done is come up with an initiative to promote a certification scheme called SEC SCAL Eco certification scheme for members and this is to look at reducing carbon footprint for members,” said Andrew Khng, president of SCAL.