With buildings consuming up to 40% of energy produced, they are also one of the biggest potentials for savings through improvements in energy efficiency. Regulatory frameworks are now coming into place to promote the development of green buildings, with Singapore introducing valuation guidelines to make tangible the economic benefits of going green for building owners and tenants. These are initiatives are receiving increasing adoption as nations, and developers like Lend Lease are moving towards making green buildings part of the recipe for global environmental sustainability. Read more

By Jenny Marusiak in Eco Business.com (16 October 2012):

Properly pricing green buildings

Singapore’s building industry is finally putting a price on the benefits of green buildings with the introduction of a new valuation guideline announced on Friday.

The Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) and building regulator, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), announced the new guidelines on the final day of last week’s three-day International Green Building Conference at a breakfast briefing for 250 high-level professionals from the industry.

The new green building valuation guidelines will be included in a revised version of the SISV’s industry guide to be released next month and will provide information on how to evaluate the cost benefits of green features such as energy and water efficiency.

“The new valuation guideline assists to keep valuers up to date and ensures that they adopt a more consistent approach when recognising the full value of energy-efficient buildings,” said the head of Valuation Advisory Services for global property firm Jones Lang LaSalle, Tan Keng Chiam, in a statement.

Singapore’s property sector has had no standard way to reflect the impact of green building features on property values until now.

Recent studies, including one published last year by BCA and the National University of Singapore, have shown that renovating commercial buildings to make them more energy efficient leads to an increase in their asset value because of their lower operating expenses.

The SISV’s president of Valuation & General Practice, Doctor Lim Lan Yuan, said that the industry needed ways to accurately identify, evaluate and price such benefits because of the increasing number of green buildings on the market.

He noted that developers incurred higher costs when adding green features to buildings, saying, “The issue is whether these costs will be offset by improved occupancy, higher rents or savings in operating expenses associated with an energy-efficient green building.”

Of the many studies that have been done globally, “practically every one indicated an increase in sales premiums,” he said, citing one study of office buildings in the United States that found double digit increases in both rental prices and occupancy rates for energy-efficient buildings.

The SISV, which lists nearly 1,500 individual professionals on its website database, said it would provide workshops and updates to its members to improve their understanding of green building valuation. In addition, BCA will be providing training programmes for valuers.

BCA chief executive Dr John Keung said at the briefing that the valuation guidelines would have a big impact on valuers and building owners alike.

“It will also further drive home the message that green buildings can enhance asset value and make economic sense,” he added.

Source: www.eco-business.com

Green buildings can be norm, says property boss

By Cheryl Lim In Straits Times (13 October 2012):

ECO-friendly buildings that benefit tenants and the wider community are here to stay, said the regional boss of one of Australia’s biggest developers.

Mr Rod Leaver, chief executive of Lend Lease’s Asia operations, said sustainability has long been a fundamental part of the firm’s business outlook and has shaped its projects in Singapore as well.

Lease has several developments here, including Parkway Parade and Jem,a mall in Jurong slated for completion next year.

One of its best-known projects is the 313@Somerset shopping mall, which Mr Leaver cited as an example of an eco-friendly property that can help change attitudes towards the environment.

We educated the tenants about the lighting and power consumption… and we work with them to identify innovative new products and help them to understand that you don’t have to have the brightest shop in the mall,” he added.

While encouraging the adoption of new technology is one way to change mindsets, Mr Leaver also highlighted the company’s Green Lease tenant programme.

He said: “The tenants are obliged under the lease to deal with their waste by separating it or sorting it. Other than minimising waste, we monitor each shop’s energy consumption and work with the tenants and incentivise the through lower energy costs.”

He also noted there were intangible advantages to green buildings. He described how the company’s internal research has found that workers in buildings with access to fresh air fall sick less often than workers in older, less eco-efficient properties.

While more developers are constructing greener buildings, Mr Leaver noted that there needs to be a proper framework to motivate all players in the market.

He said: “In Australia and the United Kingdom, it’s a very advanced market in green buildings. You just would not be able to not build a green building because that’s the standard now.

“If we want to end up with all the buildings in Singapore rated as Green Mark Platinum buildings, it’s going to need more than just a small handful of developers; it needs the Government framework to drive that.”

He also noted that Singapore is leading in the green-building sector within the region.

He said: “The other countries are playing catch-up now but they have the right intentions and they are putting in place regulatory frameworks now.”

Source: www.straitstimes.com