Green Mark Scheme Hits 20Th Anniversary Over 2500 Buildings Certified
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) celebrated the 20th anniversary of the BCA Green Mark certification scheme. This green building rating system, which assesses a building’s environmental impact and performance, was first introduced in January 2005 and had 17 certified buildings in its first year.
According to a joint press release by BCA and SGBC, as of March this year, 2,590 buildings have achieved the Green Mark certification, resulting in an annual energy savings of 4.2 billion kWh. This is equivalent to powering one million four-room HDB flats each year and cost savings of $1.3 billion.
At the SGBC gala dinner on July 11, a total of 20 commemorative certificates were presented to nine partners and 11 projects in recognition of their significant contributions to Singapore’s green building journey. Some notable partners included City Developments, CapitaLand, Mapletree Investments, Keppel, and Lendlease.
The Green Mark scheme has undergone several revisions, with the latest, the sixth edition, launched in 2021 alongside the Singapore Green Building Masterplan (SGBMP). The SGBMP sets the “80-80-80 in 2030” target, aiming to have 80% of buildings by gross floor area (GFA) certified as green, 80% of new developments by GFA to be super low energy (SLE) buildings, and 80% improvement in energy efficiency compared to 2005 levels for best-in-class green buildings by 2030.
As of December 2024, 61% of buildings have been greened, and close to 26% of new developments have been certified as SLE buildings. Moreover, best-in-class buildings have achieved a 72% improvement in energy efficiency over 2005 levels.
At the SGBC gala dinner, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat announced two initiatives to promote the adoption of green buildings in the future. The first is the development of a new Built Environment Decarbonisation Technology Roadmap, which outlines key emerging technologies and areas for research and development to improve energy efficiency in Singapore’s built environment. Building on the 2018 Super Low Energy Building Technology Roadmap, the updated plan identifies over 50 technologies and strategies to reduce operational and embodied carbon.
The second initiative is the publication of a report that bridges the gap between green buildings and sustainable finance in the Asia Pacific (Apac) region. This report, supported by OCBC and the region’s green building councils and published by the World Green Building Council, will align green building rating tools from Apac countries with the Asean Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance.
“By creating clear connections between national schemes and regional guidelines, we can facilitate global capital flows and increase investments in decarbonisation and green building projects,” said Chee.
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