at its best, Sentosa Cove, Singapore - Roof & Facade

PERSONALITY
value proposition of sustainable property development, management and investment, which in
the current climate, has never been more critical or made more business sense. However, I believe
the most critical part of my role is that of Change Manager - translating, educating and effectively
communicating, both internally and externally, about what sustainability is and how to deliver and
optimize sustainable development outcomes.
RFA: What are the challenges you face while implementing a new policy on sustainability? Are
these challenges different across regions?
Cate: The universal challenge in implementing new sustainability policies or projects relates mainly
to ensuring you gain the full engagement and support from all levels of the business or project
group that you are working with. To engage it is important to understand what others values are
– what does the sustainability value proposition look like to them? If your team is engaged and
supportive they will work with you to help you overcome barriers and will have the drive and
energy to be creative and innovative in their approach to delivery.
Working across regions, the challenge relates to navigating different legislative and building
approval frameworks. Being a global company, Lend Lease is exposed to this challenge regularly,
but through our strong stakeholder engagement, internal networks and participation in external
industry groups, like Green Building Councils, we are generally well placed to respond to regional
differences. This challenge also highlights the fundamental need for effective communication and
change in management skills.
RFA: What are your current projects in Singapore? Can you brief us on their sustainability
features?
Cate: We are really excited about the completion of our new ‘green emerald in the crown’,
313@Somerset, which we believe is one of the most sustainable shopping centers in Asia.
313@Somerset is situated on Orchard Road and is the first retail development in Singapore to
introduce Green Lease Agreements and have its carbon footprint performance assessed.
The development has implemented a number of key initiatives to achieve our environmental
sustainability objectives and contribute to our achievement of a Green Mark Platinum rating. Some
of the key features include:
• Use of solar panels to assist in powering the carpark lighting
• Cogeneration system, run from tenant waste cooking oil and biodiesel to produce electricity and
hot water
• Light Sensors have been incorporated to save energy in areas with natural daylighting, i.e. toplevel
Carpark and Atrium Corridors
• Use of recycled water for cooling towers and fire-sprinkler tank top up in addition to rain water
collection and reuse.
• Use of the sprinkler tanks in the basement to provide a thermal energy storage bank, which
enables chillers to work most efficiently and use less energy.
• Carbon footprint studies for the embodied and operational carbon of the development.
• Waste heat recovery, capturing the heat from the air-conditioning chiller to provide hot water for
the mall’s requirements.
• Vertical green garden features, watered by collected rainwater
We are also soon to commence Green Refurbishment projects at our other Singaporean retail
assets, Parkway Parade and PoMo. We would like to demonstrate the value in transforming our
existing buildings, making them more efficient and future proofing them against legislative change
and the rising resource costs of electricity and water.
We see the existing building market sector, particularly in Singapore, as an important part of our
business moving forwards – there is a great deal of opportunity locked up in our existing building
stock, particularly in our cities. Greening existing buildings is the quickest and most cost effective
way to reduce global carbon emissions and we have the skills and technology now, to deliver
significant emissions reductions.
Interview:
Cate Collins
Cate has been actively involved in the design, planning and
management of sustainability strategies across both the
public and private sectors. As the Head of Sustainability for
Lend Lease Asia Pacific, Cate is responsible for managing
the implementation of sustainability across the Lend Lease
APAC businesses, including Investment Management, Retail
and Communities, Lend Lease Development, Delfin Lend
Lease, Vivas Lend Lease and the Retirement By Design and
Lend Lease Primelife businesses, empowering and engaging
her team of Sustainability Managers and the businesses
in demonstrating the value proposition of sustainable property
development, management and investment, which in the
current economic environment, has never been more critical or
made more business sense.
RFA: What difference do you see in the sustainability policies ten years ago and now?
Cate: Sustainability in the real estate and property market has continued to grow and evolve over
the past ten years, making the sustainability sector a really dynamic and interesting field to work
in.
There are some clear trends that have emerged over the past decade, including a distinct shi
in recent years from a focus on delivering individual green buildings, which I think the industry
has made some amazing developments in, to a realization of the benefits and economy of scale
achievable through the development of sustainable precincts and green cities. Additionally,
there is now a clear acknowledgement of the importance of and value in, addressing our existing
building stock, through green refurbishment and urban regeneration projects.
Benchmarks and targets have also progressed and changed over the past ten years, becoming
more defined and are now more oen expressed utilizing the common language of green building
rating tools, whether it be Green Star in Australia or Green Mark in Singapore.
RFA: Could you tell us about your role as the Head of Sustainability at Lend Lease? A few lines on
your contribution to Lend Lease’s vision to become a sustainable organisation.
Cate: Sustainability is the core value at Lend Lease and our vision is to become a sustainable
organisation, which we believe can be realized through the implementation of our 23 Global
Sustainability Aspirations. (“hp://www.lendlease.com.au/sustainability” www.lendlease.com.
au/sustainability)
As the Head of Sustainability for Lend Lease Asia Pacific, I am responsible for managing the
implementation of sustainability across the Lend Lease APAC businesses, including Investment
Management, Retail, Development, our residential development business Delfin, our apartments
business Vivas and our Senior Living business, which now represents the largest share of retirement
and aged-care assets in the Australian market.
It is my job to empower and engage my team of Sustainability Managers and the various businesses
to work towards the achievement of our global sustainability aspirations and demonstrate the
RFA: What steps do you suggest that should be incorporated in order to realize the full potential
of these sustainability strategies/initiatives?
Cate: In a project, like 313@Somerest, there are a number of key factors that will contribute to us
realizing the full potential of the sustainability objectives and initiatives that we have integrated
into the Centre, including our end-to-end property delivery model, tenant engagement, and the
introduction of Green Leases.
As one of the few global, end-to-end property companies, Lend Lease has utilized its holistic
property know-how and integrated delivery model to enable us to manage the 313@Somerset
development from financing to design, through construction, to leasing and ongoing management
of the mall, maximizing synergies and outcomes more effectively across the life cycle of the asset.
With approximately 60% of the energy footprint of a retail shopping centre being directly
aributable to the activities and impacts of the tenancy fit-out and operation, we recognized the
need to actively engage with our tenants to change behaviors and fit-out practices. As a result of
their commitment to tenant engagement the Lend Lease Team has achieved the fantastic result
of not only having the Centre fully leased prior to opening, but they has also facilitated 99% of
tenants signing up to a Green Lease Agreement, helping to ensure ongoing commitment to reduced
environmental impacts and help in realization of the full potential of the green strategies.
Working with the tenants, the team provided information and assistance with sustainable shop
fit-out design, including lighting choices and an online retail fit-out energy use calculator. The
calculator translates lighting information directly into tenant energy savings, as well as translating
it into carbon footprint impacts. If the promise of leaving a beer world for their children did not
guide retailers, then dollars and cents certainly did.
RFA: What are the differences in the sustainability building policies in other countries in
comparison to Singapore?
Cate: I think Singapore is very progressive and has demonstrated its ability to be quite dynamic
and fast moving in terms of addressing the evolving issues of sustainable development. It has also
provided a proactive balance of incentives and regulation, due, in part, to Singapore’s governance
structure, but also testament to an engaged and aware government and private sector combined.
Other countries in the Asia-Pacific Region are not as fortunate in their ability to lead in this way.
The size and scale of other countries, lack of government and/or industry leadership and difficult
governance frameworks to navigate and create change quickly has also hindered the development
of other regions’ policy. However, some countries are making great inroads like Japan with Tokyo’s
mandated Cap and Trade Scheme for energy efficiency in commercial buildings, which is in line
with Lend Lease’s own advocacy position around our Efficient Building Scheme (hp://www.
lendlease.com/sustainability/index.html#/advocacy-detail ).
An important focus of my involvement with the work of the Green Building Council of Australia’s
Asia-Pacific Commiee and the subsequent establishment of the World Green Building Council’s
APAC Network ("hp://www.worldgbc-asia-pacific.org/" hp://www.worldgbc-asia-pacific.
org/ ) has centered on facilitating collaboration across our region to share knowledge, skills and
resources and work towards consistency in the way the green building industry moves forward.
RFA: How was your experience in the development of the Doncaster Hill Sustainability Guidelines
and the Moreland STEPS and Sustainability Design Scorecard?
Cate: I was incredibly fortunate to be able to work with two very progressive Local Governments
in Victoria, Australia, Manningham City Council and Moreland City Council, on the Doncaster
Hill Sustainability Guidelines and the Moreland STEPS and Sustainability Design Scorecard
respectively.
Doncaster Hill was one of the first projects to establish a strategically planned urban regeneration
of a sustainable urban village, providing guidance and development control through changes
to the local planning scheme ("hp://www.doncasterhill.com" www.doncasterhill.com ). The
project was intended to set a new benchmark and precedent in the planning and development
of sustainable precincts. The Sustainability Guidelines I had developed were incorporated into
the Planning Scheme and are still the only set of comprehensive Sustainability Guidelines in the
Planning Scheme in Victoria. The guidelines were developed before the advent of the Green Star
building rating tool, but have many of the key aspects covered by the Green Star framework.
Moreland City Council represented a different challenge - how to engage and facilitate sustainable
design and development for the lower end of the market, both to encourage industry willing to
improve sustainability outcomes and to bring up the laggards, resulting in the development and
implementation of the Moreland STEPS and Sustainable Design Scorecard projects ("hp://www.
morelandsteps.com.au" www.morelandsteps.com.au).
The project recognized the importance of consistent policy and regulation. To this end, Council
made the online tools available for use by anyone and through my facilitated training and
education/communication programs the tools were taken up by nine other metropolitan Councils
in Victoria.
The lessons learnt from both experiences are still very valid and applicable to my current role,
whether through advocating for legislative consistency and new sustainability benchmarks through
government or working with industry groups like the Green Building Council of Australia’s Asia-
Pacific Commiee or United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative Property Working
Group to promote industry led consistency. RnF
4 Roof & Facade Asia ASEAN Edition • Vol 7 No 70 69