CUBIC CoverDec08.indd - Colliers

GREEN BUILDINGS
The urban jungles of Asia are going green — and in a big way.
Cubic takes a look at some of the leaders of this modern-day revolution
and finds out how they make green grow for them. BY SHERALYN TAY
AS THE SPECTRE OF CLIMATE CHANGE makes itself felt across
the world, the call for environmental protection is being heard with more
urgency, gaining recognition from society at all levels. Far from being just
the battle cry of environmentalists and governments, corporations are now
taking on the fight for the environment.
In Asia, the importance and value of making buildings more sustainable
is increasingly being embraced. According to Mark Clifford, Executive
Director of the Asia Business Council, in a presentation given in Beijing in
June, there’s been a “notable increase” in the attention paid to the energy
efficiency and sustainability of buildings in at least 11 major East and South
Asian economies in recent years.
These observations were also made by Michelle Boyd, Conference
Director at Cityscape Asia 2008 held recently in Singapore. Asian countries,
led by Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and India, are introducing green
building ratings along the lines of systems operating in Britain and the
United States and the concept is catching on."
One such rating is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) used to benchmark the sustainability of buildings. The accreditation
programme looks at the design, construction and operation of buildings
from their site development, use of materials, water and energy efficiency to
the quality of the indoor environment.
Signalling the commitment of individual nations, Clifford also noted that
there are at least six economies – including Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea,
Hong Kong, and recently, China – that have initiated government-led green
building programmes, such as Japan’s Top Runner programme, which began
in 1998.
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