Proceedings W113 - Special Track 18th CIB World ... - Test Input

ased on a point scoring approach. Depending on the score, the rating is categorized in four levels,namely, Platinum, Gold Plus, Gold and Certified. It enables the benchmarking of the building'senvironmental performance and allows comparison between buildings. According to BCA, the GMSis a benchmarking scheme which aims to achieve a sustainable built environment by incorporatingbest practices in environmental design and construction, and the adoption of green buildingtechnologies (BCA, 2007).Under the GMS, with effect from 15 April 2008, it was made a mandatory requirement to obtain atleast the minimum rating (“certified” rating) for following types of buildings 9 :All new building works with gross floor area of 2000 m2 or more;Additions or extensions to existing buildings which involve increasing gross floor area of theexisting buildings by 2000 m2 or more;Building works which involve major retrofitting to existing buildings with existing grossfloor area of 2000 m2 or more.The second is the Energy Smart Labelling Scheme developed by the Energy Sustainability Unit ofNational University of Singapore (NUS) and the National NEA, which was launched in December2005. It is the first energy efficient building labelling scheme in Asia. The “Energy Smart” labellingis given to the top 25% most energy-efficient buildings that also demonstrate good indoorenvironmental quality. It recognizes developers and owners who design and maintain efficientbuildings and is also a benchmarking scheme, where building owners can compare the energyefficiency of their buildings against a national benchmark. It is a pre-requisite for an existingcommercial building to achieve the Energy Smart label in order to win the Platinum Award, thehighest award, under the GMS.In addition to the above, some of the other mechanisms that have been put in place include:Building Energy Efficiency Master Plan (BEEMP), formulated by the BCA. It details thevarious initiatives taken by the BCA to fulfil a number of recommendations made by theInter-Agency Committee on Energy Efficiency (IACEE), which comprises senior officersfrom various government agencies (which was formed in 1998), on strategic directions toimprove the energy efficiency of the buildings, industries and transport sectors. Carrying outenergy audits of selected buildings, review and update of energy standards, introduction ofenergy efficiency indices and performance bench marks and the introduction of performancecontracting (also known as 'third party financing' or 'contract energy management, this is ameans of raising money for investments in energy efficiency that is based on future savings)are among the key recommendations made by the IACEE which are to be implemented underthe BEEMP.9 The Building Control (Environmental Sustainability) Regulations 2008.6