Thursday, 29 October 2009 00:00 [ manilatimes.net ]
By Ben Arnold O. de Vera, Reporter
Singapore: Fiscal incentives and support from the banking sector should be put in place to boost the viability of constructing sustainable or “green” buildings and conversion of existing ones, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said. Arab Hoballah, UNEP’s chief of the sustainable consumption and production branch, told reporters that governments play a big role in advancing the concept of sustainable buildings in their respective jurisdictions.
“Governments must create frameworks [to promote green buildings],” he said.
Hoballah said a “good fiscal system” would bolster private firms to switch to more environment-friendly practices.
“Incentives are costs for governments now, but for a long period of time, savings for the government,” Hoballah added.
He also suggested that banks and financial institutions should allow enterprises to pay for their loans using funds earned from the sale of carbon credits or the value of the company’s savings on energy.
But Hoballah said the government should not be the only active player in advancing sustainable buildings.
“The government should not do it alone. It needs the industry. A combination [of public sector and private sector efforts] is extremely important.”
At present, Hoballah said the greater interest in putting up green buildings come from the private sector since more private businesses are realizing that savings drawn from energy efficiency matter.
“Less energy [expenses mean] more money [can be] used elsewhere,” he said.
Hoballah said many governments are unaware that maintaining buildings entail high costs. The best practices in green buildings are voluntarily adopted by governments and could not be imposed on anyone, but the UNEP official hopes that governments also see the light, and possibly, put in place laws or programs to promote sustainable buildings.
This was illustrated in Singapore where there is an increase in the awareness for green buildings in Singapore—which was spurred by government initiatives and incentives.
In a presentation during the International Green Building Conference 2009, Lam Siew Wah, deputy chief executive officer of Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA), said the First Green Building
Masterplan the island-nation launched in 2005 was spear-headed by the government and coupled with the provision of incentives for the private sector.
According to Lam, the Singapore government allocated 20 million Singapore dollars for its Green Mark Incentive Scheme, 12.2 million Singapore dollars of which have already been dispensed to 61 projects.
“This incentive scheme enabled private sector [participation] to grow faster,” Lam said.
Singapore has approved the legislation to sustain its green building initiative, such as the law (approved in April last year) that required new and existing buildings (with gross floor areas of 2,000 square meters and up) undergoing major retrofitting to achieve at least a “Certified” rating under BCA’s Green Mark Scheme.
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