Green Mark Scheme Hits 20Th Anniversary Over 2500 Buildings Certified
Parktown Residence, a highly anticipated mixed-use condominium project, is poised to become a prominent feature in the bustling Tampines North district. Its impressive concept is brought to life through a joint effort from renowned developers UOL Group, CapitaLand, and Singapore Land (SingLand), promising a new era of urban living in District 18. Perfectly situated near major highways and an expanding public transportation system, this visionary development offers effortless connectivity for its residents. Experience the stunning showcase of Parktown Residence at the Parktown Residence Showflat, where its true essence can be witnessed.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the BCA Green Mark certification scheme. This scheme, which evaluates a building’s environmental impact and performance, was first introduced in January 2005, with 17 buildings receiving certification in its first year.
As of March this year, a total of 2,590 buildings have been awarded the Green Mark certification, according to a joint press release by the BCA and SGBC. These buildings collectively save over 4.2 billion kWh of energy annually, which is enough to power one million four-room HDB flats per year. In addition, the agencies estimate that this results in approximately $1.3 billion in cost savings per year.
At a gala dinner organized by SGBC on July 11, 20 commemorative certificates were presented to nine partners and 11 projects for their exemplary contributions to Singapore’s green building journey. Notable recipient partners included City Developments, CapitaLand, Mapletree Investments, Keppel, and Lendlease.
Over the years, the Green Mark scheme has undergone several revisions, with the latest, 6th edition launched in 2021, in line with the Singapore Green Building Masterplan (SGBMP). The SGBMP set the “80-80-80 in 2030” target, which aims to green 80% of buildings by gross floor area (GFA), have 80% of new developments by GFA be super low energy (SLE) buildings, and achieve 80% improvement in energy efficiency for best-in-class buildings compared to 2005 levels by 2030.
According to the joint statement released by BCA and SGBC, 61% of buildings have been greened as of December 2024. In addition, close to 26% of new developments have been certified as SLE buildings, while best-in-class buildings have achieved an impressive 72% improvement in energy efficiency over 2005 levels.
At the gala dinner, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat announced two initiatives to further promote the adoption of green buildings. The first is the development of an updated Built Environment Decarbonisation Technology Roadmap, which identifies key emerging technologies and areas for research and development to improve energy efficiency in the built environment. Building on the 2018 Super Low Energy Building Technology Roadmap, this updated plan includes over 50 technologies and strategies to reduce operational and embodied carbon.
The second initiative is the publication of a report that aims to bridge the gap between green buildings and sustainable finance in the Asia Pacific (Apac) region. The report, supported by the World Green Building Council, OCBC, and other green building councils in the region, will align green building rating tools from Apac countries with the Asean Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance.
According to Minister Chee, “By establishing clear links between national schemes and regional guidelines, we can help unlock global capital flows and scale up investments in decarbonization and green building projects.”