As described by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, air-conditioning is one of the best inventions in history and was the key to public efficiency and Singapore’s economy. Indeed, being a tropical nation, Singapore faces the challenge in producing a comfortable environment without relying on air-conditioning.

With the rise in capitalism and consumer activism, there has been a progressive change in the perception of consumers as the younger generations are increasingly more receptive to unconventional design. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has also generated a demand for naturally ventilated spaces that are less dense and have more volume to provide the capacity for social distancing. However, as shared by the speakers at the 2021 ULI “Zeroing in on Net Zero Carbon Buildings”, more has to be done by the designers, developers and users to deviate from the typical photogenic and swanky glass buildings.

Moderator Prashant Kapoor, Chief Industrial Specialist – green buildings and green cities of International Finance Corporation, pointed out the construction and operation of buildings has contributed to almost 40% of the global carbon emissions and till today, is still one of the toughest nuts to crack. Hence the question lies therein on what could be done in terms of design and development to move Singapore a step closer to be a zero-carbon city.

Vice Dean of Special Projects of NUS Associate Professor Erik L’ Heureux describes net zero building as projects that have been designed to decrease the greenhouse emissions throughout the entire building lifecycle. This is achieved through the reduction of operational carbon and embodied carbon, of which the former is more easily attainable through the production of renewable energy and the reduction of energy usage. Due to the involvement of numerous stakeholders such as material suppliers and designers, reducing embodied carbon is more complicated process. Framing it as a systemic challenge, Heureux believes that further research and development of new materials, more forward design thinking and a cultural shift will have to happen before changes will be observed in the built sector.

From an urban planning perspective Tony Chan, cities and planning leader of Arup Singapore, highlighted the importance of focusing on a precinct level to come up with a more integrated and holistic approach. The crux of successful implementation lies in contextualising the carbon reduction principles and having the right measuring tools to establish the target benchmarks for the zoning plan.

However, as shared by Chan, the climate tracker that is tracking all countries that have signed on to the Paris Agreement have shown that efforts pertaining to carbon reduction in Singapore are still inadequate. Although Singapore has done well in certain aspects such as improving the efficiency of transportation and infrastructure, he believes that the government and businesses should set more ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions.

Esther An, Chief Sustainability officer of City Developments Limited (CDL), further explains the financial benefits of investing in green building. With lockdowns that were imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased emphasis in creating landscape and community spaces to boost physical and mental health. Hence, the development of green buildings has become a significant selling point to attract buyers or tenants. In addition, investments in energy efficient facilities have yielded returns in the form of savings in utility bills. Most importantly, An shares that “Blackrock, the largest asset managers in the world, can actually vote you out if directors are deemed not taking enough climate action. As listed companies, CDL cannot take chance to lose investors that will screen us out if we are not showing commitment specifically to climate change and net zero strategy.” Therefore, the cost of inaction to sustainability has presented itself as a strong business case.

“We have to push harder at making a super low energy building”, Kapoor concludes. Technology will be a key focus and it will have to happen fast, within the window of opportunity. The dynamic ecosystem from the government to the financier will have to evolve so as to further drive the zero-carbon initiative.