Schneider Electric and Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) released a joint report unveiling critical challenges and recommendations on green building adoption in Singapore.
Baiduri Bank Brunei was hosted by Schneider Electric and SGBC in Singapore for a knowledge exchange on sustainability.
Schneider Electric, the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, and the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) recently launched a joint report highlighting the critical challenges that need to be tackled as well as key recommendations to accelerate green building adoption in Singapore.
The report was shared during the SGBC Learning Journey hosted at Schneider Electric Singapore Innovation Hub where representatives from various industries and businesses attended the event. Other than participants from Singapore, Baiduri Bank Brunei was also invited.
The report titled ‘Going Green from the Inside Out: Accelerating Green Building Adoption in Singapore’, presents and analyses the findings of a survey by Schneider Electric involving 500 business leaders across MNCs and SMEs in Singapore, as well as findings from a qualitative study conducted with members of the SGBC on the level of awareness, preparedness, understanding and views of business leaders on green buildings in Singapore. Field work was conducted between October 2022 and February 2023.
The key findings of the report were:
- Most business leaders in Singapore have a general understanding of green buildings only.
- Low awareness may be holding back adoption, but momentum is expected to pick up.
- Sustainability goals and energy efficiencies are the top drivers for adoption.
- Cost and ROI are seen as the biggest barrier to increasing access to green buildings.
In light of these findings, Schneider Electric and SGBC have listed five recommendations in the report to accelerate the adoption of green buildings in Singapore:
- Stakeholders, particularly developers and landlords, can take the lead to advance the green agenda: Within the private sector, developers and building owners especially play a critical role in ensuring that green features are accounted for from the onset in upcoming developments or by retrofitting existing buildings.
- Promote greater awareness to leverage technology and tap on support schemes: To enable scalability of green buildings, upfront costs and doubts over subsequent potential cost savings reaped from green solutions must be tackled.
- Grow the pool and pipeline of green building professionals: Institutes of higher learning can work closely with the industry to groom the next generation of green building professionals.
- Enable greater access to green finance: Green financing must become more mainstream and accelerated to drive sustainable financing for the sector.
- Forge impactful partnerships and co-innovating solutions: Stakeholders’ strengths can be leveraged to co-develop new innovative solutions and industry best practices.
Ti Eng Hui, Chief Executive Officer from Baiduri Bank Brunei said, “In a rapidly changing world, co-creating a sustainable future for our customers, businesses and the community has become a business imperative for us. Adopting a sustainable and green future builds resilient business in the long-term with the huge potential of bringing in new economic opportunities. That is why we seek to collaborate with strategic partners with industry expertise, such as Schneider Electric, to further examine, assess, and implement sustainable practices in our business. It’s a valuable exchange of knowledge and best practices through immersive and interactive learning experience and we are grateful for the opportunity to learn from the top in the field.”
Baiduri Bank received the Gold Award for the ‘Most Innovative and Sustainable Office Design’ for its headquarters in the Employee Experience Awards 2021 by Human Resources Online, Singapore. Featuring a modern, eco-friendly design, the headquarters building recently attained the Provisional Green Mark Certified Award from the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA). The BCA Green Mark awards are given in recognition of environmentally sustainable building practices and innovative green features.
Enoch Tan, Country Manager of Schneider Electric Brunei said, “It’s great to see our key customer Baiduri Bank Brunei attending this prestigious event to have a clearer understanding of sustainability and to exchange views and ideas on the best approach to embark on the sustainability journey within the financial sector especially on how it will impact their operations and financial products in the future. Schneider Electric is very pleased to partner with Baiduri Bank Brunei to help them achieve their sustainability goals and be a role model in pursuing the ESG agenda in Brunei. Baiduri Bank Brunei has taken initial steps towards sustainability in their own operations via their digitisation journey with Schneider Electric such as the implementation of a data centre infrastructure management system and a building management system within their headquarter building.”
Download the full report of ‘Going Green from the Inside Out: Accelerating Green Building Adoption in Singapore’ here:
