The Changing Frontier of Sustainability: Good for People and Good for the Environment Sustainability can be a tough sell

The Changing Frontier of Sustainability: Good for People and Good for the Environment

Sustainability can be a tough sell. 

While most Singaporeans appreciate the importance of protecting the environment and addressing climate change in the abstract, many do not see the daily impact this has on their own lives, or the way individual choices shape the way we live as a society. 

In other words, it’s hard for us to care about the welfare of ‘future generations’ when many in these generations haven’t even been born yet. 

As a millennial with no kids myself, going ‘green’ is more a lifestyle choice than a moral imperative. But perhaps, the ‘quality of life’ argument is a much better sell for the average Singaporean on the street, one that argues that what’s good for the environment is good for people as well.  

In essence, this is the promise of green buildings in Singapore. 

Green buildings are an important climate change mitigation strategy, also directly benefiting occupants with greater energy and cost savings. Beyond dollar savings, other benefits include better indoor air quality, lighting adequacy, as well as thermal and acoustic comfort. 

To find out how the built environment can help to achieve Singapore’s sustainability ambitions, RICE met with 3 ‘green’ Singaporeans from various parts of the building and construction industry. Together, they shed light on the opportunities and challenges that Singapore faces over the next decade. 

a group of people walking down a street next to a tree: Source: HDB© Provided by Rice Media Source: HDB

A Young Green Architect Champions Thoughtful Design

For Alina Yeo, a young green architect with 15 years of practice at local architectural firm WOHA, green architecture means creating highly liveable developments that integrate with and give back to nature and the environment.

Or as Alina puts it, “it’s use less, not useless.” 

a woman holding a cell phone© Provided by Rice Media

“In architectural school, I was exposed to various materials, tools, and the culture of making. I was particularly interested in upcycling seemingly useless discarded things and turning them into useful everyday objects. It taught me to rethink value—as use less, not useless,” explained Alina. 

This notion of creating more value with less consumption has stayed with Alina, and has come to inform her thinking with regards to architecture and design. 

“Green design used to simply be called good design, and that’s what architecture needs to be—good for people, good for nature, and good for the environment—especially in this unprecedented age of climate change.”

One formative experience that has helped to shape Alina’s career was WOHA’s project for BRAC University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that she was involved with. WOHA’s starting point was to respond to the urban crisis in Dhaka that is ravaged by rapid urbanisation and overcrowding, which has resulted in a massive loss of its public spaces, green areas and water bodies.

“The challenge was to turn this vicious cycle of development into a virtuous cycle through regenerative design that not only mitigates harm, but does good, by restoring public, green and blue spaces back to the city,” said Alina. 

When asked about the key considerations of Green Architecture and traditional architecture, Alina pointed out that:

“Green, or sustainable, architecture has many aspects, but density is an important one. Especially in land scarce cities like Singapore, it is all the more vital to reduce our ecological footprint by creating  dense urban environments that are also highly vibrant, resilient and humane.”   

“Take WOHA’s Kampung Admiralty development as a local example.  Instead of configuring the various building uses (i.e. Commercial, Medical, Community, Residential) on separate plots of land as you would find in a typical public housing estate, WOHA created a three-dimensional matrix of shared networks and public spaces in the form of an  integrated vertical urban village that brings people, nature  and amenities together to achieve a good quality of living. Green architecture addresses density and liveability by seeking out innovative ways to multiply land vertically , which in turn, frees up the valuable ground level for public parks and civic spaces.”   

a view of a city: Photo Credit: Patrick Bingham-Hall© Provided by Rice Media Photo Credit: Patrick Bingham-Hall

Significantly, these design principles would go a long way to addressing the necessary trade-offs between Singapore’s need for housing development and nature conservation.   

A Green Entrepreneur Maps Out a Business Model for the Future

If climate change is to be a solvable problem in our generation, good and sustainable building design is just the first step. Raising awareness and creating demand for green buildings are also important elements of a healthy ecosystem. 

With market-based problems, it often requires us to come up with market-based solutions. 

If the current motivations and incentives are not enough to spur sufficient action, then we have to find new ways that better appeal to all players: from producers to the end consumer. 

This was the gap that Nilesh Jadhav sought to address when he made an abrupt career switch from a major oil and gas company to becoming a green technopreneur. 

a man holding a sign© Provided by Rice Media

In the early years, Nilesh’s most notable involvement was joining the Energy Research Institute @NTU, Singapore, where he led the research program on Green and Smart Buildings. Apart from developing technology roadmaps for the Building & Construction Authority (BCA) and National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), Nilesh’s goal as a Senior Scientist & Program Director was to make the NTU Campus green and adopt the latest sustainability technologies towards a smart ‘Ecocampus’ initiative. 

Despite these impressive wins, Nilesh still saw gaps in the market. 

“I discovered that while there were several green technologies available in Singapore, as well as enough funding and interest from building owners, what’s missing was a more coordinated approach, better communication, and data accessibility. These were often overlooked and created bottlenecks in Singapore’s quest to ‘go green’.”

To help address this gap, in 2017, Nilesh founded Qi Square with the vision of utilising digital technology to the fullest to improve the performance and efficiency of sustainability projects. 

Essentially, Qi Square represents the business model of the future, one whose sustainable goals are not at odds with the company’s need for profitability. Rather, the company’s mission involves redirecting market forces to create both positive change and shareholder value via pervasive digitalisation and wider data accessibility. 

“In simple terms, we want to use our digital technology to deliver energy, costs and productivity savings in the building industry, while being profitable and enhancing our company valuation in the long run.”

a man wearing a suit and tie standing in a room© Provided by Rice Media

One example of this cost savings in green buildings is selecting more natural ventilation friendly spaces in buildings to reduce the load on central air-conditioning. Another is Singapore’s quest to achieve ‘super-low energy’ and ‘zero energy buildings’ through the integration of solar panels for on-site energy production. 

To this end, Qi Square’s digital solutions are key enablers for Singapore’s transition towards a ‘Smart and Sustainable’ nation by accelerating the pace of green technology adoption. Digitalization is what helps building owners, architects, engineers and solution providers gain more visibility into the ‘bigger picture,’ thereby achieving an overall effect that is greater than the sum of its parts. 

A Green Facilities Manager Explores the New Frontier

The third and final interview was with Lee Zhenyi, a green facilities manager from C&W. She and others in the Facilities Management (FM) profession are the ones who are closest to the ground, with the most hands-on experience in observing and anticipating the needs of Singaporeans.

a woman smiling for the camera© Provided by Rice Media

“FM encompasses the Operation Phase, which spans the longest time of the building’s life cycle,” explained Zhenyi. “This is the period where there is continuous testing and optimisation of operations to run as the designers intended, and make adaptations to changes to the buildings over time. This is to better suit the needs of its occupants.”

C&W’s portfolio includes such green properties like Singapore Sports Hub, Science Park, Biopolis and Fusionopolis @ one-North and Downtown East at Pasir Ris. 

But what makes green facilities management different from traditional practices? 

“Green facilities management is a long marathon, where industry best practices are constantly evolving,” explained Zhenyi.  “Instead of simply ensuring that a building operates without breaking down, green FM requires us to be laser-focused on how to operate efficiently and in a sustainable way. This requires both a people and environment-centric approach.”

a person standing in front of a computer© Provided by Rice Media

Green FM also requires a complete mindset change on what the FM job entails. Facilities Managers are required to learn, unlearn and relearn, to keep up in this knowledge-based industry, where information is rapidly refreshed. 

At the end of the day, the ethos of Green FM is to drive positive impact and improve the quality of life for a building’s occupants. To achieve this, Zhenyi reckons an open and agile mindset together with soft skills like empathy and communication play a greater role as the success of green initiatives depends on the active participation of building occupants. 

In essence, the profession of a green facilities manager is an evolving frontier that continuously explores, experiments, learns, and adapts to new practices and technologies. 

Or as Zhenyi puts it: 

“The journey has just started, and we’re well on our way.” 

Towards Greener Pastures

As we enter the new decade, Singapore’s building trends couldn’t be more clear: the next wave of public and private buildings will be defined by sustainable practices and green building designs, one that takes into account the needs of an aging population as well as the welfare of future generations. 

To this end, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) recently announced the refreshed Singapore Green Building Masterplan, with the targets dubbed ’80-80-80 in 2030’ to raise sustainability standards for green buildings. It encourages building professionals to adopt a greener mindset when they design, build and operate buildings as well as dare to strive for higher ambitions for green buildings.

Going ‘green’, in this context, also means developing an innovative set of tools and techniques to sustainably build and maintain Singapore’s next generation of homes, workplaces and recreational spaces. 

So, this is what ‘going green’ is truly about. 

Yes, it’s about climate change and the environment.

But it also means a more wholesome way of life for all Singaporeans, one that’s closer to nature, and places an emphasis on occupant health and well-being as Singaporeans start new families and move into their golden years.  

If everyone can agree that this is a worthy goal, then maybe we should all be taking steps to assess our own environmental impact and, like these three green professionals, start contributing in our own ways. 

可持续发展的前沿领域：对人类有益，对环境有益

可持续发展可能是一个艰难的抉择。 

虽然大多数新加坡人都抽象地意识到了保护环境和应对气候变化的重要性，但许多人看不到这对他们自己的生活产生日常影响，也没有看到个人选择塑造我们作为社会生活方式的方式。 

换句话说，当这些世代中的许多人还没有出生时，我们就很难关心它们。 

作为一个自己没有孩子的千禧一代，“绿色”更多是一种生活方式的选择，而不是道德上的当务之急。但是，也许“生活质量”这一论点对于街上的普通新加坡人来说是一个更好的选择，有人认为对环境有益的也对人们也有益。  

本质上，这是新加坡绿色建筑的承诺。 

绿色建筑是一项重要的缓解气候变化战略，还可以为居住者带来更多的能源和成本节省。除了节省美元以外，其他好处还包括改善室内空气质量，照明充足性以及热和声舒适度。 

为了了解建筑环境如何帮助实现新加坡的可持续发展雄心，RICE会见了来自建筑和建造业各个领域的3位“绿色”新加坡人。他们共同探讨了新加坡在未来十年中面临的机遇和挑战。 

一群人沿着一棵树旁的街道走：资料来源：建屋局©由莱斯媒体提供 资料来源：HDB

一位年轻的绿色建筑师拥护深思熟虑的设计

对于在当地建筑公司WOHA拥有15年从业经验的年轻绿色建筑师Alina Yeo而言，绿色建筑意味着创造高度可居住的开发项目，并将其与自然和环境融为一体。

或正如Alina所说，“它的使用更少，而不是没有用。” 

一个女人拿着手机©Rice Media提供

“在建筑学校，我接触了各种材料，工具和制作文化。我对更新似乎无用的废弃物品并将其变成有用的日常物品特别感兴趣。它教会了我重新思考价值-减少使用，而不是无用，” Alina解释说。 

这种用更少的消耗创造更多价值的想法一直存在于Alina身上，并逐渐成为她关于建筑和设计的思想的参考。 

“绿色设计曾经被简单地称为良好设计，这就是建筑所需要的-对人类有益，对自然有益，对环境有益-尤其是在这个空前的气候变化时代。”

她参与了WOHA在孟加拉国达卡的BRAC大学开展的项目，这是一个有助于Alina事业发展的形成性经验。WOHA的出发点是应对达卡的城市危机，该危机因迅速的城市化和拥挤而备受摧残，这已导致其公共场所，绿地和水体大量丧失。

“挑战在于通过再生设计将这种恶性发展循环转变为良性循环，这种再生设计不仅可以减轻伤害，而且还可以通过将公共，绿色和蓝色空间恢复到城市来带来好处，” Alina说。 

当被问及绿色建筑和传统建筑的主要考虑因素时，阿丽娜指出：

“绿色，或可持续，建筑 有很多方面，但密度是一个重要问题。 特别是在 像新加坡这样的土地稀缺的城市，通过创建密集的城市环境来降低我们的生态足迹变得尤为重要，该城市环境也充满生机，活力和人性化。”   

“以WOHA的甘榜金钟开发项目为例。  WOHA并没有像在典型的公共住宅区中那样在单独的土地上配置各种建筑用途（即商业，医疗，社区，住宅），而是以以下形式创建了共享网络和公共空间的三维矩阵：一个  整合的垂直城市村庄，将人， 自然环境  和娱乐设施融合在一起，以实现良好的生活质量。 绿色建筑通过寻找创新的方式垂直扩展土地，从而解决了密度和宜居性问题，从而为公园和市政空间腾出了宝贵的地面空间。”   

城市景观：照片提供：Patrick Bingham-Hall©由Rice Media提供 图片来源：Patrick Bingham-Hall

重要的是，这些设计原则对于解决新加坡住房开发需求与自然保护之间的必要权衡将大有帮助。   

绿色企业家为未来规划商业模式

如果要在我们这一代解决气候变化问题，那么良好且可持续的建筑设计只是第一步。提高意识并创造对绿色建筑的需求，也是健康生态系统的重要组成部分。 

面对基于市场的问题，通常需要我们提出基于市场的解决方案。 

如果当前的动机和动机不足以促使人们采取足够的行动，那么我们必须寻找新的方式来更好地吸引所有参与者：从生产者到最终消费者。 

这是尼罗什·贾达夫（Nilesh Jadhav）突然从一个大型石油和天然气公司转变为绿色技术企业家时寻求解决的差距。 

一个男人举着牌子©Rice Media提供

在最初的几年中，Nilesh最显着的参与是加入了新加坡NTU能源研究所，在那里他领导了有关绿色和智能建筑的研究计划。除了为建筑和建筑管理局（BCA）和国家气候变化秘书处（NCCS）制定技术路线图之外，Nilesh作为高级科学家和计划总监的目标是使NTU校园绿色化，并采用最新的可持续发展技术来打造智能化的“生态校园” ' 倡议。 

尽管取得了这些令人印象深刻的胜利，但Nilesh仍然看到了市场空白。 

“我发现，尽管新加坡有几种绿色技术可用，而且建筑业主也提供了足够的资金和兴趣，但缺少的是一种更加协调的方法，更好的通信和数据可访问性。这些往往被忽视，并成为新加坡追求“绿色环保”的瓶颈。”

为了解决这一差距，Nilesh于2017年成立了Qi Square，其愿景是充分利用数字技术来改善可持续发展项目的绩效和效率。 

本质上，齐广场代表了未来的商业模式，其可持续发展目标与公司对盈利能力的需求并没有矛盾。而是，公司的使命包括通过普遍的数字化和更广泛的数据可访问性，重定向市场力量，以创造积极的变化 和股东价值。 

“简单来说，我们希望利用我们的数字技术在建筑行业中节省能源，成本和生产力，同时从长远来看有利可图并提高我们的公司估值。”

一个穿着西服打着领带站在房间里的男人©Rice Media提供

在绿色建筑中节省成本的一个例子是在建筑中选择更多的自然通风友好空间，以减少中央空调的负荷。另一个是新加坡寻求通过集成用于现场能源生产的太阳能电池板来实现“超低能耗”和“零能耗建筑”的追求。 

为此，齐广场的数字解决方案通过加快绿色技术的应用步伐，为新加坡向“智慧与可持续发展”国家的过渡提供了关键支持。数字化可以帮助建筑所有者，建筑师，工程师和解决方案提供商更好地了解“更大的前景”，从而获得大于其各个部分总和的总体效果。 

绿色设施经理探索新领域

第三次也是最后一次采访是来自C＆W的绿色设施经理Lee Zhenyi。她和设施管理（FM）领域的其他人是最亲近地面的人，在观察和预测新加坡人的需求方面具有最丰富的实践经验。

一个对着镜头微笑的女人©Rice Media提供

真一解释说：“ FM涵盖了整个建筑生命周期中最长的运营阶段。” “在这个时期，我们要按照设计者的意图进行连续的测试和优化运营，并随着时间的推移适应建筑物的变化。这是为了更好地满足其乘员的需求。”

C＆W的投资组合包括新加坡体育中心，科学园，Biopolis和Fusionopolis等绿色地产，位于巴西立（Pasir Ris）的北部和东部市区。 

但是，什么使绿色设施管理与传统做法不同？ 

真一解释说：“绿色设施管理是一项漫长的马拉松，行业最佳实践在不断发展。” “绿色FM不仅要确保建筑物正常运转而不会发生故障，还需要我们专注于如何高效，可持续地运营。这需要以人为本和以环境为中心的方法。”

站在电脑前的人©Rice Media提供

绿色FM还需要彻底改变FM工作需要的思维定式。设施经理需要学习，取消学习和重新学习，以跟上这个信息迅速更新的知识型行业的步伐。 

归根结底，绿色FM的精神是为建筑物的居民带来积极的影响并改善生活质量。为了实现这一目标，Zhenyi认为开放和敏捷的心态以及善解人意和沟通等软技能将发挥更大的作用，因为绿色倡议的成功取决于建筑工人的积极参与。 

本质上，绿色设施经理的职业是不断发展的前沿，不断探索，试验，学习并适应新的实践和技术。 

或如真一所言： 

“旅程才刚刚开始，我们正在顺利进行。” 

走向绿色牧场

随着我们进入新的十年，新加坡的建筑趋势再清楚不过了：下一波公共和私人建筑将由可持续实践和绿色建筑设计来定义，其中要考虑到人口老龄化的需求以及后代的福利。 

为此，在建设局（BCA）近日宣布，刷新新加坡绿色建筑总体规划，与目标被称为2030'年'80 -80-80，以提高可持续发展标准的绿色建筑。它鼓励建筑专业人士在设计，建造和运营建筑物时采用更绿色的思维方式，并敢于为绿色建筑争取更高的抱负。

在这种情况下，走向“绿色”还意味着开发一套创新的工具和技术，以可持续地建造和维护新加坡的下一代家庭，工作场所和娱乐场所。 

因此，这就是“走向绿色”的真正含义。 

是的，这与气候变化和环境有关。

但是，这对于所有新加坡人来说，都意味着一种更加健康的生活方式，这种生活方式更加贴近自然，并且随着新加坡人开始新的家庭生活并进入其黄金岁月，人们将着重于居住者的健康和福祉。  

如果每个人都同意这是一个有价值的目标，那么也许我们都应该采取措施评估我们自己的环境影响，并且像这三位绿色专家一样，开始以我们自己的方式做出贡献。