Part 3: “Green Construction – Building Green from Within”
Asia drives forward with more adaption of green technology in major development projects primarily in the building materials used as well as the practise of sustainable methods in construction. Terms such as Industrialised Building Systems (IBS), Leadership in Energy & Environment Design (LEED), Green Building Council/Index (GBC/I) and Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) as previously detailed in Part 2 are becoming well accepted among developers as the industry norm to any new projects. The advancement in construction technology spearheaded by the Asian engineers has vastly improved the quality of build in new projects with increased sustainability without compromising on safety. This had led to the acceleration in project completion and a sharp reduction in the use of raw material in view to the scarcity that has plagued tiny nations such as Singapore and Brunei.
With the inevitable population boom in many parts of the region pushing the demand for household to its highest level in decades, there has also been a real estate boom in many of these vibrant cities of Asia such as Hong Kong which has seen prices of homes skyrocketing as well within the same period of time. Combine this situation with the core beliefs of most local Asian governments in embracing large scale development projects as the key to their nation’s economic growth, boosting the local demand of raw material and skill, but at the same time contributing to the inflation and real estate boom. The adaption of greener construction will definitely bring more benefits to both developers as well as home buyers at the present scenario.
Reduced Dependency in Foreign Skilled Labour
According to a research paper done by the Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM) and Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, Industrialised Building System (IBS) is defined as a construction technique in which components are manufactured in a controlled environment (on or off site), transported, positioned and assembled into a structure with minimal additional site works. IBS has the potential to contribute towards green construction and sustainability by promoting sustainability from a controlled production environment, minimization of waste generation, and effective logistics management. IBS limits the dependency of foreign skilled labour in the construction industry as workers are now limited to assemble parts of buildings instead of the current conventional methods of constructions. Countries like Malaysia which rely heavily upon foreign skilled labour has seen the massive roll-out of projects under key economic initiatives such as the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) and Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) will require numerous skilled workers, both local and foreign to ensure its successful completion. Being sustainable in construction by using limited labour resources is the key to reduction of cost towards embracing green.
The Increase in Quality of Life from Within
In reality, green construction has long been implemented in the past; however the term is known to be exploited in recent years to ride on the global sustainability trends. Basic solutions such as the use of double glazing windows (which was invented in 1930s) and commonly used in the west as a solution for thermal insulation is not practiced here in the hot and sunny weather in Asia. The emergence of new age materials such as light weight concrete blocks in building construction replacing cement bricks which has widely been used in this region has by far been the catalyst to change that could increase the quality of life. With the reduction of internal building heat in the tropical heat that spans much of Asia, the dependency in usage of central cooling systems is also removed gradually thus keeping buildings cooler from within. Also the recent development of indoor paint by Japanese manufacturers which cleans the air by absorbing formaldehyde, an indoor pollutant contributes significantly to the quality of life indoors. Solutions like double glazing windows; light weight concrete blocks, interior paint besides the common thermal sensors and regulators and LEDs in homes may change the perception of going green entirely by driving greener adaption from indoors. A building built in compliance to IBS and LOHAS standards practically improves the quality of life of the building occupants and as well reduces the cost of construction in the process.
Setting the Standards, Regulating the Industry
Green Buildings are usually assessed by evaluating factors such as its energy efficiency, indoor environment quality, usage of material and resources and innovation. The current standard of practice in most countries in the world is Leadership in Energy & Environment Design (LEED) which is used mainly in the US and Canada and BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) in the UK. In much of Southeast Asia, most countries have their own compliancy to maintain the standards of construction in line with the other international green standards. For example, in Indonesia, the Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI), the Green Mark in Singapore, and the Green Building Index (GBI) in Malaysia. These standards are vital to ensure that developers who embrace green construction methods and technology are rewarded using a proper regulated green rating system which covers various aspects of the development project. In most system, the developers that embrace green are offered a tax incentive benefit which can be transferred to the home buyer.
Reduction in Wastage, Acceleration in Build, Lowering the Cost
The use of high performance materials and also concrete in construction reduces the dependency of sand and water in construction as well as the army of skilled labour. With the IBS, most of the major components are manufactured off site resulting in less wastage in construction and less pollution on site. When assembling on site is done, the result is faster construction and shorter period in overall development. The lesser time it takes to build, the lower the cost becomes. Overall green buildings have the tendency to create an environmental impact as well as reducing the cost of construction to address the rise in housing and building demand. The future of the construction world is definitely green.
By Harish J Hariraj
Consultant and founder of Asia Green SME, Harish pursued Mechanical Engineering from Universiti Tenaga Nasional in Malaysia and currently runs his own consultancy firm in Kuala Lumpur providing solutions to businesses in adapting green, clean, and cost effective solutions. Harish also coaches SMEs and large corporations with a group of experienced professionals and has a huge passion in green and sustainability.
