By JONATHAN ROBERTS
Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia and Mostra Convengni Expocomfort (MCE) Asia showcased cutting edge green building technologies.
SINGAPORE: In the quest to reduce emission intensity by 36% from the levels marked in 2005, and to reach peak emission by 2030, Singapore Green Building Week (SGBW) 2016 held early September aimed to engage the whole community in the fight against climate change.
The week-long exhibition at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre featured three anchor events, namely International Green Building Conference (IGBC) 2016, Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia 2016 and Mostra Convegno Expocomfort (MCE) ASIA 2016.
Organised by the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA) in collaboration with Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) and Reed Exhibitions, SGBW managed to attract over 26,000 participants from 50 countries in a total of 23 events.
International Green Building Conference (IGBC) 2016
In conjunction with its theme “Build Green: The Next Decade”, IGBC endeavoured to inspire new thinking, collaborations and partnership as well as catalyse novel and holistic solutions to climate change. IGBC 2016 brought together global and regional stakeholders to accelerate transformative evolution in the green building movement in hopes of shaping a sustainable future.
World Green Building Council (WGBC) board of director Tai Lee Siang reckoned that the awareness for green building has been raised significantly, but the adoption rate is still slow.
He said the idea of retrofitting existing buildings might not sit well with building owners due to the cost. Many developers are still sceptical about green buildings, as it might cost more to develop or retrofit, but the return of investment (ROI) in the long run would be worth it.
“In the past, green buildings cost 10 to 20% more than standard buildings. However, due to greater demand for green technology, this additional costs have reduced significantly to between 0 and 3% depending on the type of technologies employed. As green technologies continue to evolve, there are building owners who are willing to invest in cutting-edge technologies to try to achieve net zero carbon status and they see this as a long-term investment,” Tai added.
A report titled “The Business Case for Green Building: A Review of the Costs and Benefits for Developers, Investors and Occupants” examined the possibility of attaching a financial value to the cost and benefits of green buildings.
The findings pointed out that green buildings have been shown to save money through reduced energy, water consumption, long-term operations and maintenance costs. The energy savings alone typically exceeded any cost premiums associated with their design and construction within a reasonable payback period.
Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia 2016 and Mostra Convegno Expocomfort (MCE) ASIA 2016
BEX and MCE held their ninth and second editions respectively, which comprised 450 exhibiting companies representing 27 countries and 12,000 visitors.
BEX Asia exhibitors educated visitors about the ways in which green building and innovative technologies can drive the industry beyond the current sustainable agenda. The exhibition saw a convergence of green building experts, policy-makers, academics and built environment practitioners who discussed new ideas to building a sustainable future.
MCE Asia provided a platform for exhibitors to showcase the best and latest energy-efficient innovations from around the globe. This was mainly targeted at building professionals within the residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and hospitality sectors.
Reed Exhibitions project and business development director Louise Chua believes the bottom-up approach of BEX and MCE is what sets them apart.
“We encourage initiatives of all forms, even efforts that may appear to others as frivolous. For example, we could start with switching off the electricity in the office whenever we go out for a meeting.
“Even for these events, we went paperless. We no longer give out papers for registration. These are little initiatives that can open our eyes and challenge us to new thinking and ideas,” Chua said.
She also stressed that the green concept goes beyond just buildings. It covers a wide spectrum of our everyday lives, from our waters, infrastructures to transportations. She urged students from a young age to participate and engage in the green campaign, as the long-term benefits will serve their interests.
Malaysians were the second biggest attendees for the events after Singaporeans. However, BEX and MCE hope to attract more manufacturers from Malaysia to exhibit at their events.
“Every year we have Malaysian exhibitors but the number has not been very big yet. The strong Singapore currency poses a challenge for many of the medium-size Malaysian manufacturers,” she added.
Exhibiting companies include Kansai Paint, Ebm-papst, Greenology, Maxxsean Distributors, Sto SEA, Pu Hua International, FSH Coating Sdn Bhd and HSS Heat Shield Solution. Apart from the regional exhibitors, there were also representatives from China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Italy of which many were first timers. Exhibitors from Germany include DEOS Control Systems GmbH, EURA Drives Europe GmbH and Eurotec GmbH. Meanwhile, Italian Pavilion consists of BLUPURA Srl, ERRECOM, Emmecom Srl, Impresind, Brandoni S.p.A., and Fumasi by Gimap Srl.
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