Sustainability and Green Building Initiatives in Singapore’s Property Sector

The property sector is advancing sustainability through comprehensive green building initiatives focused on energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and healthier indoor environments. A key framework driving this transformation is the Green Building Masterplan, which targets:

• Greening 80% of buildings by gross floor area by 2030.
• Ensuring 80% of new developments meet Super Low Energy (SLE) standards from 2030 onwards.
• Achieving an 80% improvement in energy efficiency for best-in-class green buildings compared to 2005 levels by 2030.

These targets are supported by policies such as minimum energy performance requirements and the Green Mark certification scheme, which has certified over 2,500 buildings and helped save significant energy costs equivalent to powering one million four-room flats for a year.

In addition, initiatives like the Go 25 National Movement promote sustainable cooling by encouraging indoor air-conditioning temperatures to be set at 25°C or above, addressing overcooling which contributes heavily to building energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Industry collaboration is fostered through events like the International Green Building Conference, which focuses on decarbonisation strategies including whole-life carbon assessment, retrofits, adaptive reuse, and smart, AI-optimised building technologies.

Overall, these efforts reflect a multi-pronged approach combining regulatory standards, innovation, behavioural change, and stakeholder engagement to drive the property sector towards a low-carbon, energy-efficient, and sustainable built environment.