Singapore Green Building Council

26/06/2026

France’s record heatwave is forcing a national reckoning with air-conditioning. But here's the twist: with nearly 70% of its electricity coming from nuclear power, the operational carbon footprint of running an AC in is very low.

So what's the real issue?
➡️ AC exhaust can push dense city temperatures up by 1.75°C:
➡️ Modern glass-and-steel buildings trap heat like greenhouses.
➡️ Climatologists warn that more AC alone is an "illusion of adaptation", masking the urgent need for better urban design.

This is why the national movement for sustainable cooling matters - not just for carbon, but for resilience. With global temperatures continuing to climb, AC is no longer a luxury but a necessity, and it is of paramount importance to be able to cool our places and spaces sustainably.

Even with clean energy, overcooling wastes resources and heats our streets. Go 25 offers a balanced approach: set AC thermostats to 25°C, pair it with fans, retrofit buildings for passive cooling.

That's the case for Go 25: not a compromise but more a complementary lever alongside clean power. It's the smart, sustainable middle ground - reducing energy waste, preserving our heat tolerance, and keeping cities livable in an era of rising global temperatures.

Read the full article here: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/france-europe-heatwave-air-conditioning-aversion-breaking-6209381

Find out more about Go 25 here: https://greenbuildings.sg/go25/

15/06/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐢𝐫 2026. 🌍

More than 900 scientists, engineers, and policymakers from over 40 countries gathered today at the Singapore Management University for the opening of the premier global conference on indoor air quality.

Convened by the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) and organised by the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) together with the NUS College of Design and Engineering, Day One marked the beginning of a week that many in this community have been working toward for years.

The messages from the stage and sessions were unambiguous: indoor air quality is no longer a niche technical concern. It is a public health imperative that affects how we live, work, and learn in dense urban environments. While we cannot control the next heatwave or pandemic, we can control the air inside the spaces we design and manage. That is both the challenge and the opportunity before us.

Beyond the keynotes and session presentations, Day One was defined by the conversations happening in hallways, the exhibition areas, over coffee, and across session rooms. Engineers speaking with epidemiologists. Policymakers comparing notes with facility managers. Researchers from the Asia Pacific sharing findings with peers from Europe and North America.

This is why we gather. Not just to present papers, but to build the partnerships that turn research into action.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭
Over the next three days, attendees will dive into more presentations across topics ranging from airborne infection transmission to smart building technologies and IAQ policy. A late-breaker session on 18 June 2026 will examine how ventilation, airflow management, and infrastructure measures can prevent outbreaks in confined spaces.

The energy was real. The conversations were relevant. And this is just the beginning.

Watch the highlights from Day One here: https://youtu.be/zmgFjBtY_jo?si=g4qkwZ4ak5TpvMru

Convened by the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Cli...

11/06/2026

South Korea has launched a KRW40.9 billion (US$30 million) research programme to develop technologies for recycling and reusing components from end-of-life hydrogen-powered vehicles, aiming to recover critical minerals and reduce reliance on imported resources.

Read the full story on Eco-Business here:

Seoul seeks to turn end-of-life fuel-cell vehicles into power systems and domestic mineral supply source.

08/06/2026

Architects say more developers in are exceeding the country’s highest green building standards, with private sector demand rising by as much as 30 percent.

From mass engineered timber structures to district cooling systems, developers are investing in energy-efficient designs to lower operating costs and reduce carbon emissions. The trend comes as rising energy prices strengthen the business case for sustainable developments, supporting Singapore’s goal of greening 80 percent of buildings by 2030.

Watch the full coverage here:

Architects say more developers in Singapore are exceeding the country’s highest green building standards, with private sector demand rising by as much as 30 per cent. From mass engineered timber structures to district cooling systems, developers are investing in energy-efficient designs to lower o...

05/06/2026

For SMEs, sustainability is shifting from a "good-to-have" CSR initiative to a core strategy for business resilience, especially amid global disruptions like the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.

According to a recent piece in The Business Times, industry leaders from the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME) argue that practical sustainability (reducing electricity use, cutting waste, improving processes) directly lowers expenses and builds agility.

Key takeaways for SMEs:

✅ Not just cost, but efficiency: The question is no longer "Can we afford sustainability?" but "Can we afford inefficiency?"

✅ Market access driver: Sustainability becomes a priority when it opens new markets or secures existing ones.

✅ Data as intelligence: Using AI and operational data to track resource efficiency turns scattered info into actionable resilience.

✅ Consumer gap: While consumers care, decisions are still driven by price and convenience, so sustainable options must compete on those terms.

The goal is for firms to be more agile so they can ride out crises such as the Iran war, say industry observers Read more at The Business Times.

02/06/2026

𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬 🌿

When we talk about sustainable real estate, we often look at the building's exterior, solar panels, or cooling systems. But what about the spaces where we actually spend 90% of our day?

The Green Mark for Interiors (GMI) certification scheme unifies the five BCA Green Mark user-centric schemes that had been offered in the past and offers a fresh approach to achieve sustainability for interior spaces with one integrated standard. Administered directly by the Singapore Green Building Council, this scheme provides a definitive blueprint for climate-responsive, people-centric indoor fit-outs.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐆𝐌𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞-𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬:

✅ Unified Standard: A single framework covering commercial offices, retail spaces, restaurants, supermarkets, and laboratories.

✅ Five Pillars of Performance: Projects are assessed across Energy Efficiency, Health & Wellbeing, Environmental Sustainability, Smart Management, and Circularity.

✅ Tangible ROI: Beyond improving ESG credentials for corporate reporting, it offers a practical roadmap to lower energy costs and design healthier workspaces that boost employee productivity.

Whether you are a tenant looking to align with a green lease, an interior designer, or a sustainability manager, GMI provides a clear tiering system (Gold, GoldPLUS, Platinum, and Platinum ZE) to benchmark your progress.

👉 Explore the official framework, guidelines, and certification process here: https://gm-interiors.sgbc.online/

28/05/2026

In this CNA Insider article delivered in partnership with SGBC Founding Member Daikin Singapore, find practical tips on using and maintaining your air-conditioners, so your home stays comfortable without wasting energy.

Find practical tips on using and maintaining your air-conditioners, so your home stays comfortable without wasting energy. In partnership with Daikin Airconditioning (Singapore).

28/05/2026

A national movement aimed at shifting the mindset that sustainability comes at a business cost was launched on 21 May 2026 to encourage small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt green measures.

"When margins are tight, supply chains disrupted and markets volatile, sustainability can feel like one more requirement, one more report, one more cost," Singapore's ambassador for climate action Ravi Menon said at the launch of Green 100 during the Singapore Climate Transition Forum.

The Green 100 initiative is about lowering barriers and raising incentives for smaller firms to become sustainable, said Singapore climate ambassador Ravi Menon.

25/05/2026

The ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz highlights an uncomfortable truth: our dependence on fossil fuels runs far deeper than just electricity and transport.

In a recent commentary for Channel News Asia, Mr. Alvin Ee (Research Fellow at the Energy Studies Institute (ESI)) outlines why the path to net-zero is more complex than it looks:

➡️ Beyond Power & EVs: Fossil fuels are vital feedstocks for plastics, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals. Supply chain disruptions hit consumer goods almost immediately.

➡️ The "Fossil Premium": Geopolitical instability is creating an economic penalty for fossil reliance. Volatile fuel prices are driving spikes in commercial rooftop solar and EV interest—not just for the environment, but as a financial hedge.

➡️ A Security Shift: Renewable energy is no longer viewed solely as a climate solution; it is now a critical tool for national economic resilience and energy security.

➡️ The Strategy: Expect nations to adopt a dual-track approach - accelerating parallel low-carbon infrastructure while leveraging flexible options like LNG to maintain short-term industrial stability.

The crisis will not end fossil fuels overnight, but it is acting as a massive catalyst for a diversified energy future.

The Iran war has shown how deeply dependent the world is on fossil fuels beyond electricity and transport, says Alvin Ee of the Energy Studies Institute, NUS.

24/05/2026

While commercial and industrial sectors have made rapid strides in solar adoption, Singapore’s private residential sector, specifically condominiums, presents a massive, yet largely untapped, frontier for green energy.

A recent Channel NewsAsia feature sheds light on the unique and complex hurdles Management Corporations (MCSTs) face when trying to install solar panels:

➡️ High Upfront Costs & Long Paybacks: For many estates, high upfront capital expenditure coupled with extended payback periods makes it difficult to justify the initial financial strain to residents.

➡️ Strict Aesthetic Guidelines: Navigating strict estate regulations and architectural design guidelines often creates friction regarding the visual placement of solar arrays.

➡️ Stakeholder Alignment: Unlike a single corporate owner, MCSTs must manage competing priorities and secure alignment across shifting estate councils and diverse groups of homeowners.

To truly scale urban sustainability across Singapore, our residential buildings cannot be left behind. Overcoming these barriers will require more accessible green financing models, simplified regulatory pathways, and a deeper understanding of long-term energy lifecycle savings for homeowners.

Read the full article here: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/solar-panels-condominium-mcst-costs-sustainability-6123186

While solar energy can cut electricity costs, building constraints and regulatory limits mean it may not work for every estate.