Source : Business Times – 9 Jul 2009
It is developer’s first CarbonNeutral® project in region
CITY Developments Ltd (CDL) yesterday unveiled 11 Tampines Concourse – the first CarbonNeutral® development in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific.
The three-storey office building – with a gross floor area of 124,001 square feet and lettable space of 108,000 sq ft – has an energy-efficient design and eco-friendly fittings that will yield energy savings of 620,000 kWh, or at least $120,000, a year.
The building has been awarded the CarbonNeutral® mark, which certifies that all carbon dioxide gas from construction and energy consumption has been measured and offset either through savings arising from more environmentally friendly processes, systems and behaviour, or by paying for an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide to be saved by an accredited project elsewhere.
Aside from natural lighting in the atrium and lift lobbies, the building has an indoor non-compressor cooling system that uses water instead of ozone-depleting chemical refrigerants to cool incoming air through a natural heat exchange process.
The building itself is constructed from recycled materials and ‘green concrete’ comprising sustainable materials.
No dollar figures were given, but all in all, the eco-friendly features added about 2 to 5 per cent more to building costs. These costs have been budgeted for.
CDL is looking for ‘green’ tenants. Rents for office space in the Tampines area is between $3.50 and $4 psf.
CDL managing director Kwek Leng Joo said: ‘Championing the environmental cause is no walk in the park. In earlier years, there were not many who believed in sustainable development.
‘But fast-forward to today, with greater awareness of climate change issues, ‘green’ and ’sustainability’ have become the buzz words.’
Esther An, head of corporate social responsibility at CDL, said: ‘We have just started marketing 11 Tampines Concourse and have been doing so quite selectively, looking for tenants who share our commitment to environmental conservation.
‘The response has been very positive. We have leased over 50 per cent to date.’
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