Is Singapore Sustaining Itself?

Singapore is often seen as a leader in sustainableGreen Mark Platinum Awards.
development in the region. Malaysia, for instance,CDL also received three Construction Excellence
developed the Green Building Index (GBI) after muchAwards, two Design and Engineering Safety Awards
consultation with Singapore's Building and Constructionand two Universal Design Awards.
Authority (BCA).CDL's City Square Residences which won the Design
In June this year, Singapore will host the World Citiesand Engineering Safety Awards, was cited by the
Summit, which promotes 'sustainable and liveableBCA for building a 126-metre wide diaphragm wallto
cities'.mitigate the risks in constructing three levels of
This event, will no doubt, position Singapore as abasement car parks under difficult soil conditions.
serious leader in promoting green technology in theGreen controversies
region.On a macro level, however, Singapore has been
But is Singapore really a model for sustainableunder the spotlight on environmental issues but for all
development?the wrong reasons.
On a micro level, it appears to be the case.For instance, Singapore has frequently been cited as
In the local real estate industry, the BCA has done ahaving one of the highest per capita carbon emissions
good job in regulating the property market by takingglobally by the Energy Information Administration
the lead.(EIA).
For example, it has required all new public buildingsThe EIA which provides energy statistics to the
and those undergoing major retrofitting works toUnited States government, factors in data such as
meet the minimum standards of environmentalcarbon emissions from bunker fuel, aviation and
sustainability that is equivalent to the Green Markrefining processes.
Certified level under its First Green Building Masterplan.In May, Global Witness, an environmental organisation
It has also required all existing public sector buildingsthat exposes the corrupt exploitation of natural
to achieve the Green mark Gold Plus Award by 2020.resources and international trade system, released a
In addition, the BCA has continued to recognisedamaging report which alleged that Singapore was
developers who had gone green via its yearly BCAimporting Cambodian sand illegally and without regard
Awards - often dubbed the "Oscars" of Singapore'sfor the environment.
building and construction industry.The city-state was also recently named as the worst
This has helped push sustainable developmentoffender in a study done by two universities.
standards higher as evidenced by this year's awardsThe study, which was jointly undertaken by the
ceremony.National University of Singapore (NUS) study and the
New milestones achieved in the property marketUniversity of Adelaide, ranked Singapore as the
Major Singaporean developers continue to make newworst environmental offender among 179 countries.
strides in sustainable development as evidenced byAccording to the study, Singapore has seen it lose 90
the plethora of awards given at this year's BCApercent of its forest, 67 percent of its birds, about
Awards. This year the BCA handed out a whopping40 percent of its mammals and 5 per cent of its
159 awards.amphibians and reptiles.
CapitaLand won seven awards in total, four of whichThe Ministry for National Development and Ministry
were for its residential developments.for the Environment and Water Resources had so
The Interlace and its upcoming development atfar refuted both allegations respectively.
Farrer Road were conferred Green Mark Gold PlusIn the case of the Global Witness report, the
awards for their green features, which range fromSingapore government had stated that it has not
good building design to the use of solar panels andbeen given official notice of the Cambodian sand ban.
water-efficient fittings.Global Witness, on the other hand, had argued that
In addition, RiverEdge and Varsity Park Condominiumthe fact that Singapore is the main market for
each won the Construction Excellence Award, whichCambodian sand and that the BCA had publicly
recognises construction projects which havecommented on it in May 2009 suggests that the
demonstrated performance excellence.Singapore government is aware of the ban.
CDL also achieved yet another industry milestone -Global Witness and the two universities said they are
its luxury 240-room W Singapore Sentosa Covestanding by their statement.
attained the first BCA Green Mark Platinum AwardWhile the verdict, is still out, perhaps the Singapore
for a new hotel development.government could do more to show that it is really
For residential developments, Cube 8, Tree House,practicing what it preaches.
Volari and the W Singapore Sentosa Cove won four