THE roof terrace of City Square Mall, the busy shopping centre at Farrer Park, hosts a training and networking facility which is a gift that keeps on giving.
The 4,300 square foot facility might look like a regular event space, with classrooms, a veranda, an office and an exhibition gallery. But it has emerged as a gathering point for the sustainability-minded. Since it officially opened in June 2017, the Singapore Sustainability Academy has hosted more than 780 sustainability-related events attended by some 27,000 attendees.
The collective effect of that is what property developer City Developments Limited (CDL) has set out to do with the space, which is to build a larger ecosystem of stakeholders to amplify positive change and impact.
As its users ruminate answers around today’s toughest sustainability challenges, the space serves as a quiet inspiration – it is fully powered by solar energy, with over 80 per cent of its structural materials coming from sustainable sources.
For its role in building and designing the net-zero-energy facility, and spearheading other net-zero initiatives, CDL clinched the Impact Enterprise Excellence Award for large enterprises at the inaugural Sustainability Impact Awards organised by The Business Times and UOB. The award recognises businesses and individuals who have had a positive impact on the environment and community.
CDL chief sustainability officer Esther An said the Academy demonstrates the company’s dedication to building capacity and network to drive climate action and sustainable development.
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There, events, activities and training are held rent-free, as long as they promote green buildings, climate action, and any one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, she noted.
And demand for the space – evident through the volume of event bookings it receives – is a “clear sign” that the Academy meets the needs for such a community space for sustainability advocacy, she pointed out. Recent events held there include a workshop organised by the Singapore Youth for Climate Action, for students to understand how sustainability is incorporated into public policy, and a session led by the Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity, on land use and conservation issues in Singapore.
The Academy, An added, is Singapore’s first ground-up initiative and net-zero-energy facility dedicated to awareness and capacity-building, advocacy, thought leadership and networking to drive climate action and sustainable development.
To date, more than 100 global, regional and local partners have used the Academy for knowledge sharing, capacity building, training and collaboration.
Reflecting on its impact, An said: “As a developer and building owner, we have the privilege of applying our expertise in creating purposeful spaces to support worthy causes as a way of community investment.
“Over time, (the Academy) has built a community to amplify green and sustainable best practices. That is what we really want to build – the community, spirit, and camaraderie to do good together.”
Some 3,200 square feet of solar panels generate about 60,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of solar energy a year on average, exceeding and fully offsetting the Academy’s energy consumption of about 50,000 kWh yearly.
This is what makes the facility net-zero-energy. Excess energy generated is channelled towards City Square Mall’s use.
Behind the effort is the belief that “the best and most effective way in advocacy is by showing what a net-zero green building means”, said An.
She added: “In the earlier years, a general lack of awareness about sustainability and green practices was a challenge. Many companies along our value chain had little understanding about sustainability and green buildings.
“To realise our ethos of conserving the environment as we build, we knew from the onset the importance of engaging our consultants, suppliers and contractors to deliver the desired result together.”
The Academy was thus a result of an extensive public-private-people partnership involving six government agencies and 15 industry partners.
An, meanwhile, said CDL’s impact came out of a decades-long sustainability journey that began in 1995, when sustainability was “not a mainstream agenda yet”.
Another of its “firsts” was becoming South-east Asia’s first real estate conglomerate to sign the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment – a global pledge to achieve net-zero operational carbon by 2030. It became a signatory in 2021.
To achieve this target, CDL said it intends to retrofit its managed buildings to enhance energy efficiency, achieve 100 per cent renewable energy, phase out diesel across all operations, and educate building users to change mindsets and action.
On why this has to be a priority, An said: “We have already seen record-high temperatures over the last eight years, and the recent heatwave and climate extremes are alarming.”
“Measuring the quantifiable carbon footprint has helped us identify gaps and improve performance over the years,” she added. “Given that the building industry accounts for close to 40 per cent of global energy-related carbon emissions, how we design, build and operate buildings will have a significant and long-standing impact on the planet.”
While more people have become interested in sustainability, An said knowledge and skill sets are still not at the scale and pace needed for the entire building industry to accelerate change. For instance, sustainable building materials are still not as easily available and financially viable as desired, she noted.
“To create impact and change behaviour, we need to offer clear guidance, empower our supply chain with the knowledge and skill set to adopt best practices together.”
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