THE
Ministry of Development (MoDev) identified a "Green Roadmap", which
will eventually lead to a National Green Building Certification Scheme for
green buildings in Brunei.
The ministry launched the Green Building
Initiative (GBI) yesterday, featuring exhibitions on the construction and
benefits of green buildings. The exhibition is open for all members of the
public beginning yesterday until March 6.
In a press release, the Ministry of
Development said that GBI seeks to develop a structure that is
"environmentally responsible and resource efficient" in all stages of
its development: design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and
demolition.
Speaking with The Brunei Times, a committee
member of the GBI, Hj Mohd Shukri Hj Othman said the ministry is currently at
its research stage and has initiated their data collection to "get a
baseline" of the green initiatives. The data collection will take a period
of two to five years to be completed.
The National Green Building Certification
Scheme will cover aspects such as lighting, windows, and the infrastructure of
the building. "(We) need to determine standard for how much natural light
should be allowed in...as part of certification's minimum criteria," he
said as an example.
It is an inevitable part of the roadmap, Hj
Mohd Shukri said, and it will "sooner or later" apply to all sectors.
Brunei is currently basing the certification on Singapore's BCA Green Mark
scheme, he added.
However, Brunei will have to start from
scratch because, Hj Mohd Shukri said, Singapore's baseline or standards for
green building were "too high" for Brunei at the moment.
"The standards are just too high for
Brunei. We're not there yet," he told The Brunei Times.
However, he was optimistic Brunei will
eventually reach Singapore's standards: "Singapore did the same thing as
well. They started somewhere, and once they got everything, they began to raise
up their standards. So that's the direction we are going."
The baseline will be developed with "our
own designs", tailorsuited to Brunei's needs. He also raised the
possibility of incorporating new technologies in new building projects to
support the GBI. The vertical housing projects are among some of the projects
that abide with the green standards, he said.
In support of the GBI, the MoDev and its
departments have begun other green initiatives in its workplace by reducing the
use of air-conditioners in the ministry and department buildings, increasing
the temperature from 22 to 23 degrees to save energy.
The ministry also launched a "No-Lift
Sunday" to encourage the staff to take the stairs and save energy every
Saturdays, and a Rainwater Harvesting Pilot Project at the Public Works
Department headquarters, whereby rainwater will be used for toilet flushing.
Hj Mohd Shukri believed that more awareness
still needed to be raised on the green building concept, which was a lot more
than landscaping. "We have to do our own projects first (and) make sure it
works. If it works, then we will spread out to other ministries. That's where
the new regulations come in."
The practice of GBI is aimed to reduce the
environmental impacts of physical structures by ensuring minimal use of energy
and water, and by recycling reuseable materials; in efforts to tackle worldwide
environmental issues such as climate change and conservation of non-renewable
resources.
Hj Mohd Shukri further expressed his hope for
cooperation from other sectors and members of the public to support the green
initiative. "Everyone must be aware of this thing, because mostly energy
(consumption) is just too high at the moment."
LOW LENG MAY AND UBAIDILLAH MASLI
The Brunei Times
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