DBS launches net-zero energy building

A new net-zero energy building was launched yesterday, joining 18 net-zero energy and 35 super low energy buildings, in the Government's push to reduce carbon emissions.

The 30-year-old DBS Newton Green in Bukit Timah Road, which houses over 400 employees, was retrofitted with green features such as a solar panel roof and low-energy appliances. It has been certified by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) as a Green Mark Platinum Zero Energy building, which means it produces more energy than it consumes.

National Development Minister Desmond Lee, who opened the building yesterday, said that buildings contribute over 20 per cent to Singapore's carbon emissions. He added: "Greening our buildings is absolutely crucial to further decarbonise our built environment. The private sector plays an important part in this endeavour."

The move to achieve net-zero energy consumption is in line with the Singapore Green Building Masterplan announced in March last year. According to BCA, as at March this year, close to 7 per cent of new buildings by gross floor area have been certified as super low energy buildings which can achieve energy savings of at least 60 per cent compared with 2005 levels.

In his speech, Mr Lee said the building, with funding from BCA, is expected to recover subsidised retrofitting costs within four years. The total cost of the project is over $5 million. He also highlighted technology used such as driveways made from an amalgam of unrecyclable plastic and reprocessed asphalt waste instead of asphalt derived from crude oil, as well as a system which adjusts lighting based on where people are in the building.

DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta said the building will be a "living test bed for innovative sustainable technologies". He added: "While the sustainability challenges before us are manifold, DBS has prioritised climate action due to the sheer urgency of the issue and how it interrelates with other environmental and social concerns."

DBS has pledged to power all its operations in Singapore using renewable energy by 2030.