Most China execs say cutting CO2 emissions is corporate responsibility

This compares with 60 per cent of US executives, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) June 2012 survey of global building executives.

In its latest report on the subject, “Achieving scale in energy-efficient buildings in China: A view from the construction and real estate sectors”, the EIU stated that 28 per cent of China’s carbon-dioxide emissions originate from energy use in buildings, up from 10 per cent three decades ago. 

The World Bank projects a tripling of energy demand from buildings over the next two decades in line with the economic growth.

Government programmes to promote green buildings are well received by the country’s growing private sector, which is increasingly investing in buildings that meet or exceed national and international green certification standards. 

However, greater awareness of cost savings, clearer regulation and easier access to domestic financing are necessary to achieve scale and mitigate carbon emissions, said the report commissioned by the Global Buildings Performance Network in collaboration with the Energy Foundations’ China Sustainable Energy Programme, and in partnership with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Aside from its “Three Star System”, China’s Housing Ministry is also working with the Finance Ministry to develop subsidies to encourage energy efficiency in selected public buildings, helping to cut consumption by 10-15 per cent by 2015. 

China’s recent Green Building Action Plan – action-oriented legislation tied to the 12th Five-Year Plan – will provide subsidies to developers who achieve a Three Star System certification at any level.

Under the Three Star System, a project can receive a “design” certification before construction begins. This starts with a programme called the Green Building Design Label, which grants developers the right to expand the floor area by 1 per cent for each star in the certification system. 

Star level is assessed by the number of measures in place to improve the building’s external and internal environment, energy usage, water savings and operating management. 

However, a project is not actually certified until one year post-occupancy, after a full year’s energy measurement and an on-site assessment. Every three years, assessments are required for renewal of the Three Star System certification. 

 

More investment required   

The report noted that more investment, however, is needed to achieve scale. Government targets and rating systems help, but green building scalability lies in “greater flexibility and simplicity in regulations”, plus clearer government incentives for the private sector.

“Current private sector efforts – if reinforced by strong legislation, attractive incentives and growing demand – could trigger a multiplier effect, turning buildings green, ensuring better air quality for China’s urban dwellers and curbing a significant portion of CO2 emissions,” it said.

A finding in the EIU report showed that China’s CO2 emissions are rising with energy consumption. China emits roughly 6 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases a year – about 17 per cent of total estimated global emissions of 36 billion tonnes, according to PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The US is responsible for about 16 per cent. 

Levels of pollution have become worrisome: they are suffocating China’s urban populace and alerting government and businesses to the urgent need to curb 

emissions. Incentives for and demand for energy-efficient buildings remain low, but 

the Chinese government is now developing plans and programmes to promote green buildings. 

Although occurring mostly at the national level, demand is increasing at the state and local levels, as well. If these efforts lead to greater awareness of cost savings, stronger legislation and greater access to capital and investment incentives, private companies along with state-owned enterprises could lead the charge to achieve scale in energy-efficient buildings, said the report. 

Compared with developed countries in Europe and North America, China’s green building efforts began relatively late but they are ramping up quickly now, according to Borong Lin of Tsinghua University. 

The upward trend is attributable to increased government will, sky-high demand for new builds and the Chinese population’s yearning for cleaner air. 

“What started as an international emphasis on sustainability is becoming a significant part of Chinese culture, due primarily to pollution problems,” says Dan Winey, managing director, Asia-Pacific for Gensler, a San Francisco-based architecture firm designing energy-efficient buildings in China.

According to the China Greentech Initiative Partner Programme, China could save 292,000 tonnes of standard coal, cut 766,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and save 30 million tonnes of water by adding 100 energy-efficient buildings in each year of the 2011-2015 Five-Year Plan, which sets social and economic measures affecting business. 

In January 2013, the State Council issued the National Green Building Action Programme. To date, the Chinese government has certified more than 75 million square metres of green buildings through its Three Star System, not counting more than 80 million square metres certified by the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) programme. 

Winey said roughly 90 per cent of their foreign and 40 per cent of their local clients in China wanted their buildings to be energy efficient. Some clients cite reasons of conscience, while others hope to raise property values. 

“Developers must come up with their own capital,” says Xie Dan, a green-buildings consultant and former Innovation Centre Manager with Vantone Real Estate Group, a Beijing-based developer that won a Chinese Three Star System energy-efficiency award for a 170,000-square-metre, 16-floor housing project in the port city of Tianjin. 

“Covering costs is the developer’s problem. They can’t charge higher prices for green units,” he said.