With the ongoing construction happening in Asia, notable figures on the global green building stage are making their way to see in person how adoption of sustainable building practices are playing out on the ground.At GreenBuild Asia in Hong Kong this May, Malcolm Lai, Director - Head of Construction, Asia Invesco Real Estate stated “There is a correlation between green and financial sucess”. This is why his company invests in greening their projects. This was also why pretty much every other speaker at the event spoke to the cost benefits of green building.
However, project owners expressed their frustration with a lack of expertise and willingness for service providers to take risks in green projects. One such person was Professor Richard Whitfield, Professor of the School of Intelligent Systems and Technology at the University of Saint Joseph in Macau, who is currently building a new campus and faces a lack of expertise in a number of areas. For example, finding energy saving air-conditioner alternatives such as chilled beam ceilings, and people with the expertise to install and maintain them is proving a challenge in Macau.
For Whitfield cities like Macau, and their governments, could do more for themselves in greening every thing from transportation to sanitation. “There is a window of opportunity to be the next big thing that is being squandered” he declares citing the case for electric vehicles in a city as compact as Macau.
That opportunity to be world class is what many of the green building veterans are now broadcasting to the public and private sector in Asia.
The Green Commander
Klaus Toepfer is known internationally for his commitment to sustainable development, and for fighting for the cause of the developing world. During his stay for the Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition 2011 (MIECF), Toepfer shared with RFP his advice for the Chinese regulators on environmental development. Michael Lam reports.
Klaus Toepfer is widely recognised as having spearheaded environmental policy as Minister of Environment in his home country Germany. He introduced ground breaking environmental regulations and laws such as the law on the life-cycle economy and the packaging recycling system, “Green dot”.
Although Toepfer had never been to Macao prior to the conference, he is no stranger to Asia. Toepfer, the former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), was bestowed Honorary Professor of Tongji University, Shanghai, China in 1997. In addition, Toepfer worked together with China’s leading environmentalists to establish the country’s first environmental policies. In one recent interview, Toepfer revealed his “long and lasting love affair” with China would date back to the time when he was the federal minister for environment in Germany in the 1980s.
Green China?
Environmental issues were never high on China’s agenda as economic growth has always been placed as the priority, and debatably “the only objective for the country” according to Toepfer. However, in its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), China aims to cut down energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16 percent and carbon emissions by 17 percent. Although the world’s largest emitter has committed to reduce ‘energy intensity’, it is only committed to do so per GDP unit, not overall energy output. In other words, China thinks that not only it will carry on and emit more but that it believes that it cannot economically avoid it. What would Toepfer tell the government?
“Gradual and significant changes have been seen.” Toepfer says. “Now it is well known that if you are not aware of economic growth giving you potential negative consequences to the social fabrics of the society or the environmental stability, you are deepening the economic costs as well. This is the idea of having the ‘Five-Year Plan’.” Toepfer is convinced that having such plan is necessary, even though it might not be “a giant step”. This is because people now realise that they will need to do more to protect the ecosystem’s services to be able to achieve economic progress now and for the future.
“Germany has one of the most demanding environmental policies in the world, yet it is still a successful economy,” Toepfer continues. “Economic growth and environmental stability can go hand in hand. In fact, economies that are not challenged now with their green policies will lose competitive potential for the future.”
Green Industries in China?
Whilst Toepfer believes that having the Five-Year Plan is one step closer to achieving environmental stability, will the industries in China be equally convinced and motivated to help the government achieve the goals?
Similar to all other regulators, Toepfer, encountered countless obstacles and oppositions against his programmes and targets when he was one of the most influential figures in setting environmental policies. “Setting a target might make industries protest,” Toepfer explains. “But once this has been decided, people will start thinking about innovations to achieve the target.” As dictating as Toepfer makes himself sound, this approach has provided some of the best outcomes for the policies he pushed through.
For example, Toepfer saw the successfully adoption of a law that banned the use of environmentally harmful substances such as Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and ozone depleting substances. Initially, no one thought the target was achievable and that implementation would be an extremely expensive task. It turns out that, such opposing voices arose simply because it had not been done or thought about before. No one even talks about SO2 nowadays. It’s a given.
It has to be noted that not all industries are reactive in environmental development, as there are proactive exceptions too, Toepfer points out. Whilst a lot of companies are only coping with present goals, the larger corporations see the economic benefits for environmental sustainability for the future and they are eager to develop businesses around the green sector. The one company which stands out in Toepfer’s mind is Siemens, a German engineering company which specialises in green technology.
Green Future for China?
One of the recurring problems with introducing targets and environmental legislation is the initial opposition from the industries and society, partially due to the lack of green knowledge and innovation. As such, Toepfer suggests changing the culture and mentality of the industries through forum discussions and education.
Toepfer also believes that through conferences such as MIECF, stimulating conversations will be encouraged in the public sphere, which will eventually lead to development in innovation and technology. On the other hand, in order to promote China’s environmental education, Toepfer donated 100 million RMB in November 2007 to start up “The Klaus Toepfer Environmental Scholarship” fund in China, aiming to raise more social donation, to encourage the China youth and to contribute to solve the increasingly outstanding global environmental problems.
Whilst China is arguably lacking green legends such as Toepfer at present, perhaps this scholarship can inspire our Generation Y and beyond to become the country’s very own commanders.
