[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]As part of the plan for sustainable development for Singapore's built environment, Singapore rolled out its second Green Building Masterplan in 2009, with focus to green the large stock of existing buildings by 2030. Also, just early this year, Singapore launched the Sustainable Blueprint under the Sustainable Singapore drive which aims to make the city a lively and livable one. This blueprint consists of strategies and initiatives needed for Singapore to head in this direction and beckons individuals, companies and the government to all play their part.

Singapore is certainly not alone in her efforts and is joined by other nations in the region. Thailand has its “Low Carbon City” initiative which aims to help achieve reductions in GHG emissions and catalyse this shift to a low carbon society. The Philippines too has its green initiative that will serve to enhance the quality of life for citizens.

As the region forges ahead with its green agenda, Singapore in particular, has also repeatedly highlighted the importance of Public Private Partnership (PPP) for its green-city drive to gain greater momentum. A city can only be considered truly green if infrastructure in the form of residential, industrial and commercial all consciously incorporates green elements into design and functionality.

“Since 2009, BEX Asia has taken the lead to drive the industry green movement by providing a platform for regional interaction,” said Ms Louise Chua, Project Director of Reed Exhibitions which organises BEX Asia.

She also added that, “Through the provision of this platform to facilitate the exchange of technologies and ideas, we hope to be able to help propel the industry to its next stage and encourage companies to take a more integrated approach in terms of adopting green technologies and methods.”