Mark Lee on Building Control (Amendment) Bill

The Building Control (Amendment) Bill outlines robust measures to improve energy efficiency but these will likely place financial strain on building owners, particularly those managing older buildings or small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Making this point in Parliament on Tuesday (Sep 10), NMP Mark Lee called on the Government to consider leveraging schemes that already support sustainability projects such as the Enterprise Financing Scheme (Green), Energy Efficiency Grant and Green Mark Incentive Scheme - with tweaks to include, for example, non-enterprise owners and smaller buildings, especially strata-titled properties. Beyond financial assistance, knowledge and capability support will be essential, said Mr Lee. So, Singapore must pre-emptively invest in expanding the pool of qualified sustainability consultants and energy auditors, to keep costs reasonable and ensure timely implementation of the Bill. Mr Lee said care must be given to the metrics for calculating a building’s energy use intensity (EUI). Including operational energy, for instance, would potentially create additional burdens on sectors such as manufacturing. How EV chargers, especially in malls and office car parks, will be factored in must also be considered. For buildings that are structurally difficult to retrofit, such as heritage or historically significant ones, Mr Lee recommended the inclusion of flexibility clauses. He also urged incentives for early adopters and innovators as well as ensuring alignment across Government agencies so that regulations are not applied in an overly complex or restrictive way.