Green buildings get green light
By Wu Jiayin
2007-9-27
Shanghai Daily

ALTHOUGH still at the initial stage, "green building" has a promising future in China.Green building refers to practices that promote occupant health and comfort while minimizing negative impacts on the environment. Although construction costs are usually higher for green buildings than for traditional energy-gobblers, the buildings save money in the long run because of reduced fuel costs.

A report by People's Daily at the end of 2004 pointed out that in China, of all the buildings in use (about 40 billion square meters) at that time, 99 percent were highly energy consuming. In 2002, China's buildings accounted for over a quarter of the country's energy consumption, according to Yang Fujia, chancellor of the University of Nottingham, England, and an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences. And that figure is expected to increase to 40 percent by 2020 with the rapid development of the construction sector.

Recognizing this problem, the Chinese government first listed the goal of promoting green buildings and energy-saving buildings in the Outline of National Plan for Medium to Long-term Scientific and Technological Development (2006-2020) in 2005. Chen Yiming, director of the science and technology department promotion center of the Ministry of Construction, explained China's "green" policies at a conference on green building organized by McGraw-Hill Construction in Shanghai on September 13.

In response to the central government's regulation, many enterprises, especially real estate enterprises, are becoming active in the green building movement. Shanghai East Harbor Development Co Ltd, for example, is developing a green office building on the North Bund. It is based on the high standards of the US Green Building Council's LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) certification. According to Kenny H.C. Ko, president of Shanghai East Harbor Development Ltd, the building uses a geothermal heat pump system to tap the constant temperature of the earth as the main source of heating in winter and cooling in summer. Further, to save energy, the company turned down a proposal to make the building's exterior of glass. It also made a wise decision on the ratio of window space to wall space.

As to the part of exterior wall that is made of glass, the company requires energy-saving double-layer hollow glass. In addition, the building is equipped with energy-saving automatic switches, water taps and a rooftop rainwater drainage system. Zhejiang Zhongcheng Industry Co Ltd is now the owner of the largest public green building project in Zhejiang Province - the Jiaxing International China HK city. The project devotes 180,000 square meters of its 1.15 million square meters to an international marketplace for energy saving and environmental friendly building products and equipment. What's more, the site of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing will be equipped with many of General Electric's energy-saving technologies such as a solar-powered lighting power and rainwater recycling system as well as a light-emitting diode system.

Although green building materials nowadays are somewhat more expensive than ordinary building materials, they help to conserve energy in the long run.

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