Rethinking Sustainability

More than half of the world's population live in cities, but the homes, buildings, and infrastructure that make up our concrete jungle are some of the largest contributors to environmental problems. We hear from two women who are leading the push for sustainability in the built environment.

- CHERYL LAI-LIM 

It’s getting hotter by the day here in Singapore. In May, the Republic experienced one of its hottest days at 37 deg C, equalling a 40-year-old record for the highest daily maximum temperature that was set in 1983. As we continue to face the realities of climate change, the built environment has become a key area of focus for sustainability efforts.

According to statistics released by the World Green Building Council, a global network leading the sustainable transformation of the built environment, the building and construction sector is responsible globally for 36 per cent of energy consumption, 38 per cent of carbon emissions, and 50 per cent of resource consumption. The sector is responsible for approximately 40 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, notes the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction.

This means that making buildings more sustainable, energy-efficient, and carbon-neutral is critical in the fight against climate change.

To find out more about the current state of the industry and how we can do better, we sat down with Esther An, chief sustainability officer at City Developments Limited (CDL) and Joy Gai, who is the Programmes Head for World Green Building Council’s Asia Pacific Region, as well as a life coach at sustainability movement Joy of Sustainability (JOS).

The sustainability advocates, who are at the forefront of this movement, discuss how we can work to transform the built environment, and make our cities and communities more sustainable.

Esther An