HONG KONG
Emissions reduction a top priority for the construction industry
The extreme weather around the world recently has forced us to think seriously about the big issue of global warming.
Buildings currently account for nearly 40% of energy-related carbon emissions globally, according to the World Green Building Council. The emissions come from two sources: The first is daily operation of households, industrial and commercial buildings, as well as shopping malls. Lighting, air conditioning, and more, account for 27% of the world’s annual carbon emissions. The other source of emissions is from building process, maintenance and demolition which account for about 10% of annual carbon emissions.
The United Nations predicted that 2.5 billion people would move to cities over the next 30 years, which according to the construction industry, will translate to building 13,000 houses every day till 2050, in order to keep pace with the global population growth. The building-related carbon emissions may double by that time.
The Hong Kong Green Building Council estimates that since Hong Kong is densely populated, buildings account for more than 60% of local carbon emissions, and up to 20% for construction projects.
As there are more than 500 new buildings in Hong Kong every year, how to construct and manage buildings in a more environmentally friendly way is an important task.
BEAM Plus is the Hong Kong’s leading initiative to offer independent assessments and certification of building sustainability performance, with an aim to make buildings more efficient and emit less carbon. Since 2011, more than 2,000 buildings have been registered with BEAM Plus (not equivalent to certification). In fact, customers in general appreciate green buildings. A study from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University found that the price of flats in BEAM Plus-certified buildings is 3.4%-6.4% higher than those in nonregistered buildings. This is also the case in other places, such as Singapore, where there is a 4-5% premium for officially certified green buildings, and about 5% in Tokyo, Japan.
However, the sales premium cannot offset the high cost. A study conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors in 2017, referring to examples from many places around the world, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines and the Middle East, concludes that there is on average 34% increase in capital cost of green building projects which holds back many real estate developers.
Problems bring business opportunities. For example, startups, venture capital and cement manufacturers are looking for more environmentally friendly options to replace concrete. Meanwhile, in Finland, Norway and Sweden, nearly half of new homes are factory-built by assembling components in a factory before moving them on-site. The method is called prefabrication of which the advantage is much faster construction period as production of components can be carried out at the same time with the foundation works. For example, the on-site construction period of the InnoCell at Pak Shek Kok, Tai Po was shortened by 50%. The prefabrication also reduces material wastage by up to 85%, energy consumption by 5% and greenhouse gas emissions by 3%.
In fact, Hong Kong used this method to build Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate early in the 1960s. But again, cost is an issue. Prefabrication of modules could increase unit construction cost by 17%, according to a study by the Legislative Council Secretariat. Are there any solutions? Let’s discuss this in my next article.
Environmental performance of old buildings needs to be improved
At least 500 new buildings are constructed in Hong Kong every year which generates substantial carbon emissions. The construction industry must urgently look for more environmentally friendly construction methods, one is prefabrication of modules.
Recently, the Secretary for Housing said that this method would be adopted more frequently to speed up the construction of public housing. But using prefabrication of modules will increase the cost, what’s the choice? In addition, Hong Kong currently only adopts modular integrated construction (MiC) method in six types of government buildings, such as schools and office buildings. Is there any scope for promoting the method to private developers?
A study by the Legislative Council Secretariat cited the example of Singapore, pointing out that MiC has been extensively adopted due to labour shortage and high demand for building as many as 19,000 public housing units each year, and a number of concurrent infrastructure projects. The method is environmentally friendly, and also saves manpower. Therefore, the Singapore government mandates selected private development projects, such as hotels and residential buildings, to use MiC to build at least 65% of the total floor area. It also provides subsidies for construction companies that use the MiC method (there are similar measures in Hong Kong). At the same time, the authority also relaxed traffic regulations for transporting MiC modules. Through a multi-pronged approach, the use of MiC method doubled from 19% to 39% during 2017-2020.
I think it's worth emulating the advocacy of local production of building modules. Singapore not only allocates land to help the relevant enterprises to establish there, but also provides tax allowance to boost local production of MiC modules. Meanwhile, construction workers displaced by MiC are provided with associated training. It is expected to train 80,000 people with knowledge of latest building technologies in five years, expanding the talent pool. Will Hong Kong's re-industrialisation actively consider following Singaporean practice?
Apart from that, existing buildings are also a significant source of carbon emissions. According to government statistics, power generation is the largest source of the problem, accounting for more than 60% of total emissions. In the electricity consumption category, commercial and residential air conditioning consumes the most energy. Research and development of green technology to enable more efficient use of air conditioning and to reduce overall power consumption is of top priority.
DeepMind, a British startup company that defeated the world Go champion with artificial intelligence AlphaGo a few years ago, claimed to have developed algorithms in 2016 to cool the millions of computer servers in Google's data center with energy saving by 40%. In Hong Kong, a local company has also developed energy-saving solution by installing sensors to reduce power consumption and carbon emissions in buildings.
However, the issue of ageing buildings in Hong Kong has worsened the problem. The number of private buildings aged 50 years or above has surged to 8,600 in the past 10 years. The Operation Building Bright takes the immediate needs of the public such as fire safety, lift replacement, and drainage system repair as the primary consideration. Whether to use environmental friendly materials is not the priority. In fact, maintenance of old buildings is expensive, Italy is an example. In order to revitalise the economy under the Covid-19 epidemic, the government launched the Superbonus 110% Scheme in mid-2020. Each family can enjoy a tax credit up to 110% on the cost of upgrading their home, about €100,000 (about HK$ 850,000), for installing green facilities such as insulation system and solar panels. The Italian government has so far spent €21 billion (about HK$178 billion) over the past two years, it is staggering.
How can our similar global problem be solved? Young people and startups, I hope you can find innovative solutions for us as soon as possible.
-- Contact us at english@hkej.com
DR. WINNIE TANG
Adjunct Professor, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering;
Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences; and Faculty of Architecture,
The University of Hong Kong
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