By Andrew Batt:
Bangkok’s Exchange Tower recently became the first building in Thailand to receive a BCA Green Mark Gold Certification.
The Grade A office and retail development at the junctions of Sukhumvit and Asoke-Ratchadapisek which is managed by CBRE, gained the Building Construction Authority of Singapore’s Green Mark Gold Certificate.
The BCA Green Mark Scheme was launched in January 2005 as an initiative to drive Singapore’s construction industry towards more environment-friendly buildings. It is a benchmarking scheme which incorporates internationally recognized best practices in environmental design and performance.
The benefits of the BCA Green Mark include reductions in water and energy consumption, a reduced environmental impact and an improved indoor environmental quality for a more healthy and productive workplace, while also providing a clear direction for continual improvements to be made.
“It is a significant achievement to be Thailand’s first office building to win Green Mark Gold Certification. Exchange Tower is now 97 percent leased,” said Nithipat Tongpun, Executive Director and head of Office Services at CBRE Thailand, the sole leasing agent for the building.
“Tenants are now attaching a greater importance to the environmental performance of office buildings; it is becoming an ever more significant factor in determining their choice of building,” added Nithipat.
CBRE Research has shown that buildings with environmental certification are performing better than non-certified buildings and that a rental differential is starting to appear. This trend started in the USA, Europe and Australia, but is now spreading rapidly to Asia.
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