THE number of green buildings rose rapidly in Shanghai as enthusiasm for sustainable construction continues to grow amid more awareness on efficient use of resources as well as its reduced impact on health and the environment, industry experts told a forum held today in the city.
By the end of last year, Shanghai was home to 398 green buildings with gross floor area totaling 7.56 million square meters, an increase of 101 from the end of 2015, according to Gan Zhongze, president of the Shanghai Green Building Council.
"Shanghai has already become one of the leading cities in China in terms of sustainable design and construction," Gan told the forum. "In the next step, more attention should be paid to operations so as to check the actual results."
His views were echoed by Shui On Land, one of the earliest developers in the country to adopt a sustainable strategy. Most renowned for its Xintiandi shopping and leisure project in downtown Shanghai, the company won China's first LEED Platinum certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) with its Xihu Tiandi project in Hangzhou, neighbouring Zhejiang Province.
"Officially incorporating sustainability into our corporate strategy since 2006, the company has been committed to a green management system focusing on planning, design, construction and operation," said Albert Chan, director of development planning and design at Shui On Land. "We've set six major goals of sustainable development for the next five years through 2021 which has covered LEED and green building certifications, carbon emissions, energy and water resources monitoring systems and a new environment and health index at our projects."
For instance, the company aims to reduce carbon emissions per unit area of its owned properties under normal operating conditions by one third in 2021 from the 2011 level. In the five years through 2016, carbon emissions per unit area had been reduced by 25.3 percent, which outperformed its earlier target of 20 percent.
-source from Shanghai Daily
