Abstract
The building sector in Singapore consumes up to half of the nation’s total energy. The government has therefore been urging the transformation of the industry by targeting 80% of all buildings to be green-certified by 2030. Thus far, Singapore has done relatively well, and is widely viewed as frontrunner in this respect. This paper addresses the question: what are the benefits and limitations of Singapore’s sectoral innovation system in spurring an energy transition in the building sector, in particular by up-scaling the use of green building technology? The Sectoral Innovation Systems (SIS) theoretical framework was used to analyze the Singapore case. Four SIS components were assessed: technological regime, market demand, actor interactions and networks, and institutional framework. The benefits of Singapore’s sectoral innovation system identified in the analysis basically concern aspects of all of the four elements of SIS. Particular success factors concerned the launching of an integrated strategy to support green building innovations (i.e., the Green Mark policy scheme), implementing support policies, and setting up test beds. Furthermore, a masterplan to engage and educate end-users was implemented, knowledge exchange platforms were set up, regulations on the use of efficient equipment in buildings were issued, and standards and a certification system were adopted. The results also shed light on key barriers, namely, the reluctance of building users to change their habits, ineffective stakeholder collaboration, and green buildings innovation support coming from the government only. Measures in place have been moderately effective.
Highlights
The building sector is responsible for a significant share of energy-related carbon emissions across the world [1]
This study aims to further understanding of conditions that may spur large-scale energy transition in Singapore’s building sector
Singapore was chosen as the case study for a variety of reasons, the key one being that Singapore is viewed as a frontrunner in the green building movement in the tropics and subtropics
Summary
The building sector is responsible for a significant share of energy-related carbon emissions across the world [1]. Green construction is generally accepted as the “practice of: (1) increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use energy, water, and materials; and (2) reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal—the complete building life cycle” [6]. This requires close cooperation between the multiple stakeholders involved in the development and operation of a building, including the architects, engineers, and end-users. Some of the key features that might be commonly found in green buildings in Singapore are:
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