Rana Yusuf Nasir, GBCI director of ratings and technology, said Wednesday the framework that will be launched Friday could serve as a test for property developers planning green buildings before the council launches its official rating system in March or early April.

“By May, certification for green buildings can begin,” Rana said at the sidelines of a discussion on rating systems for green buildings. He noted, however, that the framework was for newly constructed buildings. The council will start preparing a rating system for existing buildings next week.

Rana said the official “Greenship” rating system for newly constructed buildings would be decided in a national consensus scheduled for March or early April, when all stakeholders would take part. The stakeholders include property developers, universities, associations and consultants.

Source: Green Building Council Indonesia

GBCI will host a green building seminar this Friday where it will launch the framework and will also present a green building planning pilot project: the new public works agency building. The seminar is expected to be attended by businesses with interests in the building sector.

The framework for the greenship rating system consists of six categories. The first category is appropriate site development, which include the selection of the site, storm water management, access to public transportation, bicycle lanes, site landscaping, heat island effect and community connectivity.  

The second, energy efficiency and refrigerant, focuses on measures in reducing energy consumption by using natural lighting, managing ventilation and infiltration, as well as energy efficiency measures.

The third is water conservation; where the building should have water efficient landscaping, water recycling, and rainwater harvesting systems among others.

In the materials resources and cycle category, the council will look to see whether the building uses environmentally processed products, regional materials and certified wood.

The last two categories are indoor air health and comfort and building environment management.

GBCI’s Bintang A. Nugroho said the rating system was to prevent “greenwashing,” a practice in which companies market products and services using misleading or false environmental claims.

Rana said the onus was on companies to market their products as “green” but that the public should scrutinize those claims.

He said it was not enough for companies to only plant trees or recycle their water to claim they were “green.” He gave the example of several property developers who claimed they were green because they had done one or two simple things.

Rana said the greenship certification for newly constructed buildings would only last three years.

“Developers would have to apply for existing building certification afterward,” he said.

Rana said an average increase in investment of 6 to 7 percent was needed to construct buildings that were in line with green building standards. However, he estimated the payback period was three years.

Rana said a green building had “green performance.” “Water and energy efficiency mean reduced operational costs,” he said.

Rana said an ideal green building could reduce water and energy usage by 20 and 30 percent, respectively.

According to UNEP, cities occupy 2 percent of land but consume 75 percent of resources. The building sector consumes 40 percent of energy, 30 percent of mineral resources and 20 percent of water, the UN body said.

Bintang said the building sector could contribute to energy reduction.

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