from the ground Up

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 14 2009
THE firm behind the Tianjin eco-city in China clinched a three billion yuan (S$644 million) deal yesterday, with a Japanese company, to build a 40ha integrated riverfront neighbourhood.
It is the latest in a string of property deals for the city, a 30 sq km demonstration project driven [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Sunday Times, July 12 2009, Headline:
[property special]
More home buyers now recognise the benefits of an eco-friendly home and are willing to pay a premium
When the Government launched Singapore’s first green building rating system – the Green Mark – five years ago, sustainability and climate change were unfamiliar terms to the public.
Today, [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 10 2009
Roadshows, exhibitions to engage residents and show ways to save costs
EFFORTS to reduce Singapore’s dependence on energy generated by fossil fuels have been ramped up and aimed at the heartland.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan launched a bigger, better version of the Energy Save Programme yesterday.
The scheme, [...]

by Jessica Cheam, July 9 2009
Govt may resort to legislation if industry fails to adopt such practices: Mah Bow Tan
NATIONAL Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday called on the building industry to get greener and “build more with less” .
He underlined his call by suggesting that if the industry does not start adopting more environmentally [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 4 2009
Energy Studies Institute to examine its effect on businesses, homes here
A MAJOR study has begun to throw light on just what Singapore might look like in a carbon-priced world where concerns about climate change are finally being tackled.
The Energy Studies Institute (ESI) will examine issues surrounding caps [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, June 27 2009
SINGAPORE’S growing expertise in green technology makes it a choice partner for Russia as it develops its own sustainable energy sector, Russian representatives said here yesterday.
Mr Sergey Obrezanov, director and chief executive of the Russian Business Incubator (RBI), told an energy conference that the country is looking [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, May 28 2009
SINGAPORE’S construction sector, the only bright spot in the economy, is not just growing amid the recession but is also improving its quality and standards.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) last night handed out a record 151 awards at its annual event held at Suntec City.
This was [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, May 22 2009
SOLAR panels of different shapes and sizes are finding their way onto Singapore’s buildings as the nation bids to grow its solar industry.
The Economic Development Board (EDB) said yesterday that it has handed out $8 million in grants for public and private solar projects which will develop [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, May 15 2009
Construction firms largely unaffected, but some suppliers are hit
CAMBODIA’S abrupt ban on sand exports is hitting some local building material suppliers hard, but construction companies are expected to emerge relatively unscathed from the sudden embargo.
The country’s Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a total ban on the export [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, May 9 2009
THE status quo in the global transport sector is not sustainable, Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive Jeroen van der Veer has warned.
Emerging energy sources for transport must be cheap, clean and convenient, he said, speaking to reporters at the Shell Eco-marathon on Thursday.
Given that any overhaul of [...]