Although policy-wise, China is undergoing a new green revolution in its construction industry, many query how quickly and how well this change will occur. The question is most relevant as the green building industry is very new in China with the first sustainable buildings only being completed in the past five to six years. The new Ministry of Science building in Beijing was the first project to pass the LEED green building rating system, and this was only in 2006.

Green Buildings

Construction and day-to-day operation of buildings has a massive impact on the environment. The energy use for the construction of buildings, their heating and cooling requirements and the manufacture and transportation of building materials represents 45 percent of China’s total energy use. The adoption of green buildings – those designed with environmental principles in mind – can greatly reduce energy and water consumption by 50 percent or more, thus greatly addressing the issue.

The government has adopted a carrot and stick approach for green buildings, with tax incentives and favorable statutory review for green projects, while also using legislation to control energy performance.
It is pleasing to note that the majority of developers in China are no longer wondering whether or not to adopt a green building strategy, but rather how to do so. With a changed attitude towards green buildings, the opportunities in the building industry are immense with prospects for building professionals with these skills to capture a share of the thriving green building market. Along with the opportunities are huge challenges for the industry as it recalibrates itself towards the new sustainable agenda. Despite good intentions, will China be able to respond?

Rapid Urbanisation

It is not just with buildings that China requires a sustainable agenda, but also with the planning of its future cities. In China the rate of urbanisation is increasing at a pace that has never in history been witnessed before. United Nations data predicts the Chinese urban population to grow by an additional 330 million people by 2030. At today’s population levels that is equivalent to adding forty-five Hong Kong’s, seventy-nine Sydney’s, forty London’s or 560 Abu Dhabi’s to China in the next twenty years.

Due to the sheer number of people involved, urbanisation in China will affect the whole world. As people in countries like China switch from peasant farming to urban lifestyles, their use of fossil fuels, food and manufactured products increases dramatically creating a strong demand for energy and resources. At the same time the existing urban dwellers are consuming at ever increasing rates with China set to have the largest middle class in the world by 2015. A solution that China is adopting to counter the large resource and energy demands is the planning of Sustainable cities or Eco-cities for its new urbanized areas.

Sustainable Cities

With the growing understanding of the adverse environmental consequences of existing cities that are failing us in terms of climate change, many governments worldwide (both national and city-based) are promoting sustainable cities. A sustainable city is an entity developed to minimize its energy and resource requirements, and reduce the waste output created by its inhabitants. As much as possible it attempts to strike a balance with nature.
Action at a city level has proved to be very effective as the layers of government are minimal and the scale of the initiatives are practical. There are many possibilities in implementing sustainable measures, for example, cities can reduce their dependence on private cars through efficient public transportation systems; reduce the use of power for heating and cooling by proper building orientation and the use of solar power; and promote sustainable waste management and organic food production systems within their local vicinities.

China is leading the world in the adoption of sustainable cities. It was instrumental in supporting the first planned Eco-city development in Dongtan, Shanghai and since then has proposed sustainable city examples in most of the major provinces of China.

Another required strategy for creating a green future lies with existing cities. An existing city can reduce its environmental impact by integrating or retrofitting sustainable solutions. The Clinton C40 initiative is a leading example of cities worldwide that are focusing on changing their make-up towards a sustainable future. Its focus is to implement a range of actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong are all signatories to the C40 initiative, which provides direct assistance by creating a purchasing consortium, and facilitating the sharing of information about successful programs.

A Greener Tomorrow

China is at a crossroads in its evolution and has not only its own fate but to a lesser degree the fate of the planet tied up in its approach to development over the next 20 years. Producing sustainable cities and green buildings in China will have initial difficulties and a slight cost premium in the short term, but will create a cost effective infrastructure in the future that could avert a global disaster. China has made some vital decisions towards a sustainable future, recognizing that its choices today will impact on the opportunities for its future generations. In this sense China is taking a huge step along the path to a better tomorrow and showing strong leadership. It is up to us all in the building and planning industry to respond to this challenge and make the policy a reality.

Sandy Edge, Principal of Woods Bagot, recipient of 2008 Earth Champion award for his commitment to the sustainable built environment in Hong Kong.