Building A Green Future
As concerns mount about the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the climate, so too has global interest in greener, more sustainable buildings. How have properties in Thailand fared? Voralak Suwanvanichkij investigates.
Not long ago, the concept of eco-friendly buildings was dismissed as costly and impractical. It may have been good for the environment, as buildings account for more than half of the greenhouse gas emissions in cities, but it was not necessarily part of one’s business agenda. For both new buildings and retrofits, that sentiment is changing.
Playing Catch Up
In Asia Pacific, Australia has taken the lead in the so-called green building movement. Colliers International, a global property services firm, identifies several key events that helped accelerate progress, including the availability of green building rating tools; competition for brand differentiation among designers, builders, developers, landlords, and other stakeholders; commitment to sustainability measurements backed by benchmarks; government leadership and appropriate regulatory measures; and private sector demand.
The emergence of corresponding factors in other countries reasonably indicates how near (or far) that market is in terms of reaching what Colliers terms “the imminent turning point” of green real estate.
