Page 68 - 2023 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
P. 68
3 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
Gold, and new public housing to achieve at least building towards decarbonization. Japan has
BEAM Plus Gold. strengthened its green building development
by proposing the mandatory installation of
The main difference between Hong Kong, solar panels in all newly constructed buildings
Macau and GBA cities in terms of green building (zero-energy buildings or ZEBs) and houses
regulation is the different standards adopted. In (zero-energy house or ZEHs) by 2030, and in all
Hong Kong, international green building standards buildings and houses by 2050 (MLIT, 2022)45. By
such as BEAM and Leadership in Energy and taking cues from Japan, local governments could
Environmental Design (LEED) certifications are tighten regulatory controls and revise target
adopted, while in GBA cities and Macau, the settings to incorporate more green building
nationwide green building certification system is features in all new buildings.
adopted instead. This creates potential challenges
for investors when evaluating the sustainability Accelerating property development to and
performance of real estate businesses, as GBA construction technology
cities do not have a consistent green building
standard to follow. Over the past decade, proptech has become
a popular tool for transforming the real estate
To address this, policy makers should support sector. A survey conducted by the Urban Land
property developers in applying for international Institute and the EY Greater China Region found
green building certifications such as LEED and BEAM that 44% of surveyed companies had adopted
Plus, and integrate local and international green at least one proptech solution. The GBA market
building standards. To encourage the adoption of for proptech is expanding rapidly due to its
these international standards, governments could ability to drive digital transformation in the
also offer financial incentives such as subsidies for construction industry, reduce costs and contribute
green building certification applications. to decarbonization. Shenzhen, Guangzhou and
Hong Kong are particularly strong in proptech
Green building development plays a crucial investment, accounting for 13.9% of all proptech
role in decarbonizing the real estate sector, but it investment in China46.
alone may not be enough to help China and Hong
Kong achieve carbon neutrality. The development To support the industry in adopting proptech,
of zero-carbon buildings, which are designed the Hong Kong Green Building Council has
and equipped with eco-friendly technologies to published a best practice guidebook47 on smart
achieve net-zero carbon emissions, could be a building design. This guidebook outlined the use
gamechanger in accelerating GBA's low-carbon of smart construction technologies throughout
transition and achieving self-sufficiency in the the entire project lifecycle, from planning and
energy consumption of buildings. design to construction, operation, maintenance
and demolition.
One example of a green building project in
Hong Kong is the Zero Carbon Building in Kowloon Real estate enterprises in the GBA are also
Bay44. The park generates on-site renewable actively participating in the adoption of smart
energy with photovoltaic panels and is equipped construction and green building technologies.
with a tri-generation system using biofuel made For example, the GBA has adopted technologies
from waste cooking oil to achieve net-zero such as building information modeling (BIM)
carbon emissions. Green building strategies were for construction management, IoT inspection
incorporated and implemented from design to
construction to reduce carbon emissions, making 45 Climate action tracker, https://climateaction-
it a leading practice in Hong Kong. tracker.org/countries/japan/policies-action/
46 EY, https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-
Moving forward, local governments could sites/ey-com/en_cn/news/2022/09/ey-uli-gba-prop-
play a more active role in leading green tech-white-paper-en.pdf
44 ZCP, https://zcp.cic.hk/eng/story-of-zcb 47 HKGBC, https://www.hkgbc.org.hk/eng/re-
sources/publications/Files/HKGBC_Smart-Green-Build-
ing-Design-Best-Practice-Guidebook.pdf
68
Gold, and new public housing to achieve at least building towards decarbonization. Japan has
BEAM Plus Gold. strengthened its green building development
by proposing the mandatory installation of
The main difference between Hong Kong, solar panels in all newly constructed buildings
Macau and GBA cities in terms of green building (zero-energy buildings or ZEBs) and houses
regulation is the different standards adopted. In (zero-energy house or ZEHs) by 2030, and in all
Hong Kong, international green building standards buildings and houses by 2050 (MLIT, 2022)45. By
such as BEAM and Leadership in Energy and taking cues from Japan, local governments could
Environmental Design (LEED) certifications are tighten regulatory controls and revise target
adopted, while in GBA cities and Macau, the settings to incorporate more green building
nationwide green building certification system is features in all new buildings.
adopted instead. This creates potential challenges
for investors when evaluating the sustainability Accelerating property development to and
performance of real estate businesses, as GBA construction technology
cities do not have a consistent green building
standard to follow. Over the past decade, proptech has become
a popular tool for transforming the real estate
To address this, policy makers should support sector. A survey conducted by the Urban Land
property developers in applying for international Institute and the EY Greater China Region found
green building certifications such as LEED and BEAM that 44% of surveyed companies had adopted
Plus, and integrate local and international green at least one proptech solution. The GBA market
building standards. To encourage the adoption of for proptech is expanding rapidly due to its
these international standards, governments could ability to drive digital transformation in the
also offer financial incentives such as subsidies for construction industry, reduce costs and contribute
green building certification applications. to decarbonization. Shenzhen, Guangzhou and
Hong Kong are particularly strong in proptech
Green building development plays a crucial investment, accounting for 13.9% of all proptech
role in decarbonizing the real estate sector, but it investment in China46.
alone may not be enough to help China and Hong
Kong achieve carbon neutrality. The development To support the industry in adopting proptech,
of zero-carbon buildings, which are designed the Hong Kong Green Building Council has
and equipped with eco-friendly technologies to published a best practice guidebook47 on smart
achieve net-zero carbon emissions, could be a building design. This guidebook outlined the use
gamechanger in accelerating GBA's low-carbon of smart construction technologies throughout
transition and achieving self-sufficiency in the the entire project lifecycle, from planning and
energy consumption of buildings. design to construction, operation, maintenance
and demolition.
One example of a green building project in
Hong Kong is the Zero Carbon Building in Kowloon Real estate enterprises in the GBA are also
Bay44. The park generates on-site renewable actively participating in the adoption of smart
energy with photovoltaic panels and is equipped construction and green building technologies.
with a tri-generation system using biofuel made For example, the GBA has adopted technologies
from waste cooking oil to achieve net-zero such as building information modeling (BIM)
carbon emissions. Green building strategies were for construction management, IoT inspection
incorporated and implemented from design to
construction to reduce carbon emissions, making 45 Climate action tracker, https://climateaction-
it a leading practice in Hong Kong. tracker.org/countries/japan/policies-action/
46 EY, https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-
Moving forward, local governments could sites/ey-com/en_cn/news/2022/09/ey-uli-gba-prop-
play a more active role in leading green tech-white-paper-en.pdf
44 ZCP, https://zcp.cic.hk/eng/story-of-zcb 47 HKGBC, https://www.hkgbc.org.hk/eng/re-
sources/publications/Files/HKGBC_Smart-Green-Build-
ing-Design-Best-Practice-Guidebook.pdf
68
