AHEC Partners with SFIC for Sustainability Summit Multi-faceted approach to sustainability

It was fitting that the summit opened with a talk by Wong Mun Summ, Founding Director of WOHA, who also designed the award-winning Pan Pacific Orchard where the summit was held. Wong shared how his firm measures the impact of their building designs in five key areas: Landscaped areas, Community spaces, Civic contributions, Ecosystem impact, and Self-sufficiency in resource usage. Measuring the impact of designs in this multi-faceted way ensures that the buildings are designed to last, minimising the carbon footprint of demolishing and rebuilding sites.

During the panel discussion, the audience also heard how others approach sustainability. Tan Szue Hann from Keppel, a large Singapore property developer, spoke about how Keppel encourages tenants to repurpose and re-use furniture and fittings from previous tenants in order to reduce waste. Andy Russell from JEB Group, an office furniture solutions provider, discussed how his firm is encouraging clients to repurpose existing office furniture to refresh them, rather than sending them to the landfill. JEB Group designers are approaching sustainability from end-to-end, starting with designing products for easy remanufacturing, to setting up remanufacturing facilities to repurpose them.

Recognising that consumers are demanding environmental accountability, SFIC also officially launched the Sustainable Furniture Mark with Guest of Honour Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth. The Mark was awarded to 28 companies who committed to low-emissions of formaldehyde in their products.

John Chan, AHEC Director for Greater China & Southeast Asia shared his thoughts about the summit "AHEC is pleased to continue our longstanding partnership with SFIC. SFIC has been a stalwart in championing sustainability in Singapore and the broader region for years. During this summit, I thought it was great how the discussions centred around how sustainability manifests in so many different ways. A critical component is careful material selection such as using responsibly harvested sustainable American hardwoods. It also matters that we design with purpose in the built environment to ensure buildings have a net positive civic effect on the community, and we also consider both ease of remanufacturing and reuse at the end of life. I'm heartened to know that besides being a design hub, Singapore is also striving to be a leader in sustainable design. "

Ending the summit, Wong from WOHA responded to a question posed by the audience on how to balance client budgets with sustainability concerns. "Designers have a responsibility to educate consumers on the lifecycle cost. Good design coupled with careful material choice and craftsmanship results in designs which last a lifetime. While good design may cost slightly more upfront, the long-term savings on the environment and wallet are clear. To quote a book title - we need to Be Good Ancestors - safeguarding our resources for the next generation."