The Singapore government will invest an additional S$112 million over the next five years in research and development (R&D) for the built environment (BE) sector.

According to the Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat, the sustained investment in R&D is key to enabling the sector to continue exploring new ideas to build, maintain and renew its BE, so that it remains liveable and resilient.

Over the past decade this support was provided under the Ministry of Development’s Cities of Tomorrow Research & Development (R&D) programme, which helped the BE industry with research and real-world applications to address challenges and continue building productively and safely.

The new funding initiative was announced under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 (RIE2030) plan, specifically investing in the Cities of Tomorrow R&D programme and Built Environment Technology Alliance (BETA) catalyst programme.

The key priorities under this programmes were to advance productive and safe demolition techniques to support urban rejuvenation needs and improve productivity; expand capabilities in modelling building lifespan; strengthen focus on carbon reduction and energy efficiency; and translate research into industry adoption through the BETA programme.

This was one of the announcements made at the International Built Environment Week (IBEW) 2026 which happened from September 2-4 in Singapore.

Themed “Empowering People, Accelerating Intelligence,” the event aimed to equip BE professionals with tools and skills to leverage innovation and enhance the sector with greater confidence and safety, noted Chee.

Alongside this announcement, Chee also shared news on the refreshed Green Mark certification and new accreditation scheme for BE firms. 

Going forward with a greener BE

“While we build faster and smarter, we must also build greener,” said Chee.

To support this effort, the Building Construction Authority (BCA) refreshed the Green Mark certification scheme to make it easier for building owners and developers to come on board and ensure that the country meets its 80-80-80 targets by 2030.

The 80-80-80 targets involve: to green 80 per cent of buildings in Singapore by gross floor area (against current 66 per cent), to have 80 per cent of new developments be Super Low Energy (SLE; current 33 per cent) and to achieve 80 per cent of improvements in energy efficiency from 2005 levels (current 72 per cent).

Introduced in 2005, the Green Mark aims to raise sustainability standards for the BE industry and support greening of buildings as the sector accounts for over 20 per cent of Singapore’s carbon emissions.

These improvements translate into saving more than 4.6 billion kWh of electricity annually – equivalent to powering over one million 4-room HDB flats, eliminating approximately 1.9 million tonnes of carbon emissions, and generating cost savings of around S$1.6 billion per year, said Chee.

The refreshed Green Mark Version 7 (GM v7) was developed in collaboration with industry stakeholders and incorporated feedback from consultations with over 150 organisations and 280 professionals across the BE sector.

This ensures that the certification balances sustainability ambitions with practical and cost-effective implementation.

The refresh is anchored on three objectives: to advance the greening of Singapore’s buildings, to mainstream SLE buildings, and make sustainability more practical and achievable.

New energy rating under the GM v7

The GM v7 introduced the BCA Energy Rating, a certification focused on energy performance alone which aimed to provide an alternative entry point into the green building ecosystem.

“This will enable more building owners to start their sustainability journey through energy improvement retrofits, and to progressively do more over time,” added Chee.

GM v7 would also recognise Alternative Cooling Technologies, which can reduce cooling energy use by up to 50 per cent compared to conventional air-conditioning systems, as well as introduce a new SLE70 Green Mark tier to recognise industry frontrunners that achieve the highest levels of energy performance for green buildings, noted Chee.

The SLE70 is achieved by delivering 70 per cent energy savings against a building’s 2005 baseline.

The GM v7 was piloted in different projects and results have shown higher energy performance was achievable.

The Singapore Management University (SMU)’s Administration Building was one of the cases presented at IBEW 2026, as the building underwent an energy improvement retrofit and achieved an SLE60 Energy Rating, with a payback period of less than four years.

The building employed hybrid cooling across office spaces, installed solar panels for renewable energy, and switched to lightning controls powered by daylight and presence sensors.

Singapore currently has more than 2,700 BCA Green Mark buildings locally and over 350 BCA Green Mark projects across 18 countries.

The GM v7 would seek to increase these numbers as well.

Projects can apply for GM v7 as of September 2, and the BCA Green Mark 2021 will continue to run in parallel to provide the industry time to transition, with applications closing from April 1, 2027, and all active Green Mark 2021 assessment to conclude by end 2027.

Launch of Site Supervision Firm Accreditation scheme

Earlier this year, MND set up the Action Team to improve BE productivity, which brought together government agencies and industry partners to find solutions that can help to save time, cost and manpower while upholding safety and quality.

Building stronger firm-based site supervision capabilities was a key area of focus, said Chee, as developers and builders will be required to engage licensed firms to supervise building works for projects exceeding S$75 million in value from 2028.

The new Site Supervision Firm Accreditation Scheme was announced to support this shift, launched by the Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC) in consultation with BCA.

Firms must be accredited under this scheme before they can be licensed by BCA to provide the mandatory site supervision services for large-scale structural works projects.

The accreditation scheme will assess whether firms have the necessary governance structure, systems and processes in place to ensure efficiency and quality control in site supervision, and capabilities to harness technology.

“Licensed site supervision firms will play an important role in helping to keep pace with the demands of increasingly complex projects and new technological developments, while ensuring quality and safety,” said Chee.

Developers and builders are encouraged to engage accredited site supervision firms before the new requirements take effect in 2028.