This year the organisers expect BEX Asia and MCE Asia, which have 550 companies exhibiting, to attract 11,500 visitors. — VNS Photo Bo Xuan Hiep

Bo Xuan Hiep

SINGAPORE (Biz Hub) — The green-building industry has seen robust growth in Asia and is set to expand further as more building owners join the sustainability movement, an international conference that opened on September 2 in Singapore heard.

The International Green Building Conference is being held by the Singapore Building and Construction Authority as part of the 2015 Singapore Green Building Week (from August 31 to September 6).

Being held at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore Convention Centre, it has attracted more than 1,000 green-building experts, policy makers, academics and built environment practitioners from Vi?t Nam, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines and others.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Michelle Lim, managing director of Reed Exhibitions, the organiser, said going green and building sustainable buildings are not the responsibility of any single entity, but require a collective effort by Government agencies and private players like developers, architects, consultants, and other industry stakeholders.

With rising urbanisation, the demand for energy in Southeast Asia is set to increase by a staggering 80 per cent between 2013 and 2035, according to the organiser.

As the region gears up to meet this demand, one of the biggest challenges is balancing the need for affordable energy while curbing greenhouse gas emissions - the main cause of climate change.

Technology, among other factors like pricing, demographics and economics will play a key role in Southeast Asia's energy future.

The conference will see 44 industry experts sharing their opinions on various green-building topics and best practices for a sustainable built environment.

The topics on the agenda include smart technologies for the industry, renewable energy, lighting and cooling among others.

In addition to the conference, two other major events have also opened - the Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia and 2015 Mostra Convegno Expocomfort (MCE) Asia.

The former, a premier tradeshow for the green-building and construction industries in the region, has brought together thousands of buyers and sellers since it was first held in 2008.

BEX Asia has attracted exhibitors from a wide range of countries, which helps facilitate the sharing of global solutions and case studies.

This year Reed Exhibitions is bringing the MCE to Asia for the first time.

The 2015 MCE Asia focuses primarily on four main themes -cooling, water, renewable energy, and heating. A geo-clone of the renowned MCE event held in Milan, Italy, for the past 55 years, it presents the latest technologies and most innovative solutions from across the world.

Lim said these themes are particularly important to the green-building industry today because of an "increased focus on climate change."

It is therefore an opportune time to get the regional conversation going about creating sustainable solutions in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning industry, she added.

At the 2015 MCE Asia, many European companies - pioneers in the research and implementation of green technology - will bring their much-needed expertise to Asia, where many companies are starting to adopt sustainability practices like installing green technologies in their buildings.

One of the significant examples is the series of partnerships between Viet Nam and Denmark over the past five years to develop their knowledge and technology related to climate change, green growth and energy.

A major project led by the two governments was the "Low Carbon Transition in Energy Efficiency Sector in Viet Nam", a two-pronged approach to encourage green growth in Viet Nam by improving the energy efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises and buildings.

This is for the second year that Viet Nam is taking part in BEX Asia.

Nguyen Hong Ha, trade secretary at the Vietnamese embassy in Singapore, told Viet Nam News that sustainable building materials made in Viet Nam cannot compete with products from other markets unless manufacturers improve their trade promotion and export marketing.

This year the organisers expect BEX Asia and MCE Asia, which have 550 companies exhibiting, to attract 11,500 visitors.

Reed is the world's leading event organiser, having held over 500 in 43 countries. — VNS