GREEN: Home green home

By Aneeta Sundararaj

How can you green your home and lifestyle? Aneeta Sundararaj finds out

WHEN someone tells you he’s modified his house and made it “green”, what is your reaction? Boon Che Wee, 48, chairman of Green Building Index Accreditation Panel says: “Many times, when people hear the word ‘green’, they are either fearful (perhaps of the costs involved) or they feel guilty. Personally, what we should have is hope. We have the knowledge, the technology and now the opportunity.”

Nodding, Louise Chua, 44, Business Development director and project director of Reed Exhibitions adds: “This means that there must be a change in people’s perception of what they have to do.”

Koh Lin Ji, 56, group director of International Development Group, Building and Construction Authority Singapore, also agrees.

Together, they introduced Build Eco Xpo Asia, which is going to be held Sept 11-13 in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands. Participants will get to see that the island republic’s efforts to reduce her carbon footprint, and improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality have helped to ‘green’ the Singaporean lifestyle.

Boon is very keen for Malaysian house owners to take on board the ideas about environmentally-free solutions that he shares. However, one of the problems, he says, is that, unlike Singapore and Australia, for a long while, Malaysia doesn’t have a benchmark to measure any effort that have been made.

GREEN BUILDING ACCREDITATION
In early 2009, together with other volunteers, Boon set up Greenbuildingindex. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia and the Association Of Consulting Engineers Malaysia administrate accreditation for Green-rated buildings (GBI) and training of GBI facilitators and certifiers.

He says: “We looked at Singapore’s Greenmark and Australia’s Green Star to help us create and develop our rating tool. It was created to promote sustainability in buildings and raise awareness of environmental issues among developers, architects, engineers, planners, designers, contractors and the public. GBI is designed specifically for the Malaysian climate, which is hot and humid. This is because we recognised that what applies in another country may not apply here.”

A perfect example of this is the orientation of a house. In the west, it makes sense to have the windows of a structure face the morning or evening sun. It’s cold in those countries and the absorption of heat will help keep the room warm. Trying to heat up an already hot room in the tropics makes no sense. As such, Boon says it’s wiser to have a house built in such a way that the windows are in the north or south. “That way, there is no direct sunlight coming into the home.”

Koh then interjects, adding: “Here, those who built kampung houses had the right idea — they are built above the ground so air can circulate beneath the building. Then, there’s a veranda all around. These are all passive design elements that help conserve energy.”

“I’ve even seen one person make the house smaller,” says Boon. “He realised that he didn’t need so many rooms. So, he made the house smaller and the garden bigger. He didn’t use paints that could harm the environment and he made sure he had a rain-harvesting system.”

GREEN EFFORT
Boon shakes his head at the mention of householders who buy a piece of property only to cement the whole garden because they can’t be bothered to cut the grass.

“They can make cutting the grass a family activity. Or they only need to pave the part of the driveway where the tyres go. Leave the rest as grass.”

“It’s the small gestures that count,” says Koh. “Switch off the mains, buy energy efficient appliances, use green paints that have less volatile organic compounds and start composting.”

Chua says that in Singapore, most hotels now maintain the temperature at between 22 and 25 degrees Celsius. “It’s no longer the case where you have to take a sweater to go to a conference or work.”

“It’s like what Chua said — just a matter of perception,” says Boon. “Look at us now. We’re slowly adjusting our idea of creature comforts. For instance, there was a time when people would not eat outside. But now, you see more people eating al fresco.”

NO EASY TASK
Still, all three admit it remain an uphill task and give a very pertinent example. “In the international schools,” says Chuah, “you will have expatriate children who can play out in the sun. But the children of local rich parents will complain and ask questions such as ‘Why are your walkways not shaded? Are you expecting my child to walk in the sun?’.”

But, says Boon, since the GBI rating system was introduced, the response of all Malaysians has been positive. He is optimistic that his desire to ensure that Malaysian homes will conserve energy resources and be friendly to the environment will bear fruit soon. “We’ll do it one building at a time.”

GREEN HABITS

BOON Che Wee, chairman of Green Building Index Accreditation Panel, refers to the material available on the greenbuildingindex.org website and highlights six key areas where Malaysians can acquire and practise “green” living habits. They are:

ENERGY
We are sourcing for increasingly depleting natural resources that will lead to further damage to sensitive environments. This can have a negative impact on our environment through greenhouse emissions that contribute to climate change. As such, we should take the following steps so that we don’t waste the energy:
• When not in use, turn off all the lights, air-conditioners and televisions.
• Use energy-efficient appliances.
• Use fans and open your windows for cross ventilation.
• Insulate the roof and walls of your home to keep it cool.

TRANSPORT
Improving the way we go about our daily lives can reduce fuel use, which decreases pollution such as smog and greenhouse gas emissions, while reducing household costs and saving time.
• Walk to your destination, cycle or use public transport as often as possible.
•Try to carpool with friends or co-workers.
• Consider the option to live, learn, work and play within the community or locality of your home.
• Consider buying a fuel-efficient car and service it regularly.
• Consider living in an area that has public transport options.

WASTE
Keep in mind the three Rs — Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Proper disposal of waste also helps keep our surroundings clean, healthy and beautiful.
• Avoid excess packaging and use a reusable bag when shopping.
• Recycle packaging and bags.
• Donate unwanted items to charities.
• Use compost systems or worm farms for food scraps and garden waste.
• Correctly dispose of hazardous waste such as batteries.
• Do not litter or discharge waste into the waterways and surroundings.

WATER
Using water wisely helps to maintain adequate fresh water resources for the community and the environment.
• Don’t throw rubbish into drains and waterways.
• Take shorter showers and install taps that turn off automatically.
• Fix faulty plumbing.
• Consider changing appliances such as washing machines and toilets to those that use less water.
• Install a tank to harvest rainwater for use in the garden or external cleaning purposes.
• Implement soil erosion and proper drainage to areas where the soil has been disturbed to prevent siltation of waterways.
• Preserve and maintain water catchment areas.

LIFESTYLE
The group director of International Development Group, Building and Construction Authority Singapore, Koh Lin Ji, says that there are studies that show that those who work in green-rated buildings are more productive. They also adopt a lifestyle that is healthy, and this has translated into a positive contribution to the community’s health and sustainability.
• Change to a healthier diet and lifestyle.
• Exercise regularly or play a sport.
• Get to know your neighbours and help keep your community safe.
• Visit your doctor for regular check-ups.
• Think about sustainability when purchasing or improving your home.
• When you can, buy locally made goods and produce.
• Adopting the attitude of life-long learning and developing new skills are great ways to challenge yourself and meet other people.

ENVIRONMENT
A healthy sustainable environment creates and allows its communities to recreate in it. It is an important heritage to be kept for future generations.
•Join activities to clean your environment.
• Report illegal dumping, open burning, logging, mining or destruction of the natural environment to the authorities.
• Enjoy the natural environment and recreational areas through healthy activities such as walking, jogging, hiking, climbing, boating, swimming, snorkelling and diving.
• Be responsible to help preserve local flora and fauna.

Source: www.greenbuildingindex.org