HBO+EMTB was commissioned to provide interior design and build services for Asian Century Quest Capital, LLC, an Asian equity firm’s new tenancy in the new-built 50 Connaught Road Central.

The design draws on elegant and contemporary Asian flavours. The subtle interplay of luxury furniture and art pieces, rich red colour palette of walls, translucent partitioning and timber flooring, providing a modern aesthetic and Asian cultural accent throughout the front of house. The workspace is also designed to be an open as possible and maximising natural light.

The design also converted an office into flexible and high quality training that support Roche’s mission of promoting teamwork, open communication and effective knowledge sharing.

The open and inviting reception area reinforce the corporate branding of Roche. The five meeting rooms are a series of interrelated rooms with the flexibility of allowing seamless reconfiguration to accommodate functions and special events. By the use of green in combination with white and darken timber colour, the breakout area looks refresh and cozy. The open plan workstations and full-height glazed private offices are also designed to allow easy social interaction among business units.

Since the return of the former railway land to Singapore on 1 July 2011, the Rail Corridor project has garnered widespread public interest. From the feedback we received, it is clear that there are many more people out there who would like to make tangible contributions towards the envisioning of the Rail Corridor’s future. In order to create the window of opportunity for all to participate in this project, the URA is conducting the Ideas Competition from 30 November 2011 to 9 March 2012.

About the Ideas Competition
The Ideas Competition covers a 25.3km stretch from Kranji coastal mudflats in the north to Tanjong Pagar district in the south of Singapore, as well as a 1.9km stretch of former Jurong Line which spurs off from the main line near Bukit Timah Railway Station to Ulu Pandan Canal.

We welcome participants to be bold and creative in envisioning the “possibilities” for the transformation of the Rail Corridor into a truly extraordinary trail with multiple landscapes and experiences that can be enjoyed by all. The challenge is to develop visionary and compelling ideas for the Rail Corridor in response to five key issues that we have identified over the course of our extensive public engagement process.

Useful ideas and concepts from the competition may be distilled into design principles as part of the brief for the Rail Corridor Design Competition that is being considered currently.

An exhibition which features a selection of entries including all award-winners will be held after the competition.

Two Categories – Open and Youth Challenge

There are two categories for the Ideas Competition, namely the “Open” Category and the “Youth Challenge” (secondary school students). While the “Open” Category is open to all interested participants, the “Youth Challenge” is a youth-centric competition which is targeted at secondary school students.

Under the “Open” Category, the public is invited to choose the issue that they would like to address and to propose innovative solutions and ideas in response to the issue. The five key issues are:

1. Bio-diversity and sensitive development
2. Inclusiveness, accessibility and resolving conflicts
3. Community ownership, pride and sense of well-being
4. Heritage
5. Great Ideas for a Public Space

Under the “Youth Challenge”, we encourage young participants in secondary schools to come up with exciting new ideas and proposals that will surprise and excite Singaporeans. The ideas, concepts and proposals need not be limited to the five key issues. They could be wide-ranging reflecting the interests and aspirations of the younger generation, and how the Rail Corridor could be especially meaningful to them. We welcome secondary school students to join us on this exciting journey, to dream up possibilities that could eventually be turned into reality.

Judging and awards
Judging panels, comprising subject matter experts, representatives from the public and private sectors, as well as Rail Corridor Consultation Group members, will be formed for each of the five issues and “Youth Challenge”.

For the Open Category, three top prizes will be awarded for each issue, with cash values of S$2,000, S$1,000 and $500 respectively. Three top prizes will also be awarded for the Youth Challenge comprising cash values of S$1,000, S$500 and S$250 respectively.

For more details, please visit Urban Redevelopment Authority website.

Since the return of the former railway land to Singapore on 1 July 2011, the Rail Corridor project has garnered widespread public interest. From the feedback we received, it is clear that there are many more people out there who would like to make tangible contributions towards the envisioning of the Rail Corridor’s future. In order to create the window of opportunity for all to participate in this project, the URA is conducting the Ideas Competition from 30 November 2011 to 9 March 2012.

About the Ideas Competition
The Ideas Competition covers a 25.3km stretch from Kranji coastal mudflats in the north to Tanjong Pagar district in the south of Singapore, as well as a 1.9km stretch of former Jurong Line which spurs off from the main line near Bukit Timah Railway Station to Ulu Pandan Canal.

We welcome participants to be bold and creative in envisioning the “possibilities” for the transformation of the Rail Corridor into a truly extraordinary trail with multiple landscapes and experiences that can be enjoyed by all. The challenge is to develop visionary and compelling ideas for the Rail Corridor in response to five key issues that we have identified over the course of our extensive public engagement process.

Useful ideas and concepts from the competition may be distilled into design principles as part of the brief for the Rail Corridor Design Competition that is being considered currently.

An exhibition which features a selection of entries including all award-winners will be held after the competition.

Two Categories – Open and Youth Challenge
There are two categories for the Ideas Competition, namely the “Open” Category and the “Youth Challenge” (secondary school students). While the “Open” Category is open to all interested participants, the “Youth Challenge” is a youth-centric competition which is targeted at secondary school students.

Under the “Open” Category, the public is invited to choose the issue that they would like to address and to propose innovative solutions and ideas in response to the issue. The five key issues are:

1. Bio-diversity and sensitive development
2. Inclusiveness, accessibility and resolving conflicts
3. Community ownership, pride and sense of well-being
4. Heritage
5. Great Ideas for a Public Space

Under the “Youth Challenge”, we encourage young participants in secondary schools to come up with exciting new ideas and proposals that will surprise and excite Singaporeans. The ideas, concepts and proposals need not be limited to the five key issues. They could be wide-ranging reflecting the interests and aspirations of the younger generation, and how the Rail Corridor could be especially meaningful to them. We welcome secondary school students to join us on this exciting journey, to dream up possibilities that could eventually be turned into reality.

Judging and awards
Judging panels, comprising subject matter experts, representatives from the public and private sectors, as well as Rail Corridor Consultation Group members, will be formed for each of the five issues and “Youth Challenge”.

For the Open Category, three top prizes will be awarded for each issue, with cash values of S$2,000, S$1,000 and $500 respectively. Three top prizes will also be awarded for the Youth Challenge comprising cash values of S$1,000, S$500 and S$250 respectively.

For more details, please visit Urban Redevelopment Authority website.

RICS季度全球銀主盤監測調查報告解讀全球25個商業房地產市場的發展趨勢。「銀主盤」是指喪失了抵押品贖回權或由抵押權人發佈廣告出售的房產。「銀主盤」的售價通常低於其市場價值。如果一個國家市場的銀主盤數量不斷上升可被視為是一個消極經濟指標；反之數量下調，則意味著經濟呈現復蘇勢頭。

在這一季度，中國的銀主盤投資者需求量依舊遠超於供應量，繼續維持12個月前開始的趨勢。雖然在第三季度，投資者需求略微適度，但是仍然維持在極大的正值中。展望未來，在短期內，銀主盤的供應量將以類同第二季度的速度下降，淨平均值從-20提高到-18。儘管近期出現了關於房地產部門消極的情況，但是商業部門仍然對其維持良好的支撐。根據最新的RICS全球銀主盤監測調查報告，房產專家預期租用和資本價值在未來幾個月中會持續上升。

中國分會主席李旭先生表示:「今年下半年，中國政府進一步加緊了房地產部門的貨幣調控，多數銀行對房地產削減了貸款並且實施了調控以確保融資。同時，一些物業產權化和上市的專案被凍結，大陸的房地產市場投資量持續下降。儘管政府加緊了房地產市場的調控，但是為了中國經濟的增長而且要比西方國家更強，因此我們並不希望在下一年看到銀主盤銷售增長。」

來自主要房地產市場的房產專家表示，2011年第四季度全球銀主盤預期供應量上升。 值得注意的是，在受訪的60%的國家中，淨平均值顯示其供大於求。這與第二季的約40%形成了對比。

話雖如此，卻仍有希望。2011年第四季度巴西、俄羅斯、中國、加拿大和香港的銀主盤需求量預計收縮，而在馬來西亞和捷克共和國的投資者需求好轉，與上一季相比其淨平均值分別從-13上升至+29和-7上升至+5。

RICS 香港分會外事務及公共關注委員會會員關樂平表示：「香港銀主盤市道與全球趨勢略有分別，現時全港僅有50至60個銀主盤盤源，在第三季度內數量仍持續減少，源於樓價仍未有急跌迹象，未會引發銀主盤供應激增。但是近月二手成交淡靜，估計將於半年後方有明顯影響。」

區域重點
印度
印度房產專家表示在這一季度，雖然淨平均值從+51下降至+20，但是投資者興趣卻上升，預示需求量上升速度較緩。雖然與第二季度的速度相比稍微放緩，但供應量預期水準將在第四季度持續上升。

俄羅斯
與上一季度的趨勢相反，在第三季度，特別基金的需求量水準下降，其淨平均值跌入負值（與上一季度相比，從+17下降至-3）。根據調查顯示，雖然與之前相比，速度更為緩慢，但銀主盤的可利用率在第四季度依舊預期下降。

英國
第四季度的銀主盤水準較上一季度有所好轉。迄今為止，銀主盤已受到有效控制，從而在較大範圍上將限制其對房地產價格的直接影響。

備註：
* 南歐： 義大利，西班牙，葡萄牙

淨平均值：淨平均值百分比計算方法——表示「上升」的接受調查者數量減去表示「下降」的受訪者數量。

關於調查報告：「RICS全球銀主盤監測調查報告」屬於「RICS全球商業房地產調查報告」系列之一。該份季度報告詳細解讀全球25個商業房地產市場中銀主盤的發展趨勢。受訪者在調查訪問中須比較2011年第二季度及2011年第三季度的形勢。本季度的調查報告收集了2011年9月23日前遞交的會員回應，並合併了以國家作單位的三個房地產類別 – 辦公室、零售及工業物業，代表整體商用物業市場的一個廣泛指標。

如欲索取報告全文，可在以下網址下載︰http://www.ricsasia.org/newsDetail.php?id=459&regionID=0

Four thousand students will decend on Tsuen Wan in Hong kong as the new design centre.  Their centre for learning is an architecturally award winning building, the commission of which was also the subject of a design competition of 162 teams from 23 countries. The winning design is based around the concept of a blank piece of paper, held aloft on four fingers of a hand.

Rather than the usual approach of creating a poduim sunk beneath high-rise towers, in the HKDI the image is inverted with a ‘floating poduim’ sitting several stories up, creating an umbrella of the space beneath for exhibitions, events and, importantly for Hong Kong, public space. The building is not an obstacle, instead it is a natural gathereing point and thoroughfare for people, ideas and the breeze.

Architect Thomas Coldefy of Coldefy and Associates, a firm started by Thomas’  father in 1984, “has a passion to help introduce low carbon living to Asia Pacific”. As such despite the brief not mentioning any environmental requirements, he was keen to develop his programme to be as green as possible.  He belives that part of an architect’s duty is to educate, inform and influence clients, particularly in low-tech green solutions.  

Coldefy, thingks that the low tech slutions are often overlooked because many of the initial ‘green buildings’ were commercial endevours with big budgets. In these cases, the fundamental building design stayed the same, but expensive high-tech features were added to mitigate environmental impact. For example, he states, the architect deigns a fully glazed building, requiring increased energy consumption for air-conditioning. So the ‘green’ solution was to add double glazing, rather than assessing the need for a fully glazed building on that site. As such Coldefy is not interested in chasing the traditional building certifications such as LEED or BREAM, but searches instead for solutions adapted to the site and purpose.

Working green design
While HKID’s classic materials of glass steel and concrete are hardly green per se, the periferal steel trellis structural system has reduced the number of columns and walls required thus reducing the usage of construction materials all the while channelling natural breezes into the interior, to regulate temperature. Underneath, Hong Kong’s longest escalator of 60 m “tethers” the podium to the ground and shuttles students into the sky of ideas in the podium above.

While accepting that cultural and public building commissions give greater opportunity to “express creatively”, at the Coldefy studio, they teach as part of the comapny culture an ethos of design and space that is both sustainable and uniquely creative whatever the remit.  Setting up a permanent practice in Hong Kong the group want to bring this approach to further commissions in Asia. Even if it means sometimes turning down work.”If you want 300 “Venetian style” villas”, says Coldefy, “We cant help you”.

“What makes buildings exciting is a change of scale and space” he says. However even in cases where teh brief is not as expansive he tries to bring his own ideas. He describes the design institute as a “quite fantastic client” as the changes and restrictions on design were of a moderate and practical nature. The purpose of education is to “elevate the mind” says Coldefy balancing a blank sheet of paper on the tips of his fingers and raising it up. And with the purity of vision that the team were able to achieve, the architecture, he believes, assists in that.

Experience shows that the best green technology and a green label are no guarantee of efficiency. Surveys conducted in the West show that 30% of LEED-certified buildings consume more energy than the average buildings… Although no survey has been done in China, the situation is likely to be even worse in a market, where maintenance is particularly lacking.

Actual performance often differs from the initial design projections. Let’s take a look at a few examples of buildings in China.

• A facility assessment conducted on retrofitted residential buildings revealed sizing problems of the HVAC (a very common problem), compounded by obvious lack of maintenance and cleaning, which going up to the roof for a visual inspection was enough to uncover. The poor condition of the heat pump, adding up to the insufficient air side cooling capacity, resulted in low efficiency and lack of capacity: for the building users it meant comfort issues (29°C in summer, 15°C in winter) and high electricity bills.
• Building Management Systems (BMS) have become a typical feature of green buildings. Audit of a commercial facility showed that the system was installed and working, but was not used by the management team to take corrective actions. This was simply due to lack of skills and lack of building operation procedures in that regards. The building itself was modern, not the management team.
• A large property operator has equipped all its sites with a very advanced centralized Building Management System. When the project was launched, the operator and its advisors (who should have known better…) were clearly enthralled by the Sci-Fi technology proposed and the huge benefits announced. Audits performed a few years down the line show the full-scope of the BMS was never delivered: instead the system only performed the usual building automation functions, appears to be disconnected at most times and cannot produce any useful energy consumption reports.
• A state-of-the-art R&D center was designed by internationally-renowned architects to showcase the deep concern of a multinational for the environment. A picture-perfect facility the day of its opening, the audit two years later revealed the very fast aging of the building and its inefficient HVAC operation. Apart from construction issues the foreign architect did not foresee, the maintenance schedule of the facility had to be totally redesigned.

This is where operation and maintenance come into play, in order to keep the designed performance of a building “alive” during operation. Ideally, operation and maintenance should be prepared from the construction stage. The Chinese green label (3-star) is in this regard much better designed that its more prestigious US counterpart LEED, as it includes operational aspects and is awarded only one year after opening. Whether maintenance is performed in-house or outsourced, the owner should define maintenance programs (international standards can be very useful) and keep track of their execution, preferably using a computerized maintenance/facility management system, very useful in China to give a concrete aspect to otherwise theoretical concepts like “preventive maintenance”. Experience shows that great ROI can be obtained from seemingly simple maintenance actions, not only in terms of direct operational savings (energy bill) but also by extending the lifetime of equipment and buildings.

About the author:
Bruno Lhopiteau is the General Manager of Siveco, the largest maintenance consultancy in China

The Organizing Committee of the HKIA 55th Anniversary Conference was much honored to have invited Mr. Donald TSANG Yam-kuen, GBS, GBM, Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government, as Guest of Honor of the Conference. Mrs. Carrie LAM CHENG Yuet-ngor, GBS, JP, Secretary for Development, Development Bureau of the HKSAR Government, and Ms Eva CHENG, GBS, JP, Secretary for Transport and Housing Bureau of the HKSAR Government, have also presented their keynote speeches in the morning session and afternoon session respectively and shared their views on the future development of Hong Kong as an important city in the globe.

Other speakers invited are all renowned architects, engineers, academia, politicians from Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas. Plenary sessions were also hosted to cover infrastructure, transport and the high-density cum high-rise development in Megalopolis.

With all the interesting topics covered, today’s Conference has attracted over 600 architects, legislators, government officials, developers, consultants, contractors and other stakeholders to attend.

Mr. Dominic Lam, President of HKIA, commented, “Hong Kong is a unique city with high density development and full of high-rise buildings. We have to study its merit and problems which will help many other cities in the world of plan for their urbanization development in future.”

Why Megalopolis and Architecture?
Megalopolis is a densely populated urban region embracing one or more very large cities or metropolises. Megalopolis evokes daunting size, a vast scale of infrastructure, organization and governance of an unprecedented order. Academics, architects, planners, city developers and governance designers have explored the concept and the way in which accepted ideas of the city and urban hierarchy needs to be re-conceptualised for a well-balanced living environment in the future.

In today’s context, with economic considerations to the fore, Megalopolis becomes manifest with the joining of a number of independent cities through fast transport and electronic systems. The successful linking and merging of such systems has sparked current concerns with the need to house an increasing proportion of the population who will be moving from the country side to the city to take advantage of employment and the convenience of urban living.

Under the 12th Five-year Plan for China, Hong Kong will play a significant role in the development of the Pearl River Delta region. With the recent development of cross-boundary facilities and infrastructure, Hong Kong would be better connected with the Pearl River Delta and with the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Quality Living Area. The Hong Kong-Pearl River Delta region will surely develop into a Megalopolis in the 21st century.

The 55th Anniversary Conference aimed to explore the development of Megalopolis and its components – the architecture with particular reference to Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta region and other similar developments in the world.

He is one of the winners of the Asia region’s most coveted awards for individuals in industries making up our built environment, the RFP Outstanding Individuals in Industry.

Amidst stiff competition from Australia to India and North Asia the awards will now be extended to also offer regional awards in country specific categories including India, Greater China and South East Asia with regional exemplars receiving their awards and commendations at a series of ceremonies organized to coincide with the Asia Office Space Congress series of conferences as they are held from city to city.

Claire Saeki, co-publisher and editor of RFP Magazine said “The new crops of winners as usual exemplify professionals at the top of their game. However we are receiving increasingly strong nominations from round the region this year, so instead of cutting out worthy nominations and creating a shortlist we will be contacting these parties to compete in their regional environments and celebrating their achievements as we travel the region as part of the Asia Office Space Congress Series of conferences”.

Ben Butt, Director and co-founder of the Asia Office Space Congress said “Over the years the RFP Awards have played an important role in developing not just individual careers but in encouraging excellence region wide. We want to expand in the celebration of achievement from these individuals and the companies that
support them.”The Awards ceremony will be held in Hong Kong, 13th October 2011.

Other Outstanding Individual Winners:

• Transactions – Eric Shek, Local Director, Jone Lang LaSalle China
• Architecture – Yu Jordy Fu, Creative Director, dwp
• Business Development – David Brown, Head of Lease Administration, Asia Pacific, Jones Lang LaSalle
• Corporate Facility Leader – Tushar Prabhu, Account Director, Jones Lang LaSalle
• Environmental Performance – Irving Steel, International Sales Manager, Etrilum (Currently)
• Excellence in FM – Henry Han, Project Manager, CB Richard Ellis
• Project Manager of the Year – Anthony Leigh, Senior Project Manager, EC Harris
• RE Investment – Raymond Lee, CEO, Greater China, Savills
• RE Strategy – Rajesh Gandhi, Group Executive Vice President- Country Head, INM (Corporate Real Estate), YES Bank

About Matthias
A professional speaker, international trainer, and businessman, Matthias Gelber emerged as worldwide champion in the award for Greenest Person on the Planet by 3rd Whale in Canada in 2008. Put simply, Matthias’s passion is in preserving the planet’s natural environment – a passion focused on environmental management and CSR for the last 17 years in around 40 countries worldwide.

Earning a Masters in Environmental Science from United Kingdom, Matthias started his own environmental consulting company dealing with sustainability issues related to natural resources. Matthias speaking delivery increasingly focuses on Green Innovation and Sustainability Leadership based on his vast track record in both private sector and voluntary movements.

He initiated a Eco Innovation Talk Series mainly targeting Malaysian youth and Eco Warriors Malaysia, a Facebook group delivering practical environmental action, such as peat forest rehabilitation and condo waste recycling. He is appointed executive committee member of Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam (PEKA), a new NGO under the patronage of the Sultanah of Pahang state.

About Maleki

“Building a sustainable future”

The world needs to change. Our mission is to build a sustainable future, for our planet and all of it’s species. Maleki GmbH, as a company, are making our contribution by focusing our research on developing the highest performance building materials out of inorganic materials with maximum utilization of industrial waste materials. This results in a lower carbon footprint between 60 to 80 % compared to conventional building products. Maleki GmbH was established in 2007, founded upon 15 years of Research & Development experience from Hossein Maleki on Green Building Materials.

The co founder of Maleki GmbH is Matthias Gelber, who discovered his passion for the environmental as a teenager while growing up in a little village in Germany. He started out his journey as a trainer and consultant for Environmental Management Systems. His realization developed that the best way to green the market is by being part of it that resulted in him supporting Hossein with the formation of Maleki GmbH with the dream that the technology will reduce the world’s CO2 emissions by 1 %.

To contact Matthias Gelber at: E-mail: matthiasgelber@gmail.com Ph:+60162633838

About RFP Magazine
RFP Magazine was created to provide quality, independent information for corporate Real Estate, Facilities and Project Managers in Asia. First published in May 2004, RFP has provided informative, timely and relevant contents so that readers, contributors and advertisers have a clear picture of their role in the market. RFP Office Space is the essential tool kit for corporate occupiers and RFP EcoBuild gives everyone in the industry related information on greening the building lifecycle within Asia and beyond.

Claire Saeki: P: +852 28519923 E: cs@facilitymedia.com

At GreenBuild Asia in Hong Kong this May, Malcolm Lai, Director – Head of Construction, Asia Invesco Real Estate stated “There is a correlation between green and financial sucess”. This is why his company invests in greening their projects. This was also why pretty much every other speaker at the event spoke to the cost benefits of green building.

However, project owners expressed their frustration with a lack of expertise and willingness for service providers to take risks in green projects. One such person was Professor Richard Whitfield, Professor of the School of Intelligent Systems and Technology at the University of Saint Joseph in Macau, who is currently building a new campus and faces a lack of expertise in a number of areas. For example, finding energy saving air-conditioner alternatives such as chilled beam ceilings, and people with the expertise to install and maintain them is proving a challenge in Macau.

For Whitfield cities like Macau, and their governments, could do more for themselves in greening every thing from transportation to  sanitation. “There is a window of opportunity to be the next big thing that is being squandered” he declares citing the case for electric vehicles in a city as compact as Macau.

That opportunity to be world class is what many of the green building veterans are now broadcasting to the public and private sector in Asia.

The Green Commander
Klaus Toepfer is known internationally for his commitment to sustainable development, and for fighting for the cause of the developing world. During his stay for the Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition 2011 (MIECF), Toepfer shared with RFP his advice for the Chinese regulators on environmental development. Michael Lam reports.

Klaus Toepfer is widely recognised as having spearheaded environmental policy as Minister of Environment in his home country Germany. He introduced ground breaking environmental regulations and laws such as the law on the life-cycle economy and the packaging recycling system, “Green dot”.

Although Toepfer had never been to Macao prior to the conference, he is no stranger to Asia. Toepfer, the former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), was bestowed Honorary Professor of Tongji University, Shanghai, China in 1997. In addition, Toepfer worked together with China’s leading environmentalists to establish the country’s first environmental policies. In one recent interview, Toepfer revealed his “long and lasting love affair” with China would date back to the time when he was the federal minister for environment in Germany in the 1980s.

Green China?
Environmental issues were never high on China’s agenda as economic growth has always been placed as the priority, and debatably “the only objective for the country” according to Toepfer. However, in its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), China aims to cut down energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16 percent and carbon emissions by 17 percent. Although the world’s largest emitter has committed to reduce ‘energy intensity’, it is only committed to do so per GDP unit, not overall energy output. In other words, China thinks that not only it will carry on and emit more but that it believes that it cannot economically avoid it.  What would Toepfer tell the government?

“Gradual and significant changes have been seen.” Toepfer says. “Now it is well known that if you are not aware of economic growth giving you potential negative consequences to the social fabrics of the society or the environmental stability, you are deepening the economic costs as well. This is the idea of having the ‘Five-Year Plan’.” Toepfer is convinced that having such plan is necessary, even though it might not be “a giant step”. This is because people now realise that they will need to do more to protect the ecosystem’s services to be able to achieve economic progress now and for the future.

“Germany has one of the most demanding environmental policies in the world, yet it is still a successful economy,” Toepfer continues. “Economic growth and environmental stability can go hand in hand. In fact, economies that are not challenged now with their green policies will lose competitive potential for the future.”

Green Industries in China?
Whilst Toepfer believes that having the Five-Year Plan is one step closer to achieving environmental stability, will the industries in China be equally convinced and motivated to help the government achieve the goals?

Similar to all other regulators, Toepfer, encountered countless obstacles and oppositions against his programmes and targets when he was one of the most influential figures in setting environmental policies. “Setting a target might make industries protest,” Toepfer explains. “But once this has been decided, people will start thinking about innovations to achieve the target.” As dictating as Toepfer makes himself sound, this approach has provided some of the best outcomes for the policies he pushed through.

For example, Toepfer saw the successfully adoption of a law that banned the use of environmentally harmful substances such as Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and ozone depleting substances. Initially, no one thought the target was achievable and that implementation would be an extremely expensive task. It turns out that, such opposing voices arose simply because it had not been done or thought about before. No one even talks about SO2 nowadays. It’s a given.

It has to be noted that not all industries are reactive in environmental development, as there are proactive exceptions too, Toepfer points out. Whilst a lot of companies are only coping with present goals, the larger corporations see the economic benefits for environmental sustainability for the future and they are eager to develop businesses around the green sector. The one company which stands out in Toepfer’s mind is Siemens, a German engineering company which specialises in green technology.

Green Future for China?
One of the recurring problems with introducing targets and environmental legislation is the initial opposition from the industries and society, partially due to the lack of green knowledge and innovation. As such, Toepfer suggests changing the culture and mentality of the industries through forum discussions and education.

Toepfer also believes that through conferences such as MIECF, stimulating conversations will be encouraged in the public sphere, which will eventually lead to development in innovation and technology. On the other hand, in order to promote China’s environmental education, Toepfer donated 100 million RMB in November 2007 to start up “The Klaus Toepfer Environmental Scholarship” fund in China, aiming to raise more social donation, to encourage the China youth and to contribute to solve the increasingly outstanding global environmental problems.

Whilst China is arguably lacking green legends such as Toepfer at present, perhaps this scholarship can inspire our Generation Y and beyond to become the country’s very own commanders.