Singapore: According to a press release in the World Green Building Council’s (WGBC’s) website, Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) and City Developments Limited (CDL), a member of WorldGBC’s Corporate Advisory Board, joined forces to host a first-of-its-kind session on March 13, to promote greener, healthier and more productive offices.

More than 100 building tenants and occupants from CDL’s office properties, the press release said, attended the inaugural ‘Better Places for People Tenant Engagement Session’, held at CDL’s Tower Club, in Singapore. The session, the press release revealed, included a number of expert speakers on topics, such as enhancing indoor air quality (IAQ), improving lighting and instilling recycling practices.

The press release mentioned that CDL also invited one of its tenants, British Council, to share its experiences of working in a green office. From the temperature to personalised lighting controls, the tenants, the press release highlighted, extolled the virtues of working in a healthy workplace and how it contributes to improved staff morale and lower absenteeism rates.

“Buildings are part and parcel of everyday life, and all Singaporeans spend the bulk of the workday in their offices,” said Chia Ngiang Hong, President of SGBC. “Therefore, it is imperative for office tenants and occupants to have an adequate understanding of how green building can help them to have a more conducive, productive time in the office.”

Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer at CDL, added: “As one of Singapore’s largest landlords and in line with our ethos of ‘Conserving as we Construct’, CDL has always strongly believed in actively engaging tenants and occupants in adopting sustainable practices. This not only helps them to achieve utility savings and lowers their carbon footprint but also enhances wellbeing and productivity.”

SGBC said that it will be organising more tenant engagement sessions to raise awareness of Green Buildings and to create better workplaces for people over the coming months.