Singapore – Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd (“Mapletree”), a leading real estate developer in Singapore, has demonstrated its commitment to sustainable developments with four of its developments conferred the prestigious Green Mark and Universal Design awards by the Building and Construction Authority (“BCA”). Mapletree Anson and Mapletree Business City both received the highest Green Mark Platinum awards, while Merrill Lynch HarbourFront obtained the Green Mark Gold award, and VivoCity, the Universal Design Silver Award.

“Mapletree is delighted to receive the BCA awards for all the four projects we submitted for evaluation – especially the highest Platinum certifications for two of our projects – Mapletree Anson and Mapletree Business City. These awards not only serve as recognition of our commitment to embrace eco-friendly initiatives, they also serve to distinguish Mapletree as a developer of high quality sustainable developments, which offer not only the highest standard in functional efficiency but also conducive environments that our tenants’ staff will be proud to work in,” Mr Tan Boon Leong, Chief Operating Officer and CEO (Singapore Investments) of Mapletree said.

“We believe that the creation of green buildings make good business sense as they are investments that will translate to user benefits and cost savings, not just for us as landlord, but also for our tenants. With these awards, we are confident that we will be able to attract like-minded tenants to the projects,” he added.

Green Mark Platinum award winners, Mapletree Anson and Mapletree Business City are developments currently under construction, while Green Mark Gold award winner Merrill Lynch HarbourFront and Silver Universal Design award winner, VivoCity are operating buildings.

Located at 60 Anson Road, Mapletree Anson is a 19-storey Grade A office building designed to provide a low energy usage environment for businesses when it is ready in July 2009. Among the environmentally-friendly features that it will have are: high energy-efficient cooling plants, innovative heat pipe technology to reduce the cooling load of the air-conditioning system and recycling of condensate to save water.

Mapletree Business City, which will be completed in the 2nd half of 2010, is an integrated business hub along Alexandra Road offering Grade A building specifications, comprehensive user-friendly amenities such as an on-site child care, gymnasium with heated pool, wide mix of F&B outlets and good meeting room facilities. This development features breakthroughs in eco practices such as the most efficient precinct cooling plant in the tropics guaranteed to achieve 30% in energy saving (the annual saving in energy is equivalent to taking 7,250 cars off the road annually), the recycling of waste heat to heat swimming pool and shower facilities, the harvesting of rainwater and the inclusion of a green lung on its ground which connects HortPark and Labrador Park.

Merrill Lynch HarbourFront, which is a build-to-suit office project at the HarbourFront Office Park, embraces sustainability and modernity with its energy and water efficient features. Green practices include the use of Green Label materials during construction, and the provision of a higher proportion of greenery to the total leasable area to achieve a high green plot ratio, providing people with an oasis to retreat to.

Embracing universal design, VivoCity, Singapore’s largest retail and lifestyle destination, was designed as a destination where everyone can enjoy. It features good accessibility and connectivity to all transportation nodes, and wide and barrier-free walkways and corridors, so that people of all ages and mobility can move around easily.

The BCA Green Mark was introduced in January 2005. It is a scheme that assesses the environmental impact and performance of buildings and promotes the development of more environmental-friendly buildings and a more sustainable built environment in Singapore. The BCA Green Mark Platinum is awarded to exemplary green projects that effectively demonstrate 30% energy and water savings, as well as environmentally sustainable building practices and innovative green features.

The BCA Universal Design Awards have been established to promote Universal Design by according recognition to forward-looking developers, building owners and designers who are focused on creating friendly built environments and incorporating universal design features to cater to the special needs of different user groups.