GASTO EN EDUCACIÓN Y CULTURA

We found that most Chinese developers pursue a short-term focus with regard to their building’s financial value. Developers want to sell their buildings as fast as possible. Energy efficiency is only of importance to them if it is decisive in the buying decision of their clients, as in the case of the high-end market. For developers operating in the mass market, in contrast, energy efficiency is not important as it hardly plays a part in the buying decision of their clients.

An increasing number of high-end developers are engaging in green building projects. These developers argue that they can get a competitive advantage and an increased profit margin from EEB investments. High- end developers can use EEB as a marketing tool and selling point for their

Box 5: Best practices from Germany: the energy passport for buildings

The German energy performance certificate for buildings, the so-called energy passport, aims to bring more transparency to the real estate market. It provides all actors with reliable information on the energy requirements, the energetic quality and the CO2 emissions of a building. Furthermore, the certificate gives

concrete advice on how refurbishment can save energy and improve the energy efficiency rating of the building. These recommendations are supposed to be an incentive for retrofitting and energy saving measures. The energy passport for new buildings was already introduced in Germany in 2002. From the second half of 2008 onwards, existing buildings will also require an energy performance certificate when they are sold or rented out.

Home owners can choose between two versions of the energy passport: 1) For the demand-oriented energy passport the building is rated on the basis of its energy demand. Each building is assessed according to a standardized procedure. The building’s envelope, construction materials and heating system are analyzed and, based on this data, the total heat loss of the building is determined The result gives an objective picture of a building's energy quality, independent of the behavior of individual consumers.The key values of the different buildings can be compared.

2) The consumption-oriented energy passport states the current energy consumption per square meter. For this type of energy passport, the corresponding data is determined on the basis of the heating bills of the last three years. The measured consumption depends on the behavior of the tenants and the number of people living in the building, so that this approach only provides limited information on the building’s actual energy quality.

All actors can benefit from the certificate:

• Purchasers and tenants can estimate the expected energy costs of a building, before buying, constructing or renting it.

• Landlords, real estate agents and developers can use the energy passport as a marketing instrument.

• Home owners are informed about the energy quality of their buildings and can plan further steps for refurbishment.

• Architects, engineers and construction workers are provided with new fields of work.

properties as is shown in the case of Modern MOMA (see Box 6). In this market segment consumers have a growing interest in the improved living quality offered by EEB. Compared to the high prices of their buildings in urban areas, the extra costs for EEB investments are minimal.

Mass-market developers, on the other hand, have almost no incentives to invest in EEB as they (1) have higher initial investment costs, (2) do not get a comparative advantage and (3) have no need to invest in EEB. 1) The initial EEB investment costs for developers in China are

predicted to be about five to seven percent higher than in conventional design, plus, at the beginning, developers might face even higher costs. As energy efficient buildings are relatively new in China, building professionals and households still lack experience with the use of EEB technologies. Developers do not only have to provide additional funding for marketing campaigns to raise awareness among consumers but they also need to train building professionals, design institutes and architects in EEB. 2) Mass market developers do not get

a comparative advantage from EEB investments as demand for energy efficient buildings in this market segment is still very low. Factors for the buying decision of households are the price and location of the

apartment, while quality and energy efficiency only play a minor role. In consequence, even minimal incremental costs for EEB can place energy efficient buildings at a competitive disadvantage. 3) Furthermore, mass market developers have no need to invest in

EEB. Developers state that they can sell residential buildings in urban areas, regardless which technologies are used. The building construction market is dominated by the sellers. Residents have little influence on the type of buildings they live in due to this market situation.

“No matter which tech- nology you use in resi- dential buildings, you can sell them”.

Box 6: Modern MOMA – profitable and environmentally friendly

The developer, Modern Group, has made the building’s environmental- friendliness a top selling point for its luxury apartments. Its building project “Linked Hybrid”, also known as Modern MOMA (Linked Hybrid), which will be completed in June 2008 shows how residential buildings in China can be both profitable for developers and environmentally intelligent. Modern MOMA ranks among China’s three biggest building construction projects and contains apartments, offices, shops, and a movie theater.

The building’s sustainable features include geothermal heating, a wastewater recycling plant (to partially feed the site’s sprawling garden), an elaborate indoor ventilation system that pipes in clean air, and the intelligent use of shade and daylight. The project will have the largest residential geothermal heating/ cooling and graywater recycling system in the world upon completion.

The apartments cost around 23,000 RMB per square meter. The price is considerably higher than for comparable apartments. Buyers, thus far, are in no short supply; many of the apartments have already been sold before completion. Source: Pasternack 2008