- BCA Green Mark certification for Asia’s first green McDonald’s restaurants
- McDonald’s Jurong Central Park outlet first to clinch the BCA Green Mark Platinum award for restaurants.
1. BCA is extending its Green Mark scheme to another category beyond, or rather, within buildings - the restaurants. In the latest initiative to raise greater awareness of the importance of users’ sustainability thinking and behavior within buildings, BCA awarded five restaurants with the BCA Green Mark - the national green certification for buildings and one of the world’s first green building rating system to be developed for the tropical environment.
2. Four outlets of global restaurant chain McDonald’s were amongst this pioneer batch of restaurants to receive the accolade. They were also McDonald’s first restaurants to be certified ‘green’ in Asia. American-style diner Brewerkz at Riverside Point is the other recipient of the Green Mark certification.
3. A new addition to the BCA Green Mark Scheme, the BCA Green Mark for Restaurants was introduced as a result of McDonald’s interest and initiative to “green” their restaurants. As restaurants utilise high levels of energy and water resources on a daily basis, BCA viewed that this was a good opportunity to introduce this new scheme to promote corporate responsibility as well as to recognise environmentally friendly and sustainable practices in restaurants, taking sustainability beyond commercial and residential infrastructure. “Similar to the BCA Green Mark for Office Interior, this latest Green Mark for Restaurant scheme is part of BCA’s plan to place more emphasis on users’ behaviour and cultivate them to play a greater role in Singapore’s green building movement,” said Dr John Keung, CEO of BCA.
4. The scheme assesses restaurants based on their energy efficiency, water efficiency, sustainable management and operations, indoor environmental quality as well as other green features. They are then awarded the Platinum, GoldPLUS, Gold or Certified rating based on the points scored under each criteria.
5. According to McDonald’s, its green movement in Singapore is an extension of its global green strategy of energy efficiency, sustainable packaging and waste management, as well as green restaurant design that has already made its mark in its global outlets such as the United States and Europe. Ms Judy Harman, Managing Director of McDonald’s Restaurants said, “Sustainability is a core tenet of how we do business, and McDonald’s is committed to helping the environment through advances in sustainable packing, energy conservation and Green restaurant design. We are proud to be the first restaurant to receive a BCA Green Mark Platinum rating, and we work towards creating a greener Singapore for ourselves and for our customers.”
6. McDonald’s restaurant at Jurong Central Park, the first restaurant to be awarded the BCA Green Mark Platinum rating, was conceptualised as a green building even from its planning stage. Various innovative strategies were incorporated into the design and construction to improve energy efficiency, water and waste conservation and to use creative air-conditioning design ideas to improve indoor air quality. Many of these green ideas have also been integrated into the restaurant’s design, creating a stylish ambience through features such as a green roof and rain water harvesting system. In fact, McDonald’s restaurant at Jurong Central Park is among one of the twelve BCA Green Mark tour sites to be showcased as part of the upcoming International Green Building Conference event highlights from 13 – 16 September 2011.
7. McDonald’s restaurants at Bishan Park and Springleaf Tower clinched the Gold rating while McDonald’s restaurant at City Square and American-style diner Brewerkz at Riverside Point achieved a BCA Green Mark Certified rating.
Issued by the Building and Construction Authority on 12 September 2011
About Building and Construction Authority
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) of Singapore champions the development of an excellent built environment for Singapore. At BCA, our mission is to shape a safe, high quality, sustainable and friendly built environment, as these are four key elements where BCA has a significant influence. In doing so, we aim to differentiate Singapore’s built environment from those of other cities and contribute to a better quality of life for everyone in Singapore. Hence, our vision is to have "the best built environment for Singapore, our distinctive global city". BCA works closely with its education hub, the BCA Academy of the Built Environment, and industry partners to develop skills and expertise that help shape the best built environment for Singapore. For more information, visit www.bca.gov.sg.
For media queries, please contact the Communications Department:
Ms Joelyn Tan
Senior Communications Officer, Communications Department
DID: (65) 6325 7721
Email: joelyn_tan@bca.gov.sg
Ms Leong Ee Leng
Assistant Director, Communications Department
DID: (65) 6325 7724
Email: leong_ee_leng@bca.gov.sg