(Newswire.net — May 11, 2016) Singapore, Singapore — Singapore American School has won the BCA Green Mark (Gold) certification in March 2016 for a second time after an assessment by the Building and Construction Authority, Singapore. The BCA Green Mark Scheme was launched in January 2005 as an initiative to drive Singapore’s construction industry towards more environment-friendly buildings. It is intended to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise environmental awareness among developers, designers and builders during project conceptualization, design, and construction.
The school’s campus, housing an elementary, middle, and high school plus an early childhood center, is home to many energy efficient practices and applications including the use of variable speed drive devices for motors, pumps, cooling towers and air handling units, T5 lamps with high-efficiency electronic ballasts and LED lamps in classrooms, LED lamps in corridors, motion sensors in wash rooms, automatic light sensors and carbon monoxide sensors in parking lots, and is a PUB-certified Water Efficient Building with WELS water fittings. Singapore American School is also home to a waste sorting and recycling program, a 300 kg food digester, vertical greenery, and high-volume, low-speed fans in the middle school cafeteria, and gymnasiums. Other efforts the school takes to protect the environment include educating students about reducing, reusing, and recycling, buying only paper from certified sustainable sources, and preserving its eco-garden and rainforest with a boardwalk, outdoor classroom, and plant nursery.
The BCA Green Mark is a benchmarking scheme which incorporates internationally recognized best practices in environmental design and performance. BCA Green Mark buildings often have the hallmarks of reduced water and energy bills, reduced environmental impact, improved indoor environmental quality for a healthy and productive workplace, and clear plans for continual improvement.
Singapore American School joins the Marina Mandarin Singapore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters, the National University of Singapore’s Mochtar Riady Building, Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2, and Tang Plaza in receiving this prestigious honor for existing non-residential buildings.
SAS director of facilities and services Anthony Wong says, “Partnering with our students to make sustainable living and learning visible throughout campus is a powerful journey and clear demonstration of responsible global citizenship. We are so proud of our students and student clubs who champion sustainable living and learning daily. Receiving the BCA Green Mark (Gold) certification for the second time, especially in the context of operating 20-year-old buildings and a chiller plant efficiently, sets SAS apart as a leader in this field.”
SAS’s certification is valid for three years. This certification complements the school’s 2013 Solar Pioneer Award from the Singapore Economic Development Board for its 1-MW Sunseap System of solar panels. For more information, contact Anthony Wong at awong@sas.edu.sg.
Media Contact
Vanessa Spier (vspier@sas.edu.sg)
Director of Strategic Communications
Singapore American School
40 Woodlands Street 41
Singapore 738547
About Singapore American School
Singapore American School (SAS) is an independent, non-profit, coeducational, college preparatory day school offering an US curriculum with an international perspective for students in preschool through grade twelve. SAS has the largest Advanced Placement program outside of the United States, is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in the US, and offers the American High School Diploma at the senior level. Established in 1956, the school primarily serves the American and international expatriate communities of Singapore. For more information, please visit www.sas.edu.sg or contact the SAS communications office at communications@sas.edu.sg or +65-6360-6031.
Singapore American School
40 Woodlands Street 41Singapore, Singapore 738547
Singapore
+65 6363 3403
communications@sas.edu.sg
http://www.sas.edu.sg