CapitaLand Sustainability X Challenge 2023

CapitaLand, as one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups, has placed sustainability at its core. Through the CapitaLand Sustainability X Challenge 2023, it is providing innovators an opportunity to work on making buildings more climate-resilient and resource-efficient.

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Join our global built environment-focused innovation challenge

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The buildings and construction sector accounted for around 37% of energy- and process-related. CO₂emissions and over 34% of energy demand globally in 2021 (source: Tracking progress | Globalabc). We must rethink the way we design, build and operate our buildings to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement to keep global temperature rise well below 2°C, striving for 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels, combating climate change and ensuring the well-being of building occupants and users. We need collective action from real estate developers, enterprises, government, and society to develop ground-breaking solutions for energy and water efficiency improvements, waste reduction, and healthy and safe buildings for us.

We live in unprecedented times where multiple forces are creating complex social, economic and environmental challenges. The role of business in helping to solve these problems and create positive impact has never been more important. Take the challenge and pave the way for sustainability in the built environment.

01

Low Carbon Transition

We are searching for solutions to achieve on-site clean energy solutions for our buildings, significantly reduce the energy consumption in existing buildings, or reduce the embodied carbon in our new construction / asset enhancement of our existing buildings.

02

Water Conservation & Resilience

With increasing water scarcity, flood risks and more intense rainfall, we are looking for solutions to adapt and mitigate against such risks and reduce our water intensity.

03

Waste Management & Circular Economy

We seek a circular economy approach to keep products and materials in continual use and reduce waste. Submitted solutions should help us better manage our waste and implement circular economy solutions.

04

Health, Safety & Wellness in Buildings

The indoor air quality of a building impacts the health and well-being of building occupants and users. We seek solutions to enhance wellness of users in our existing buildings.

Challenge Statement Details

A. Low Carbon Transition

#1 How might we achieve on-site clean energy solutions for our buildings, significantly reduce the energy consumption in existing buildings, or reduce the embodied carbon in our new construction / asset enhancement of our existing buildings?

#2 How might we retrofit existing buildings with retail tenants such that energy is reduced, carbon is reduced, life is supported everywhere, the community is better off, and the world is better?

Challenge Statement contributed by a Sandbox Partner

CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION

On-Site Clean Energy

On-site clean energy presents an opportunity for building owners to diversify its energy source and minimise its carbon emission. Clean energy can be generated from waste heat recovery, solar thermal collector, photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, hydrogen fuel cell etc.

While technological advancements have raised standards on safety and performance, not all solutions can be cost effectively deployed at all locations due to varying reasons (e.g., minimum system size for deployment, low solar irradiance).

Reduced Energy Consumption

Low-energy buildings are characterised by energy-efficient design and systems that provide high standards of occupant comfort at low energy consumption. A combination of passive strategies (e.g., solar shading, natural ventilation, daylighting), active strategies (e.g., energy efficient HVAC, energy efficient artificial lighting), and energy management (e.g., building automation, smart control, and plug-load management) can be adopted to significantly reduce an existing building energy consumption. However, not all solutions can be effectively deployed at an existing building given its site constraints.

CapitaLand seeks innovations and technologies that can push the boundaries of on-site clean energy generation or energy efficiency in buildings as we strive towards super-low energy beyond highest rating in national green building standards across the globe in an efficient, effective commercially viable, and safe manner considering the limited space for deployment within our existing assets.

Embodied Carbon

The lifecycle carbon of a building is typically 30% embodied vs. 70% operational. In areas with shorter building lifespans, this can shift to 40% vs 60%. To reduce the overall carbon footprint during construction or asset enhancement, CapitaLand would like to explore technologies which would result in reducing embodied carbon. As a developer and asset owner there are opportunities to incorporate new, low embodied carbon materials in construction of new assets and during the enhancement of existing assets.

PAIN POINTS

A.01 Limited space for on-site installation at existing building and competing use of said limited space (e.g., urban farming versus solar panel installation)

A.02 Limited availability of renewable energy sources at certain properties (e.g., properties in urbanised area might have limited opportunity for wind power or thermal power)

A.03 Limited cost effective and efficient technologies to harness renewable energy

A.04 Costly to further improve energy efficiency of assets that are already fairly energy efficient (e.g., buildings that have already attained national level green ratings)

A.05 Existing portfolio of buildings with different HVAC systems (e.g., buildings with mixture of centralised and split units, buildings with only split units) and varied building management systems

A.06 Existing portfolio of buildings in various stages of energy efficiency

A.07 Limited opportunities to improve energy efficiency due to site constraints (e.g., age of the asset, legacy plantroom, legacy building systems, etc.)

A.08 Hard to achieve optimal indoor thermal comfort conditions due to varying weather conditions, layouts, occupancy and individual thermal comfort preference

A.09 Difficulty to test and verify low embodied carbon materials

A.10 Difficulty in overcoming regulatory hurdles for construction-based low embodied carbon materials

A.11 Lack of clear economic incentives to adopt low embodied carbon materials

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

We seek solutions for on-site clean energy generation, reduced energy consumption, and reduced embodied carbon for the portfolio of CapitaLand's assets that meet the relevant following requirements:

Occupant experience - occupants' comfort and experience in the building are not compromised
Small installation footprint - suitable for installation within limited space available in our existing properties
Carbon reduction - measurable reduction in carbon emission
Cost efficient - strong financial benefits relative to its cost
Measurable and trackable - clear calculation methods of energy consumption and auditable data
Relative ease of implementation - implemented with minimal disruption to business operations
Ready to pilot - at least Technological Readiness Level 8 with proof of implementation

OPPORTUNITY AREAS

Opportunity areas include but are not limited to:

Recovery of waste heat
Building integrated solar PV or modular PV panels of high-capacity output or co-location of solar PV with rooftop farming
IOT solutions that track, optimise, and enhance efficiency of onsite energy generation
Hydrogen fuel cell
Best in class energy efficient solutions that optimise heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) and lighting
Efficient energy management
Building material innovations for insulation
Low embodied carbon materials for construction or asset enhancement initiatives/refits

B. Water Conservation & Resilience

#3 How can we adopt new technology to reduce water usage within our assets?

With increasing water scarcity, flood risks and more intense rainfall, we are looking for solutions to adapt and mitigate against such risks and reduce our water intensity.

C. Waste Management and Circular Economy

#4 How might we better manage our waste and implement circular economy solutions?

CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION

Waste segregation is an integral part of proper waste management that requires cooperation from multiple stakeholders along the value chain. Waste from building occupants and users such as guests in serviced apartments, shoppers and tenants in shopping malls, and tenants in office buildings present an untapped potential for reuse and circularity.

Venturing beyond the existing take-make-waste economic model, a circular economy (also referred to as “circularity”) is a concept aimed at overall limiting waste and promoting the continual use of resources. It employs rethink, reduce, re-use, repair, refurbish, recover, and recycle to create a closed-looped economic system. There could similarly be opportunities for circularity for construction waste.

CapitaLand seeks innovations to reduce pressure on environment, improve security of raw materials supply, and deliver long term economic value. Currently, the challenges faced include forging the right partnerships to create an ecosystem for segregation, circularity, and solutions that can cost effectively minimize or repurpose one's waste into high-value products.

PAIN POINTS

C.01 Limited options to recycle or reuse or repurpose waste into higher value products

C.02 Lack of traceability and verification processes on origin of waste

C.03 Lack of incentives for stakeholders to identify technologies and solutions that establish partnerships with other companies and create the close-looped circular system

C.04 Hard to implement effective measures to influence behaviour and habits of users (e.g., waste segregation or recycling in serviced apartments, tenants in shopping mall)

C.05 Lack of means to clearly measure and demonstrate the benefits of waste segregation (e.g., food and non-food waste, recyclables and non-recyclables)

C.06 Difficult to enforce waste segregation even if it is a mandatory requirement

C.07 Labour intensive process during backend waste sorting if segregation is not performed properly at source

C.08 Lack of incentive and motivation for customers to cooperate and play their part on waste segregation

C.09 Existing solutions are either low impact (i.e., recycling bins) or too expensive to implement (i.e., AI/robotic waste segregation)

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

We seek solutions to improve the efficacy of recyclable waste (e.g., food waste, plastic waste) segregation at source for the portfolio of CapitaLand's properties that meet the following requirements:

Call to action - solutions that include educating and engaging stakeholders in waste segregation
Measurable and trackable - clear calculation methods and auditability of data
Cost efficient - strong financial benefits relative to its cost
Carbon reduction - measurable reduction in carbon emissions
Enhanced ecosystem for circularity - Partnerships, programs, platforms and/or solutions to close the loop
Ready to pilot - at least Technological Readiness Level 8 with proof of implementation

OPPORTUNITY AREAS

Opportunity areas include but are not limited to:

Cost effective solutions to detect waste that are not recyclable and/ or contaminated at source
Cost effective solutions to detect and separate waste that are not recyclable and/ or contaminated post collection
Incentive and engagement models that could positively influence user behaviours
Platform for circularity
Waste tracing, monitoring and management
On-site solutions to generate higher valued product from waste
New uses for construction and other waste generated in the buildings

D. Health, Safety & Wellness in Buildings

#5 How might we enhance the wellness of users in our existing buildings?

The indoor air quality of a building impacts the health and well-being of building occupants and users. Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) impact persons at work. We seek solutions to enhance wellness and OHS of users in our existing buildings.

#6 How might we leverage technology to enhance occupational health and safety?

CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION

Health & Wellness

Wellness of users is affected by outdoor air quality (e.g., haze, air pollution), building management practices (e.g., selection of building materials, air treatment in air-conditioned space) and occupant behaviour (e.g., preference in keeping doors/windows open). In the post-pandemic world, wellness is top of mind for management and tenants.

Many solutions focus only on the IAQ component of wellness through monitoring and improving IAQ but are mainly effective in small, enclosed areas or neglect further wellness features. CapitaLand owns and manages different types of assets with characteristics such as large indoor space, multiple building entrances and high footfall, making it challenging to monitor and control IAQ. Green building design with extensive naturally ventilated common areas and multiple entrances to air-conditioned tenanted spaces may also increase possibility of polluted outdoor air infiltration.

While CapitaLand has deployed measures like IAQ sensors, high grade air filters, purging system, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation air handling units to monitor and improve IAQ at our properties, CapitaLand continues to look for innovations to enhance the wellness of our building occupants and users.

Occupational Health & Safety

Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) is critical because your first mistake could be your last and all it takes is just 5 seconds. Hence, stringent processes are implemented to assure OHS. Permit processes are established to provide additional protection for hazardous work. Training is provided to uplift OHS knowledge and skills. Inspections are done to “find the problem before it finds us”. OHS dashboards provide leaders with important indicators to drive performance. In addition, there is the human element where OHS often needs to be enforced to ensure that OHS is done, is done right, and is done always. How can technology enhance OHS, or help to simplify and improve OHS performance including OHS in operational buildings or construction projects?

PAIN POINTS

D.01 Limited space for on-site installation in existing buildings

D.02 Not all solutions that benefit IAQ are energy efficient or have low carbon footprint

D.03 Limited cost effective and proven technologies

D.04 Hard to quantify the benefits

D.05 Small coverage area and/or poor accuracy of IAQ sensors/solutions

D.06 Hard to control human behaviour (e.g., PM2.5 is higher when the window is always opened)

D.07 Difficulty to reduce outdoor air infiltration through building entrances without compromising the building design

D.08 Numerous OHS processes can be burdensome as they may be labour-intensive, and difficult to track due to manual and paper-driven processes

D.09 Much OHS data can be collected, but can that data be used effectively to realistically predict OHS trend?

D.10 Restricted implementation of OHS technologies in remote sites without internet connection

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

We seek solutions to improve the monitoring, visualisation and/or treatment of IAQ for the portfolio of CapitaLand's properties that meet the following requirements:

Occupant experience - improve occupant comfort, wellness, and experience in the building
Ease of integration with existing buildings - no major retrofit works required and able to work in spaces where there is frequent infiltration of outdoor air
OHS - Solutions to guide robust OHS incident analysis to arrive at the root cause(s) and recommend corrective actions; predictive safety analytics that translates to actionable items; digital training available on-the-go and on-demand; simpler OHS processes (e.g., Permit-To-Work, Lock-Out-Tag-Out assurance); robotics, drones, and the use of sensors and wearables to reduce risk of injury to persons; Augmented Reality and/or Virtual Reality to enhance safe on-site practices and to bridge expertise to remote locations.
Small installation footprint - suitable for installation within limited space available in our existing properties
Energy efficient/low carbon - low carbon footprint and consume reasonable amount of energy
Measurable and trackable - clear computation of benefits and auditable data
Cost efficient - strong financial benefits relative to its cost
Ready to pilot - at least Technological Readiness Level 8 with proof of implementation

OPPORTUNITY AREAS

Opportunity areas include but are not limited to:

IOT solutions that are effective and accurate over wide coverage area for monitoring and visualising IAQ and infiltration of outdoor air
Air Handling Units enhancements
IAQ treatment
Augmented reality / Virtual reality (AR/VR) for safety training, including smart glasses
Video analytics (VA) for safety enforcement
Artificial Intelligence (AI) for predictive safety
IOT sensors for deployment e.g., work-at-height activities such as high-rise maintenance and cleaning
Cloud solutions for accessibility
Robotics, Drones

The application phase is now closed.

Judging Criteria

The projects will be assessed following the criteria below:

1. Impact & Business Value for CapitaLand Group
2. Innovation & Creativity of their solution to meet the problem statements
3. Potential to Scale and deploy across the different geographies and asset types of CapitaLand Group’s properties
4. Solutions to meet TRL 8 (minimum)

You may refer here for a guide on the TRL

CapitaLand Sustainability X Challenge 2023

CapitaLand, as one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups, has placed sustainability at its core. Through the CapitaLand Sustainability X Challenge 2023, it is providing innovators an opportunity to work on making buildings more climate-resilient and resource-efficient.

Join our global built environment-focused innovation challenge

01

Low Carbon Transition

02

Water Conservation & Resilience

03

Waste Management & Circular Economy

04

Health, Safety & Wellness in Buildings

Challenge Statement Details

A. Low Carbon Transition

#1 How might we achieve on-site clean energy solutions for our buildings, significantly reduce the energy consumption in existing buildings, or reduce the embodied carbon in our new construction / asset enhancement of our existing buildings?

#2 How might we retrofit existing buildings with retail tenants such that energy is reduced, carbon is reduced, life is supported everywhere, the community is better off, and the world is better?

A. Low Carbon Transition

CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION

PAIN POINTS

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

OPPORTUNITY AREAS

B. Water Conservation & Resilience

#3 How can we adopt new technology to reduce water usage within our assets?

B. Water Conservation & Resilience

CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION

PAIN POINTS

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

OPPORTUNITY AREAS

C. Waste Management and Circular Economy

#4 How might we better manage our waste and implement circular economy solutions?

C. Waste Management and Circular Economy

CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION

PAIN POINTS

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

OPPORTUNITY AREAS

D. Health, Safety & Wellness in Buildings

#5 How might we enhance the wellness of users in our existing buildings?

#6 How might we leverage technology to enhance occupational health and safety?

D. Health, Safety & Wellness in Buildings

CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION

PAIN POINTS

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

OPPORTUNITY AREAS

Judging Criteria

The projects will be assessed following the criteria below:

1. Impact & Business Value for CapitaLand Group

2. Innovation & Creativity of their solution to meet the problem statements

3. Potential to Scale and deploy across the different geographies and asset types of CapitaLand Group’s properties

4. Solutions to meet TRL 8 (minimum)