Hanoi, December 11, 2020 - This afternoon, the Ministry of Construction and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) held the closing ceremony of Viet Nam Green Building Week 2020. This is the first time the Ministry of Construction has chaired the Green Building Week in Vietnam. The series of technical sessions, seminars, a site visit to a green building attracted more than 1000 delegates from ministries, departments, organizations, research institutes, universities, consulting units, designers, national and international experts, constructions’ owners, enterprises of construction, real estate, green, environmentally friendly, energy-saving products and equipment.

At the Green Building Week, participants discussed the current status of green building development in Viet Nam that is not yet commensurate with its potential and the need for incentives, construction, and evaluation criteria for green cities that meet the needs of sustainable urban development practices. Technologies, solutions, and equipment that use energy efficiently, ensure the health of users, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect the environment as well as good practices and recommendations towards green, smart buildings were also discussed. Besides, green financing mechanisms and financial support for the promotion of energy-efficient buildings, green buildings, green cities, roadmap recommendations, policies and specific criteria, green product specifications were presented and discussed at Vietnam Green Building Week 2020. Dialogues and recommendations on the development, amendment, and promulgation of legal documents, regulations, standards, mechanisms, and policies to strongly promote energy-efficient buildings, green buildings and green cities are also among the topics of the technical sessions.

Vietnam Green Building Week 2020 is also an opportunity for nearly 20 businesses and organizations to exhibit and demonstrate green building solutions, energy-saving projects, technologies, green and energy-efficient equipment and materials. These practical solutions also helped participants to have a more practical understanding of green buildings.

Especially, the delegates had a visit to the new headquarter building of the Military Industry - Telecommunications Group, a typical example of the design, construction, and operation of green buildings according to international standards.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of Viet Nam Green Building Week 2020, Deputy Minister of Construction, Le Quang Hung, said “Through the event activities, investors of projects, construction works, urban areas markets, manufacturers and distributors of products, equipment, technologies, and materials with energy-saving and environment-friendly features also see the State's policies and guidelines that always support and encourage and accompany businesses in the development of energy-efficient buildings, green buildings, green cities. Investors, project owners, and enterprises must also see their roles and responsibilities in investing, constructing, managing, and operating projects and works according to the standards on energy efficiency buildings, green buildings, green urban areas, aiming to increase quality, the convenience of use, ensure user health, energy efficiency, and protect the environment.

"In Viet Nam, buildings are among the largest consumers of energy, accounting for 35-40 percent of final energy consumption, which is increasing due to rapid urbanization and expansion of the building sector. UNDP is proud of our partnership with the Ministry of Construction and the private sector to reduce energy consumption and boost energy efficiency in many high-rise buildings in Viet Nam. The  MOC and UNDP's Energy Efficiency Improvement in Commercial and High-Rise Residential Buildings in Viet Nam (EECB) has introduced 75 solutions, and implemented these in 17 buildings, which helped generate energy-savings between 25% to 67%, or a greenhouse emission reduction of 11,547 tCO2” said Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam.

Ms. Wiesen stressed that the “businesses in the building sector are key drivers for advancing green building development through the integration of energy-efficient and green building design, construction, and operation. This effort could only be possible with the improved technical capacity of architects, building operators, building developers, building engineers, and building assessors.”

At the closing ceremony of Viet Nam Green Building Week 2020, 09 out of 17 said demonstration buildings under EECB Project, 07 projects satisfying LOTUS Gold and Silver criteria, 03 projects satisfying EDGE certification criteria have been awarded certification. Besides, the Organizing Committee also awarded the Green Architecture student competition to 19 students in 2020.

For more information, please contact:

Huong Nguyen – Head of Communications Department – Ministry of Construction. Mob: 0982660832. Email: thongtintruyenthongbxd@gmail.com

Phan Hương Giang, UNDP CCE Media & Communications Analyst. Mob: 0948466688 Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org

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Note for editors:

I.                    LOTUS certificate:

7 projects met LOTUS Gold and Silver criteria:

-          Private K-Villa+, Golden LOTUS certificate.

-          Silver LOTUS certificate: New head office of Vietnam Securities Depository; VSIP Nghe An Head Office; Duy Trung Garment Factory; Worldkids International Kindergarten - Campus 6; Phu Cuong Accessories Factory; TNG Song Cong Auxiliary Factory

II.                  EDGE certificates:

EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies), an initiative of the International Financial Organization IFC, is a 3-in-1 online platform comprising free application software, a national green building standard. international and green building systems for more than 170 countries. EDGE helps identify the most effective green investment solutions for long-term benefits.

3 projects met EDGE certification criteria:

-          The Terra An Hung project of investor Van Phu Invest has obtained the EDGE certificate in the Preliminary Certification stage. This is also the first project of Van Phu to achieve the EDGE green certification with 24% energy efficiency, 27% water efficiency and 43% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the use of building materials.

-          Project Ascott International, a member of the Capitaland Group from Singapore. According to the group's commitment to sustainable development, 100% of real estate projects developed and operated by the group will be green certified by 2030. Somerset Grand Hanoi is also the first project of Ascott International to achieve certified EDGE in Vietnam, and is also the first project to achieve EDGE certification for the type of construction in operation in Vietnam.

-          Following the success of the Flamingo Dai Lai project, the investor Flamingo Group has continued on the green roadmap with the second project achieving green certification with EDGE, which is the Flamingo Cat Ba Resort project. The project achieved EDGE certification at the Preliminary Certification Design stage, with energy efficiency as high as 29%, water efficiency up to 41%, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from material use by up to 29%.