The FuturArc Interview

Ché Wall was founding Chairman of the World Green Building Council and co-founder of the Green Building Council of Australia. In the time that he spent championing the cause of Green buildings globally, he was also managing director of Lincolne Scott, leading the engineering consultancy to the forefront of energy efficiency in design. Now, in yet another phase of a remarkable career, Ché joined property developer—Lend Lease, Australia—where he has also chaired the Common Carbon Metric project, a collaborative effort of the United Nations Environment Programme (Sustainable Buildings & Climate Initiative), the World Green Building Council, and the Sustainable Building Alliance. What preoccupies Ché most is the pursuit of deep and lasting change in the building sector. At the Singapore Green Building Conference, he spoke with FuturArc Editor-in-Chief Dr Nirmal Kishnani about the space between regulation and best practice, of the compelling need for collaboration between government and industry.

The following is an excerpt from the interview.

NK: Where has the Green building come from and where—in the Asian context in particular—might it be going?

CW: It's interesting you mention the Asian context; in the early days of the World Green Building Council, I thought naively that the established model of the US, adapted in Australia and other places, was the one which should be held tightly. Then we had people like the Building Construction Authority (of Singapore) suggesting that they would be better placed to do certain things than an industry association. I pushed back quite strongly against that at the time. But at events like this [International Green Building Conference 2011, Singapore] you see how potent it can be. The local context isn't just about climatic issues or ecological issues, it's about government issues, societal issues and it's absolutely appropriate that the model adapts to suit the way that those societies work. I've learnt, with the value of hindsight, of course, there needs to be a way of working that is appropriate to the local marketplace. And therefore we are seeing a shifting of gear. Organisations like the US Green Building Council and the Green Building Council of Australia came together in environments that are very dominated by market forces. At that time there was complete disinterest from the federal government on issues of environment and industry saying let's set our own standards. We do want to do better work, the government's not going to help us, so let's see what we can do as an industry. And so it was very much industry led, and in those markets the government had to play catch-up, they've felt the need to regulate from behind. We've seen a lot of catch-up in places like Australia where we now have very strict environmental reporting rules. In the building code of Australia, we have in some cases, quite draconian requirements for things. There's a sense that the government needs to get back in control of this but the irony is that the government had no interest in the first place.

We'll see a very different dynamic in Asia. We'll see a very considered approach to regulation, but also the ability to hand it down rather than get stuck in the political process for a long while. Industry's response will be somewhat different. It'll be both a response to the legislation but also a willingness to help governments take legislation to the next level.

It's been interesting for me to re-engage in the region—not with a World Green Building Council hat but with a business hat—to understand that actually the government can be our biggest enabler, and we don't have to do it solo.

NK: In the West there is suspicion of the ability of the market to lead on matters of public interest; there's now much talk of regulation.

CW: Yes there is, and in some ways, yes the government is playing catch-up and trying to recapture the agenda. I still have concerns in those markets. Industry is still best placed to articulate what makes it work. The development of property involves a chain of interactions, not only between tenant and developer but also on issues of land purchase, construction, finance. The process is very complex and the notion that someone tucked away in an office somewhere, armed with a bit of academic literature, can suddenly come up with legislation which is going to be the best way to drive the industry forward is just fanciful. It's not going to happen. And our big concern in some of the markets is that regulation actually drags us backwards.

To read the complete interview, get a copy of the 1Q 2012 edition at our online shop or at newsstands/major bookstores; or subscribe to FuturArc.

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