Thailand
Cambodia: Greener buildings deliver upsides
Covid-19 has shone a fresh light on improving the health of the environment and workers, showing that ignoring these issues can have negative effects on the economy, according to Susanne Bodach, the chairwoman of EuroCham Green Business Committee.
At a webinar on healthy buildings hosted by Eurocham, regional business leaders discussed the benefits of prioritising integrating health and wellness into the built environment, which include higher worker productivity and health and a smaller carbon footprint.
Air quality especially has been brought into sharp focus as a result of Covid-19 with Bodach saying research suggests pollution is correlated to higher Covid-19 rates, probably because of pollution’s effect on the immune system.
According to a World Bank report that highlights the economic impact of environmentally unfriendly practices, between 2005 and 2012, environmental degradation caused a gross domestic product (GDP) loss of 3.7 percent in Cambodia.
In comparison, China lost almost 10 percent of its GDP from environmental degradation. These losses are caused by factors including increased sick days, medical bills and reduced agricultural output, said Bodach.
Alessandro Bisagni, the founder of China-based engineering consulting firm BEE Incorporations, said the latest trends in green development have been incorporating a love for nature into office designs, using lights that adhere to natural light cycles and constantly monitoring interior spaces with specialised testing devices. “We need to change the discourse of how we design, construct and operate buildings and treat them as agents of health or agents of preventative healthcare,” he said.
Most of the drive towards health-focused, green buildings will be driven by the private sector, the panel agreed.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50871646/greener-buildings-deliver-upsides/