Benchmarks allow companies to gauge where they stand in terms of environmental sustainability, in comparison to other companies. This direct feedback is useful to companies as it helps them to gauge the level of improvement required of them so as to be competitive with others. Peer-perceived endorsement for the accepted level of environmental sustainability would encourage the laggards to put in more effort and those at the top would ensure that they remain at the top by outdoing the benchmark level. Overall, benchmarking can be an effective way in encouraging environmental sustainable behaviors.
In Singapore, the current scheme for green buildings is the Green Mark scheme, which is a comprehensive rating scheme that looks at many aspects of a building’s operation including its water and energy efficiency. It is a prestigious award to obtain and sets the benchmark for companies at a high level in Singapore.
Benchmarking requires consistent data collection and publication on energy use and cost on a regular basis. This would not only aid benchmarking efforts, it would also improve the transparency of the system, and help identify whether energy costs are rising due to inefficient equipment or increased consumption by users. Furthermore, the data collected can be used by researchers to conduct further research into energy efficiency studies.
Areas for improvement
To help companies further, they should be provided with more comprehensive information and reports on their own consumption, as well as the relevant benchmarks for them on items like energy consumption,water usage and average maintenance costs. This would allow them to track their own consumption in the long run and aim to better themselves against the benchmark, as well as outdo their personal bests.