31 Jul 2023
“The sustainability journey is not a short one – it is a continuous journey.” - Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, Group Chief Executive Officer, Frasers Property.
A landmark project is set to transform the heart of the Thai capital, not just offering unparalleled smart city living, but also setting a benchmark in green standards. This is what One Bangkok aspires to be, as the largest holistically integrated district in the city centre.
“One Bangkok is of an ambitious scale. It presents the collective experience and knowledge from our projects across the world,” said Mr Sirivadhanabhakdi, who spoke at a panel discussion ‘Leading with Urgency’ at the Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit on 26 July 2023.
From left to right: Mark Wehling, Director, BNEF Academy & Co-Head, APAC Commercial, BloombergNEF; Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, Group CEO of Frasers Property Limited; Chartsiri Sophonpanich, President of Bangkok Bank; Anderson Tanoto, Managing Director of RGE; Manish Pant, Executive Vice President, International Operations at Schneider Electric.
In a conversation with other business leaders, Mr Sirivadhanabhakdi shared about Frasers Property’s ESG drive and how the real estate sector’s green efforts can serve as a blueprint for the global sustainability agenda.
Public space in the heart of One Bangkok with the 6,000-person Live Entertainment Arena in the background.
The challenge facing industry players is an intimidating one. Real estate contributes nearly 40 per cent of carbon emissions globally and accounts for over 70 per cent of any city’s emissions.
Companies such as Frasers Property recognise our responsibility and the opportunity to positively impact sustainability efforts across the value chain. What is crucial to note is that the sustainability journey is a progressive one.
“We have evolved (our green efforts) and it takes time because real estate cannot be changed overnight,” said Mr Sirivadhanabhakdi, who earlier in the year was recognised as Asia’s Top CEO for 2022 by Influential Brands.
It has been an almost 20-year journey for the multinational company in going green, with our first BCA Green Mark certification in Singapore in 2006.
Our approach to development and masterplanning across markets continues to take into consideration not only the Group’s net-zero carbon target, but also goals in placemaking and community engagement. One Bangkok exemplifies this and is set to serve as a blueprint for liveable cities of the future. The development is targeting the globally recognised LEED certification for Neighbourhood Development Platinum, which will be the first in Thailand.
Key to this is a smart centralised infrastructure system, the first of its kind for a private development in Thailand. A District Command Centre will feature district cooling and centralised security, water and energy management systems, with the installation of 250,000 smart sensors supporting efficient facility management and preventive maintenance.
A partnership among One Bangkok, SCG and CPAC, the CPAC EV mixer trucks are deployed during the construction of One Bangkok to help minimise its environmental impact.
Recognising our role as an investor, developer and operator, we have also intensified decarbonisation efforts across the entire building lifecycle and begun to embed circular economy approaches where appropriate. For One Bangkok, electric-powered mixer trucks are used and concrete waste is recycled to produce precast panels as part of the project’s comprehensive waste management plan.
“We are able to prove the circular economy can be efficient, reduce waste and build better efficiency in real estate,” said Mr Sirivadhanabhakdi.
On the renewable energy front, Frasers Property’s sustainability journey now comprises 25 megawatts of solar panels installed across our properties – enough to power thousands of homes a year. There are plans to add an additional 35 megawatts by the end of FY2024.
Mr Sirivadhanabhakdi’s insights on our sustainability journey resonated with Mr Chartsiri Sophonpanich, President of Bangkok Bank, who shared that the bank embarked on its shift towards green loans more than a decade ago when the government considered diversifying energy sources.
In fact, Frasers Property has collaborated with like-minded partners such as Bangkok Bank on green financing, to achieve our goal of financing the majority of our new sustainable asset portfolios with green or sustainability-linked financing by 2024.
“To date, we have secured over S$10 billion worth of green or sustainability-linked loans and bonds,” said Mr Sirivadhanabhakdi.
It truly takes an ecosystem to make gains in the quest for carbon neutrality, and Frasers Property is taking the lead in this as the first SGX-listed real estate company to fully commit to net-zero carbon by 2050. This means that we will monitor, reduce and manage emissions not just from owned or controlled sources, but from stakeholders in the value chain as well.
Partnerships continue to accelerate progress along our sustainability journey. One Bangkok’s Distributed District Cooling (DDC) System, the country’s first district cooling and power distribution system, is done in partnership with Gulf Energy Development, Mitsui & Co and Tokyo Gas Engineering Solutions. The energy-saving system uses recycled water which it can chill overnight for the next day, reducing demand for electricity at peak times.
Where viable, DDC systems are explored and implemented across our international markets, building on best practices and learnings from each project and market. Frasers Property’s first DDC system was implemented at Central Park Sydney in Australia in 2013. We have an ongoing DDC project in Tampines, Singapore, which is the island-nation’s first brownfield DDC System – a collaboration between Frasers Property, SP Group, Temasek Group and the country’s government – scheduled for completion in 2025.
“Sustainability is about achieving together,” said panellist Mr Manish Pant, Executive Vice President of International Operations at Schneider Electric. Besides working with Frasers Property on implementing smart solutions for wastewater management and a data centre infrastructure management software data centres for One Bangkok, the French company has also worked on optimising electricity consumption through centralised management systems in projects like Capri by Fraser, China Square.
Mr Anderson Tanoto, Managing Director at Royal Golden Eagle, believes collaboration is necessary to “push the sustainability conversation”. “Form multiple collaborations – sometimes you have to take risks,” he said, adding that if certain partnerships do not work out, both parties should move on.
It was this spirit of risk-taking that the panel agreed on in concluding the discussion. “As what Mr Tanoto mentioned, I do like the idea of being willing to take a bit of risk for the greater good – to move together at the right speed (in the green journey),” said Mr Sirivadhanabhakdi.
One Bangkok represents a convergence of our best experiences, across asset classes, from around the world towards delivering an ambitious mixed-use development that will be a global destination for visitors, businesses and investors alike.