Because of the sweltering and humid tropical weather, the closed architectural design is very popular in Singapore and many tropical countries.In order to effectively isolate the hot and humid air outdoor, most commercial office buildings are sealed buildings, and rely on the central air -conditioning system to reduce indoor temperature.

The central air -conditioning system cools down the indoor air and transports the central pipe system to different floors through the central pipeline system.In order to reduce energy consumption, it will also circulate the colder air, cooling and filtering in the second degree.In the process, fresh air entered from the outside will also be merged.In addition to heat insulation, commercial office buildings also use mechanized air circulation systems to eliminate carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the building to maintain high -altitude quality in the office building.

During the crown disease epidemic, the air circulation system is also the protective cover of the building, which refuses the virus.However, once the virus enters the building, it is easy to spread in the sealing building. It can be transmitted through the air and the surface of the interior circulation and the surface of the contact.

Many countries have launched strict measures to "block" the spread of the virus, forced employees' home office, and it is strictly forbidden to enter the office.Only by minimizing the contact between employees can effectively control the spread of the virus in the workplace and the community.

When the epidemic has passed the peak, the office building gradually unblocked, and most employees returned to work in the office.Although some companies still use mixed work arrangements, more and more companies adopt the "Hot Desking" mode to re -configure the working space to determine the desk use from the first way to get the first place to determine the desk to usePower to support and encourage more flexible work methods.

Employees usually spend 8 to 10 hours a day at the desk. The company cannot ignore the health and safety of employees. They must be put on the priority list.

Some owners such as Guoco Land use the most advanced high -tech air filter and UV sterilization (UVGI) system to completely filter and sterilize the air to completely filter and sterilize the air.Then I lost the office space in the building.

Of course, high -tech equipment can improve indoor air quality, but the required input cost is also very high, which will bring heavy financial pressure to the owners.Some old buildings may also be unable to accommodate and support such complicated new systems due to the limitations of building structure and design.

The process of

indoor temperature cooling and regulation is very energy, and it will produce a large amount of greenhouse gas (GHGS), which is not friendly to the environment.Reducing the carbon footprint of the office into a very urgent issue must be faced.

The future indoor ecological space of health and decarburization

The owner, tenant and company employees of the office building must reach a consensus on the goal of protecting the environmental sustainability, and do their best to reduce carbon emissions.

When creating a healthy, flexible and comfortable indoor working space, you can start from three aspects to plan an ideal indoor space that can realize "carbon neutrality"."Carbon neutralization" means an indoor ecosystem that can offset the carbon dioxide emissions that can offset itself, and achieve the goal of relatively "zero carbon emissions".

First of all, find countermeasures for the source of carbon discharge.The company's daily activities and the operation of the building will produce a direct greenhouse gas (or the referred to Scope 1 carbon trace).The central air -conditioning and air filtering system, lighting, and escalators of the building are the main source of carbon emissions.Employees' activities, including data analysis and video conferences, will also release greenhouse gases directly.Owners can replace more energy -saving and carbon -saving systems and equipment when they are refurbished by the building.Employees can change their daily behaviors, such as adjusting the indoor temperature to the number of comfort, and using the network to convey the message and reduce the printing thick paper report.If you are examples, you change the behavior of others. Everyone is a drop of the armpits, and the carbon reduces the carbon.

Secondly, the production process consumed by the company and buildings in operation will indirectly emit a large amount of greenhouse gases (ie Scope 2 carbon traces).Singapore's power stations mainly rely on oil and natural gas to generate electricity, because of the limitation of geographical environment, and limited use of renewable energy such as hydropower and wind power generation.However, Singapore has sufficient sunshine and densely high -rise buildings. Owners and homeowners can create clean energy on the roof installation of commercial buildings and houses to make clean energy.They can also install solar panels on the outer wall of the building to increase the coverage of absorbing photovoltaic.The "Solarnova" plan of the Housing and Development Bureau is to collect cleaner photovoltaic by installing solar panels on the roofs of the government.

The third type of carbon trace (Scope 3) is more indirect carbon emissions, involving the source of upstream supply chains, activities and energy mobilization.The non -loop -protection materials used in office decoration, especially those high -carbon content, will continue to release carbon -containing and toxic gases indoors after the decoration is completed.A local startup Singras has launched a set of smart ecological farm solutions that designed a screen that can plant vegetables indoors and can be placed in the office corridor and the lobby in the building., Help vegetables grow.For example, ordinary green plants, vegetables will absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis to make food, and release oxygen as by -products to release them back to air, thereby reducing indoor carbon concentration and improving air quality.

When the vegetable harvest is harvested, employees can share the harvested vegetables together, establish a communication and relationship network, and strengthen the "social capital" in the workplace.Although the office farm cannot completely replace the traditional food chain, it can supplement the source of supply.The concept of "from the place of origin to the dining table" can shorten the distance between the source and the dining table, thereby reducing carbon emissions on a series of supply chains such as transportation, refrigeration, packaging, and supermarket stores.If indoor agriculture can be more popular and placed in more offices, when it has a scale effect, it can also help strengthen the toughness of food safety.

Creating a healthy and safe indoor working environment for employees is a long -term neglect.

After experiencing this popular torment, people began to feel the importance of having an indoor space that can be separated from virus broadcast.Only by improving the working environment and ensuring the physiological health and safety of employees, can employees have no worries and work hard for the company to improve work efficiency.

Under the premise of not relaxing another wave of infectious disease attacks, how to actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, it is also an important agenda that the company must adhere to the environment, society and governance (ESG)Essence

The author is a professor of chief chief of the Department of Real Estate, the Department of Real Estate of the State University of Singapore.The article is the author's personal point of view, which does not represent the National University and its subsidiaries