This course is structured as a day’s Masterclass to give participants without a finance background an overview of the Green & Sustainable Finance ecosystem and the foundational knowledge to tap into it. Besides introducing the concept of Green and Sustainable Finance and how ESG is embedded in traditional financial instruments, the course also aims to make this pertinent for the Built Environment by addressing the ecosystem of sustainable finance taxonomies, green building certification and the role of second party opinion providers which offer diverse mechanisms to define green buildings for the purpose of accessing sustainable finance.

Case studies will be provided throughout to illustrate how building and project owners can access green finance, as well as transition finance for the greening of brown assets. The intention of the course is to help build bridges across the nomenclature of finance, sustainability and raise awareness as to how glocal taxonomies (E.g. EU, ASEAN) are now more transparently mapped against the various green building rating tools, easing the path towards accessing sustainable finance.

As regulatory requirements, green building schemes, and low-carbon procurement practices continue to expand globally, manufacturers and stakeholders in the construction sector are increasingly required to provide credible, transparent, and independently verified environmental information for building products. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), developed in accordance with international standards, have become a key mechanism for communicating product carbon performance and supporting market access.

This course provides participants with a structured understanding of EPDs, placing strong emphasis on standards compliance, verification requirements, and conformity assessment principles. The course explains how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) underpins EPD development and how verified EPDs support regulatory compliance, green building certifications, and procurement decisions.

Participants will gain insight into the regulatory and market drivers behind product carbon disclosure, including global carbon regulations and green building rating systems. The course covers the governance of EPD programs, Product Category Rules (PCRs), and the applicable international standards such as ISO 14025 and EN 15804 for construction products. the training also walks through the EPD development and independent verification process, highlighting common verification findings, data quality expectations, and best practices for achieving compliant and internationally recognized EPDs. Practical insights into LCA modelling, result interpretation, EPD registration, and maintenance are included to support real-world implementation.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to confidently interpret EPDs, understand the requirements for credible verification, and navigate the certification pathway for building products in a manner aligned with international standards and market expectations.

Accurate carbon quantification enables built environment stakeholders to identify emission hotspots and make informed decisions, allowing them to prioritise and implement low-carbon solutions effectively to meet decarbonisation targets.

In collaboration with BCA, JTC and NUS-ESI, SGBC co-developed a unified Singapore Building Carbon Calculator (SBCC), which comprises of both the Building Embodied Carbon Calculator (BECC) and the Mechanical & Electrical Carbon Calculator (MECC). The MECC provides the industry with a digital tool to make informed material or product selection decisions for Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing products in order to reduce the carbon footprint of green building projects. These tools are identified as key Embodied Carbon Reduction measures in the Built Environment Decarbonisation Technology Roadmap.

At this SGBC Industry Course, attendees will gain hands-on experience with the MECC to quantify the carbon emissions of a real-world building project, equipping them with the practical knowledge to assess embodied carbon emissions.