As the latest initiative to bridge green buildings with sustainable finance in the Asia Pacific region, an Insights Report was announced at the SGBC Gala Dinner 2025 on 11 July 2025. This is the first in a new series of regional publications developed to support the transition towards a more sustainable, circular, and resilient built environment across Asia Pacific.
Led by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and SGBC Member OCBC with strong support from Asia Pacific green building councils including SGBC, the paper offers a concise yet strategic overview of the current state of readiness across the sector, presenting key messages and early observations drawn from multi-stakeholder engagement, regional data, and global trends.
The paper highlights the urgent need for systemic change in how we design, build, use, and recover building materials — and identifies the policy, industry, and financial levers that can help accelerate this transition. Together, the three-part publication suite will form a common reference point for policymakers and market actors — supporting more coherent action, investment alignment, and measurable progress across the built environment sector.
Specifically, the Report serves a threefold purpose:
- Framing the urgency – It outlines why the building and construction sector must shift away from today’s linear consumption model, and how this shift aligns with climate targets, economic resilience, and resource security.
- Opportunities for progress are identified in climate adaptation, biodiversity safeguards, embodied carbon, and ongoing performance tracking — priority areas for future iteration.
- Setting the stage – It introduces the broader framework that will be detailed in the next two publications, helping stakeholders anticipate and prepare for more technical guidance to come.
The Insights Report is designed for senior decision-makers to quickly grasp the strategic direction and areas for leadership. It has been developed in consultation with regional Green Building Councils, industry partners, and policy leaders — and is intended to initiate informed dialogue and collective action across the ecosystem.
The Insights Report will be complemented with the following in September 2025:
- The Practitioner’s Guide – a document that provides practical recommendations, use cases, and implementation pathways for government agencies, developers, and investors.
- The Technical Annex – a detailed compilation of methodologies, indicators, and data sets that underpin the framework and allow for deeper analysis and benchmarking.
Together, this three-part publication suite will form a common reference point for policymakers and market actors — supporting more coherent action, investment alignment, and measurable progress across the built environment sector.
