Decarbonising Construction: ESG & Decarbonisation Fundamentals

Course Introduction

Singapore’s Built Environment sector is entering a critical decade of transformation, driven by the Singapore Green Building Masterplan, Green Mark, GreenGov.SG procurement requirements, and the national net-zero ambition. Contractors are increasingly expected to understand carbon impacts, respond to sustainability-weighted tenders, and contribute to whole-life carbon reduction across projects.

This module provides participants with the essential foundations needed to understand construction-related carbon emissions, the regulatory and commercial drivers for decarbonisation, and the key principles of embodied carbon management in the construction value chain.

All content is grounded in Singapore's regulatory landscape (BCA, NEA, NCCS, GreenGov.SG) and uses live construction-sector case studies, including public infrastructure tenders with embedded sustainability requirements.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Explain why decarbonisation is now a commercial and contractual issue for contractors, not only a compliance one
• Navigate the SGBMP 80-80-80 targets, Green Mark (Whole Life Carbon and Sustainable Construction criteria) and the SLE programme
• Distinguish embodied vs operational carbon and map emissions to lifecycle stages A1–A5
• Identify embodied-carbon decarbonisation opportunities across sustainable design, green materials and low-carbon construction

Course Outline

• Green Building Masterplan

• Carbon emissions associated with buildings

• Decarbonisation approach and enablers

• Sustainable design principles

• Sustainable materials selection

• Low carbon construction strategies

• Built Environment Case studies

• Applied exercise: climate risk & opportunity mapping

Target Audience

• Directors, project directors and project managers of main contractors and subcontractors
• Tender, contracts and QS teams responding to sustainability-weighted tenders (public agencies and private developers)
• WSH/EHS / sustainability leads newly tasked with carbon reporting and decarbonisation planning
• Plant, procurement and supply chain managers evaluating low-carbon materials and equipment

Course Fees

• SCAL / SLOTS member: $175
• Non-member: $ 210

Speaker Profile

Yina Chua | ESG & Decarbonisation Advisory, KPMG in Singapore

Yina is a sustainability and decarbonisation advisory leader with over 15 years of experience across the Built Environment, water, climate tech and industrial sectors in APAC and China. She is currently with KPMG in Singapore, where she leads ESG and decarbonisation advisory engagements for Built Environment clients — including enterprise decarbonisation programmes, MACC-based abatement planning, carbon management plans for major infrastructure tenders, and sector workforce transformation programmes.

A civil engineer by training, Yina began her career at Surbana Jurong delivering S$45–80M public housing projects to BCA Green Mark certification — she understands contractors' realities from the site up, and now advises Built Environment firms on enterprise decarbonisation, carbon management plans for major infrastructure tenders, and workforce transformation under WSG funding mechanisms.

Previously, Yina was Head of Customer Solutions (Industry, APAC & China) at Grundfos, leading decarbonisation and digitalisation advisory across data centres, industrial facilities and urban infrastructure, influencing initiatives contributing to over USD 300M in portfolio value. She served as Associate Director for International Engagement & ESG at the National University of Singapore, and was the founding Chief Sustainability Officer of Singapore Polytechnic, where she directed enterprise-wide ESG strategy and delivered nationwide capability-building initiatives with BCA, WSG, SSG and MOE. She co-authored The Decarbonisation Playbook with KPMG.

Credentials & Appointments

• Certified Green Mark Accredited Professional (GMAP), BCA/SGBC; GRI, TCFD and CDSB certified

• Business & Climate Change: Towards Net Zero Emissions — University of Cambridge; MEng Civil Engineering (First-Class Honours), University of Birmingham

• Deputy Co-Chair, Climate Change Technical Committee, Institution of Engineers Singapore (2024–2026)

• Committee Member, SIFMA Sustainability Development (2024–2026); Sustainability Advisor, Singapore Building Materials Suppliers' Association (2024–2026)

• BCA Young Leader; World Cities Summit Young Leader; Kindness & Leadership 50 Leading Lights Asia Pacific (2024)