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Enoch Yiu

The Hong Kong Green Building Council recently started issuing international certificates for buildings overseas, which is expected to enable more international developers to secure local funding for sustainable projects, boosting the city’s role as a regional green finance hub.
A non-profit-making body focused on promoting the development of eco-friendly structures, the council has extended its Building Environmental Assessment Method (BEAM) Plus certification programme to foreign markets.
The council issued its first BEAM Plus global version certificate in June to a complex in the East African country of Djibouti, while another structure in Macau is expected to soon get the same certification.
“The extension of our green building certificates would be an important move to attract more international developers, particularly those in the Belt and Road Initiative countries, to get funding in Hong Kong to finance their projects,” said Ivan Fu Chin-shing, director of the council, in an interview on Thursday.
“Hong Kong is an international financial centre with many banks offering green loans to companies, while global investors also like to invest in the city’s green bonds.”
The international BEAM Plus certification reflected Hong Kong’s growing role in helping the UN achieve its sustainability and humanitarian goals through green financing, while spurring the issuance of more green bonds in the city.
Hong Kong was responsible for 45 per cent, worth US$43 billion, of the total green bonds issued in Asia in 2024.
BEAM Plus is one of the world’s pioneering green building standards, which enables developers to apply for certificates validating how their projects incorporate designs and materials that conserve energy and water, and reduce carbon emissions. An assessment typically takes 45 days to complete and offers four different rankings.

As of September, there were 2,900 projects registered under BEAM Plus, which covered more than 8,900 buildings and an area totalling over 100 million square metres, according to data from the council.
Since the council started to accept applications in the middle of last year, there have been 15 developers who submitted documentation for their projects in mainland China, Macau, Thailand, Cambodia and Africa.
Fu said the global version of these certificates not only applied the original Hong Kong standards, but also reflected specific climate and market situations where those projects are located.
“The Djibouti project certificate is a milestone, as this is the first certificate issued under the global version of the BEAM Plus, while the project is also in a Belt and Road Initiative country,” Fu said.
“This showed that Hong Kong can set the standards for green buildings not only for developers in the city, but also for those in overseas markets.”

“We have been discussing with the Hong Kong Association of Banks and hope to promote more banks to use our new certificates to grant the green loans,” Fu said. “International investors can also rely on the BEAM Plus Global version to make their investment decisions.”
In his latest policy address, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu confirmed the government’s support for the Green Building Council to promote the BEAM Plus certification among Belt and Road countries, Fu said.
Last month, the council held the city’s 13th Green Building Week, an annual event that included activities to raise public awareness about the importance of sustainable buildings.
“The Hong Kong public and the construction industry have been made aware of the need to address climate change challenges,” Fu said. “Mainland China has already set goals to promote sustainable development and cut carbon emissions.”


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City’s Green Building Council issues first BEAM Plus global certificate to a complex in the East African country of Djibouti


City’s Green Building Council issues first BEAM Plus global certificate to a complex in the East African country of Djibouti.


Hong Kong strengthens green finance hub role with new global building certificates

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}City’s Green Building Council issues first BEAM Plus global certificate to a complex in the East African country of Djibouti

City’s Green Building Council issues first BEAM Plus global certificate to a complex in the East African country of Djibouti