Bronze gets treated as the rating you settle for. That reading misunderstands what the entry tier is for, and it costs developers real money, because a Bronze target approached properly is often the most cost-effective certification decision available.
Irama Wangsa is a condominium development in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur, developed by Beneton Properties. Assessed under GreenRE RES v3.0 and certified GreenRE Bronze at 60.11 points in 2018. It is one of the earliest projects in our portfolio.
Full marks where it counted
- Common-area LED lighting: 10 of 10. Full marks.
- Naturally ventilated car parks: 6 of 6. Full marks.
- Green Plot Ratio: 6 of 6. Full marks.
- Natural ventilation in common areas: 2 of 2. Full marks.
- Low-VOC paints, stormwater management, water usage monitoring, non-potable water, community connectivity, public transport access: 1 of 1 each.
Those are not token credits. Common-area lighting and car park ventilation are two of the largest continuous electrical loads in a residential development, and they are paid for by the residents through service charges for the life of the building. Getting both completely right is worth more to an owner than a higher rating achieved elsewhere on the scorecard.
Where it did not score
RETV took 9.71 of 15 and airflow within dwelling units 6.15 of 12. Sustainable products took 2.25 of 8.
Those are the envelope and procurement credits, and they are what separates Bronze from Gold. Closing them means a different facade specification and a different supply chain, both of which have real cost.
The strategic reading
The question a developer should ask is not how high a rating can be reached. It is which credits deliver value to the eventual owner at a cost the project can carry.
On a mid-market condominium, the credits that reduce the monthly service charge are the ones residents experience. Full marks on lighting and car park ventilation do that. A marginally better glazing specification, on a unit mix where buyers are price-sensitive, frequently does not.
Bronze achieved deliberately, with the operating-cost credits maximised, is a better outcome than Silver achieved by spending on credits nobody will notice. The rating is a label. The scorecard is the actual information, which is why we publish ours.
