Overall regional trend

The zero-carbon building certification market in Southeast Asia is experiencing rapid growth. By 2026, the regional market size has exceeded 4.2 billion US dollars, an increase of approximately 31% compared to 2025. The certification projects in the three core markets of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand have cumulatively reached over 890, with a total building area of 36 million square meters. 

At the policy level, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines have successively released national-level development roadmaps for carbon neutrality in buildings, requiring that new public buildings must meet the zero-carbon certification threshold after 2028. This directly drives the demand for green building materials, intelligent building systems and integrated technologies for renewable energy. The annual growth rate of related sub-markets exceeds 35%.

Latest developments of various countries

1. Singapore

Singapore continues to lead in the field of energy-saving and intelligentization of public buildings. On June 2nd, the Singapore Building Authority (BCA) updated the green standard requirements for government land sales (GLS) projects - all buildings on GLS plots must achieve the Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy rating and be equipped with the Maintainability Badge, ensuring that energy efficiency is improved by at least 60% compared to the 2005 level. 

In terms of intelligent applications, Singapore is continuously advancing the deployment of smart facility management technologies. Surbana Jurong is deploying an integrated facility management platform with over 3,000 IoT sensors at Temasek Polytechnic to reduce carbon emissions on the campus. Envision Digital and ST Engineering have announced a partnership to jointly build an end-to-end zero-carbon urban infrastructure solution to serve the public and commercial sectors in Singapore. 

2. Malaysia

On June 21st, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government of Malaysia (KPKT) announced that it would conduct a comprehensive review of the framework for building completion and compliance certificates (CCC), with the focus being on enhancing efficiency through digital integration, reducing unnecessary bureaucratic procedures, and closing regulatory loopholes to support sustainable urban development. Minister Nga Kor Ming disclosed that Malaysia has over 500 million square feet of green index buildings. 

In terms of capacity building, the RENEW-SEA project held an online training on the energy efficiency and feasibility of renewable energy for public buildings on May 20th. The training was attended by 133 representatives from 42 local and regional governments in Malaysia, focusing on energy audits, building performance improvement, integration of renewable energy technologies, and financing mechanisms. 

Furthermore, Malaysia has launched the first "near-zero energy consumption building" renovation demonstration project in the City of Skyrise, with the aim of reducing primary energy consumption by more than 75%. 

3. Thailand

On July 3rd, the 5th International Conference on Advanced Technologies for Sustainable Buildings (ATCESD 2026) was held at the Intelligent Building of Da Nang University of Technology. Experts from various countries shared solutions in areas such as AI, green buildings, low-carbon materials, and digital transformation. 

In terms of energy conservation in public buildings, the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand announced on June 22nd the promotion of the Green Hospital Initiative. Solar systems on rooftops will be installed in 25 pilot hospitals, which is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7,211 tons annually and save over 55 million Thai baht in electricity costs. 

The Thai government has also continued to implement the "Energy Saving Plus Plus" program, requiring all government institutions to reduce their energy consumption by 10%. Specific measures include setting air conditioning temperatures at 26–27°C, switching to online meetings, and supporting remote working. 

4. Vietnam

On July 1st, Vietnam's 2025 "Construction Law" officially came into effect, introducing new regulations regarding construction activities, the rights, obligations and responsibilities of various institutions and individuals. 

On July 3rd, the comprehensive building of the provincial political and administrative center in Cong Ha Province was officially awarded the EDGE Advanced international green building certification. This is the first provincial government office building in Vietnam to receive this certification, marking an important step towards modernization and energy conservation and environmental protection in provincial public infrastructure. 

In terms of policies and regulations, the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam is accelerating the revision of the 2019 "Building Law". The draft emphasizes green buildings, energy efficiency and digital transformation. It is expected to be submitted to the government in June, to the National Assembly's Standing Committee in August, and to the National Assembly for review in October. Previously, on January 21, the Vietnamese government issued Decree No. 30/2026/NĐ-CP, detailing the implementation rules of the "Energy Conservation and Efficiency Utilization Law". 

5. Philippines

On June 18th, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering providing a $210 million loan to the Philippines to enhance the energy efficiency of public buildings (particularly schools and medical institutions). This project will be implemented in two phases: the first phase (2026–2028) covers approximately 100 buildings, and the second phase (2028–2031) covers approximately 300 buildings. The ADB estimates that the potential investment in energy efficiency for Philippine public buildings amounts to $1.28 billion. 

On June 24th, the Philippine Investment Commission (BOI) promoted the "Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act" (EE&C Act) incentives in Cebu, encouraging enterprises to reduce energy costs through energy-saving projects. 

Previously, President Marcos issued Memorandum No. 114 in March, instructing all government agencies to accelerate the implementation of the Government Energy Management Plan (GEMP). 

6. INDONESIA

The Provincial Government of Jakarta issued Provincial Governor Regulation No. 5/2026 in February, stipulating regulations on building energy and water resource efficiency. This regulation is part of the Climate Action Implementation (CAI) plan of Jakarta's cooperation with the British government and the C40 cities. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 31.89% and increase energy and water resource efficiency by up to 30% by 2030. The construction industry accounts for approximately 60% of Jakarta's emissions. The government is promoting the transformation of government buildings into green building models. 

At the operational level, Jakarta has installed rooftop solar photovoltaic systems in 196 government buildings (including 143 schools, 18 offices, 24 medical facilities and 11 sports facilities). As of 2025, the total installed capacity has reached 4.765 MW. The Central Government of Indonesia is drafting a public sector energy conservation strategy covering education, health and public services, which is expected to come into effect in April 2026. 

Regional Cooperation Level

The ASEAN Energy Center (ACE) has been continuously promoting the "ASEAN Energy Cooperation Action Plan (APAEC) 2026–2030", with key focuses including accelerating the Zero Energy Building (ZEB) initiative, strengthening the building certification framework, and promoting energy-efficient and low-carbon building practices. ACE has also jointly released the ASEAN Passive Cooling Roadmap with the Global Alliance for Building and Construction (GlobalABC) and UNEP, aiming to align passive cooling strategies with regional documents and each country's nationally determined contributions (NDCs). 

Furthermore, ACE is implementing the PEEB-ASEAN project (ASEAN Building Energy Efficiency Project), which supports the member states of ASEAN in strengthening their green building policies and market conditions, directly contributing to APAEC's goal of reducing energy intensity by 40% by 2030.