The trend of construction that can withstand storms and floods

Sharing about sustainable construction trends on March 27, Mr. Douglas Snyder, Executive Director of the Vietnam Green Building Council (VGBC), said that they have just updated “resilience” as a new criterion of the Lotus certification system (version 4).

This category was included in the first two versions, but was removed from version 3, because it was considered “ahead of its time”. However, recent storms have shown that Vietnam is vulnerable to storms and flooding. Resilience to natural disasters becomes a top priority.

Lotus is a popular green building certification in Vietnam, along with other certifications such as Edge (from the International Financial Organization IFC), Leed (US Green Construction Council), and Green Mark (developed by the Singapore Green Environment Agency).

Regarding resilience, Mr. Snyder gave the example of Aeon Mall in Hue, a project that received Lotus certification last year. This shopping center building became a symbol when the campus and parking lot were rare places that were not flooded after storms and floods.

Talking about the importance of this factor in green criteria, Mr. Snyder said that two-thirds of the world’s assets are in real estate projects, which are subject to many risks from climate change. People face about 20 types of climate risks, including storms, floods, extreme heat, water shortages…, causing disruption to operations.

More broadly, disruption of operations at offices, schools, hospitals or people’s homes for 1-3 weeks will cause economic activity to stagnate. In addition, some climate risks also affect property and human life.

“Many businesses want their factories, resorts, and hospitals to exist for the next 25 years, not just operate well for 5 years,” said VGBC CEO.

Another trend in construction is material recycling. That is, old materials in this building can be recycled and used in another new building, reducing environmental impact throughout the entire life cycle. VGBC leaders noted that 50% of waste in landfills comes from the construction industry. Recycling and reusing materials helps protect the environment, reduces landfilling, and brings financial benefits when returning materials to the economy.

To effectively circulate materials, project owners need to calculate materials from the design stage to make them more durable, easy to dismantle, and flexible in their uses. Essentially, materials must be treated as a “resource bank”, able to cycle between buildings, rather than being discarded after demolition.

Being “green certified” helps increase access to preferential loans, according to VGBC. Last year, Vietnam issued a green list (Green Taxonomy), including new construction and house renovation activities of all kinds that meet green building goals according to international or domestic standards such as Lotus, Green Mark, Leed. This means that achieving green building certification helps the project have the ability to connect directly to the sustainable financial system, with interest rates lower than 2%.

Vietnam’s construction industry is under pressure to transform green, with the country’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. Meanwhile, globally, construction and building operations are responsible for 35% of greenhouse gas emissions, higher than the transportation sector (22%) and industrial production (28%), according to statistics from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the website Statista.

The number of green buildings in Vietnam has skyrocketed in the last two years. According to IFC, the total number of buildings achieving green certification by the end of 2025 will reach 780 projects. Last year alone, 196 buildings were recognized as green, an increase of 20% compared to 2024, the highest increase ever. Also last year, for the first time, the market recognized two new types of green buildings: data centers and historical buildings.