SINGAPORE'S Orchard Road shopping strip will soon be home to the first eco-mall here with 'green tenants'.

Business people setting up shop at 313@Somerset have to sign 'green leases' committing them to achieving environmental targets, said Ms Maria Atkinson, global head of sustainability for Australia's Lend Lease, the mall's developer.

Ms Atkinson is one of the five international experts invited by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) to review Singapore's green building movement.

As part of their lease terms, retailers at 313@Somerset will have to comply with fit-out guidelines such as using greener materials and reducing water and energy usage, she added. They will have to participate in community programmes to increase awareness of the benefits of green buildings, and report energy consumption to track the building's performance.

Such practices could be encouraged so tenants can help owners achieve certain operational targets for green buildings, added Ms Atkinson.

The green leasing concept was one of the panel's key recommendations. It also suggested the Government rent and lease only green buildings via its agencies to encourage more green buildings.

The panel will convene here again in October next year when Singapore will host, for the first time, the International Green Building Conference.

313@Somerset will be completed late next year.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Oct 3, 2008.