The Shift of Green Building Development in China from a Voluntary to Mandatory Approach

Abstract

The chapter is a systematic review of green building development and governmental interventions in China. A voluntary green building development approach led to a dramatic increase in green projects between 2008 and 2012. In 2013, green building development shifted to a mandatory approach. A central action plan with green building objectives was set out in the 12th Five-Year Plan, and a series of local implementation plans were published in support. This study carried out critical analyses of government policies and relevant data published by national and local governments over the period 2008–2013. The findings showed that the governmental intervention resulted in an exponential increase of green projects to meet national green building objectives by 2015, even though it was confined to government-invested projects and the commercial private sector had not been sufficiently involved. Incentives with monetary rewards were needed to motivate the private sector to strengthen green building development in the long run.