Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces Has Been Replaced: What Singapore Tenants and Tender Writers Need to Know
- Adapt D&B
- Jul 24
- 9 min read
Updated: Jul 27
If your tender documents or lease agreements still reference "Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces", you are not alone — but you need to know what has changed.
If you have come across a fit-out tender in Singapore recently that specifies "BCA-HPB Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces" as a project requirement, you are looking at a document written before November 2025. The scheme it refers to no longer accepts new applications. It has been officially superseded.
This is causing real confusion on the ground. Tender documents prepared before the transition are still circulating. Facilities managers are still referencing the old scheme in briefs. Interior designers are being asked to comply with a certification that no longer exists as a standalone scheme.
This article explains clearly what happened, what the Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces was, what has replaced it, how the two compare, and — most importantly — what this means for your project right now.
What Was the BCA-HPB Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces?
The BCA-HPB Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces (commonly referred to as GM HW or Green Mark Healthier Workplaces) was a green certification scheme jointly developed by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) of Singapore.
Introduced in 2018, it was designed specifically for commercial office fit-outs with a focus on occupant health and wellbeing. Unlike the broader BCA Green Mark scheme, which evaluated entire buildings for overall environmental performance, the Healthier Workplaces scheme focused on what happened inside the tenancy — the indoor environment that employees experienced every working day.
What it assessed:
Indoor air quality — ventilation rates, pollutant levels, CO₂ monitoring
Acoustic comfort — noise levels and sound management
Thermal comfort — temperature and humidity control
Lighting quality — adequacy of natural and artificial lighting
Biophilic design — integration of natural elements into the workspace
Health-promoting amenities — spaces that support physical activity and wellness
It covered two types of projects: new office fit-outs and existing offices already in operation. Certification was valid for three years, after which recertification was required.
For many organisations — particularly those in the healthcare, finance, and professional services sectors — GM Healthier Workplaces was a recognised marker of employee well-being commitment. It appeared frequently in corporate sustainability reports, lease requirements from building landlords, and government-linked tender specifications.
What Has Replaced It?
The BCA Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces has been superseded by the BCA Green Mark for Interiors (GMI), which came into effect on 1 November 2025. All projects applying for Green Mark certification on or after 1 November 2025 are assessed under GMI.
BCA ceased accepting applications for Green Mark user-centric schemes with effect from 1 November 2025. The GMI certification scheme is now administered by the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC).
GMI is not just a renamed version of the Healthier Workplaces scheme. It is a broader, more comprehensive framework that consolidates five separate Green Mark user-centric schemes into a single unified standard:
BCA-HPB Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces
BCA Green Mark for Office Interior
BCA Green Mark for Retail
BCA Green Mark for Restaurants
BCA Green Mark for Supermarkets and Laboratories
The GMI ratings are Gold, GoldPLUS, Platinum and Platinum ZE (Zero Energy). GMI assessment is conducted based on the interior area defined by the lease boundary.
How Are They Similar?
If your organisation was familiar with the Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces, the GMI will feel immediately recognisable in several important ways.
The core health and well-being criteria carry over directly. Indoor air quality, acoustic comfort, thermal comfort, lighting quality, and biophilic design — the pillars that defined the Healthier Workplaces scheme — are all preserved within GMI's Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) section. The emphasis on occupant experience and health outcomes that made the old scheme valuable has not been lost; it has been retained and integrated.
The project scope is the same. GMI, like the Healthier Workplaces scheme, applies to the interior tenancy — not the base building. It evaluates the fit-out within your lease boundary, covering the design, materials, and systems that the tenant controls.
The certification process is comparable. Both schemes involve a documented assessment process, site verification, and third-party certification. GMI is administered by SGBC using a structured portal-based submission process.
Existing certificates remain valid. If your organisation currently holds a Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces certificate, it remains valid until its stated expiry date. You do not need to do anything immediately.
How Are They Different?
While the physical environment foundation is shared, there are meaningful differences — both in what GMI adds and in what it does not carry over from GM HW.
Dimension | GM Healthier Workplaces (HW:2018) | BCA Green Mark for Interiors (GMI) |
Primary focus | Environmental sustainability plus employer-driven health programmes | Holistic built environment sustainability — energy, carbon, materials, IEQ, smart features |
Rating tiers | Certified, Gold, GoldPLUS, Platinum | Gold, GoldPLUS, Platinum, Platinum ZE |
Energy efficiency | Comprehensive scored criteria — LPD targets and EEI benchmarks per rating tier, no hard mandatory prerequisite | Mandatory prerequisite — minimum % improvement over SS 530:2024 LPD limits assessed space-by-space for each rating tier |
Energy benchmarks | Specific EEI targets per rating tier (kWh/m²/yr) — Gold ≤80, GoldPLUS ≤70, Platinum ≤60 | No EUI or EEI benchmarks under GMI |
Assessment approach | Operational assessment using actual utility bills over minimum 3 months | One-time post-occupancy assessment only — conducted after minimum 3 months steady-state operation. No design-stage track. Projects underway under GM HW cannot revert to old criteria. |
Sustainable materials | Scored under Section 2 — green certified renovation products, sustainable renovation, operational products | Expanded — FSC-certified timber, low-VOC products, waste diversion, embodied carbon documentation |
Carbon and climate | Renewable energy scored under Section 5 | Embodied carbon documentation, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) — dedicated Low Carbon section |
Workplace health programmes | Full Section 4 — healthier eating, fitness activities, mental health management, smoking cessation, workplace health policies | Not carried over — GMI focuses on built environment only |
Smart building features | Energy monitoring and demand control scored under Section 5 | Dedicated SMART Integration section — energy monitoring, smart controls, data logging requirements |
Space types covered | Commercial office workplaces | Offices, retail, restaurants, supermarkets, laboratories |
Administered by | BCA jointly with HPB | SGBC |
Certificate validity | 3 years | 5 years |
The Mandatory Energy Prerequisite — A Key Shift
Under GM HW, energy performance was a scored criterion: you could achieve higher LPD targets and EEI benchmarks to earn more points, but there was no single hard gate that every project had to pass regardless of score.
Under GMI, a minimum percentage improvement over the SS 530:2024 Lighting Power Density (LPD) limits is a mandatory prerequisite for all ratings — and critically, this is assessed space-by-space, not as an overall premise average. Each space type within your tenancy must individually meet the minimum improvement required for the rating tier you are targeting. No amount of points in other sections compensates for any space that fails to meet it.
There are also no EUI or EEI benchmarks under GMI. The annual energy consumption targets that defined GM HW's Gold, GoldPLUS, and Platinum tiers do not exist in GMI. The energy assessment is instead anchored entirely to LPD improvement per space type.
GMI Is a One-Time Post-Occupancy Assessment
Under GM HW, projects submitted operational data (utility bills, EEI calculations) after a minimum of 3 months of operation — similar in principle to how GMI works. However, an important clarification from SGBC: GMI has no design-stage assessment track. It is a one-time performance assessment of an occupied interior, conducted only after the space has been in steady-state operation for a minimum of three months.
This means:
You cannot apply for GMI during the design or construction phase
The assessment is based entirely on actual in-use performance — lighting power consumption, IAQ measurements, acoustic surveys, water monitoring — not design intent documents
Projects that were already underway under GM HW criteria cannot be assessed under the old criteria — GMI's assessment approach and criteria are different and must be applied in full
The HPB Health Programmes — Not Carried Into GMI
This is the most significant difference for organisations that valued GM HW for HR and corporate wellness purposes. Section 4 of GM HW — which covered healthier eating access and catering programmes, active workplace design, fitness facilities and programmes, mental health management, smoking cessation support, and workplace health promotion activities — was unique to the BCA-HPB collaboration. It reflected HPB's role as co-administrator and its mandate to promote population health through workplace programmes.
GMI, administered solely by SGBC, focuses on the physical built environment. It does not include employer-driven health programme requirements. The biophilic design and IAQ elements carry over; the eating, fitness, and mental health programme requirements do not.
Organisations that used GM HW to satisfy HR targets, demonstrate corporate wellness commitments, or align with HPB's Workplace Health Promotion programmes should note this distinction. Those programmes will need to be maintained independently under internal workplace health initiatives or HPB's own certification frameworks — they are no longer part of the green building certification pathway.
What This Means for Current and New Projects
If your tender specifies "Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces"
Your tender documents were written before the transition. The scheme being referenced no longer accepts new applications.
You cannot comply with the tender by applying for Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces — the application portal is closed. The correct certification to pursue is GMI.
If you are the tender writer or appointing authority, update your specification to reference "BCA Green Mark for Interiors (GMI)" administered by SGBC. The environmental and built environment intent of the original requirement is fully met by GMI. However, if the original tender also intended to require employer health programmes (Section 4 of GM HW), those requirements will need to be specified separately.
If you are the tenderer (the ID firm, builder, or tenant responding to the brief), flag the outdated specification to the appointing authority and confirm that GMI is the current applicable scheme. Most tender authorities will be receptive — this is a scheme transition, not a change in intent.
If you hold an existing Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces certificate
Your certificate remains valid until its expiry date. No immediate action is required. However, when your certificate expires, recertification must be done under GMI — not the old scheme.
Start planning for GMI recertification at least 6 months before your current certificate expires. The built environment criteria you already meet give you a strong foundation. The main new requirement to plan for is GMI's mandatory energy prerequisite — confirm your lighting specifications meet the SS 530:2024 benchmark before submitting.
If you are planning a new office fit-out
There is no ambiguity for new projects — GMI is the only applicable scheme. Whether your fit-out is a new office, a renovation of an existing space, or a relocation, GMI is the framework you will be assessed under.
Engage a sustainability consultant at the pre-design stage, before your design brief is finalised. The energy prerequisite and sustainable materials criteria are significantly easier and more cost-effective to achieve when designed in from the start than when retrofitted after construction is complete.
Practical Checklist: Navigating the Transition
Situation | What to Do |
Tender specifies Green Mark Healthier Workplaces | Update specification to GMI. If responding to such a tender, flag to appointing authority and confirm GMI as the applicable scheme. |
Existing GM HW certificate in force | No action until expiry. Plan GMI recertification at least 6 months before expiry date. |
New office fit-out planned | Engage a GMI consultant at pre-design stage. Commission a gap analysis before the design brief is written. |
Existing office, no current certification | Assess under GMI for new certification or as part of any renovation or lease renewal. |
Lease agreement references GM HW | Review with legal and building management. Update references at next lease review. |
Relied on GM HW for HPB health programme requirements | Maintain those programmes independently. They are not part of GMI. Consider HPB's own Workplace Health Promotion frameworks. |
The Bottom Line
The BCA-HPB Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces served Singapore's commercial office sector well for seven years. Its dual emphasis on environmental performance and employer health programmes reflected a deliberate collaboration between BCA and HPB. The BCA Green Mark for Interiors (GMI) carries forward the built environment dimensions — energy, materials, indoor environment quality — and strengthens them significantly. What it does not carry forward is the HPB-driven workplace health promotion component.
For anyone still working with documents that reference the old scheme: the built environment intent has not changed. The certification has evolved, and the health programme requirements sit outside it. GMI is what you need for the fit-out. For the rest, speak to HPB.
Navigating the GMI transition for your project? Adapt D&B is an SGBS-certified ESD consultancy in Singapore. We provide end-to-end GMI certification support — from gap analysis and design advisory through to SGBC submission and site audit. Whether you are recertifying an existing Healthier Workplaces space or pursuing GMI for a new fit-out, we can guide you through the process.
