Scoping Study on Community of Interest (CoI) for Sustainable Housing in Asia

Since its launch in 2007 by the European Commission (EC) through the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), the SWITCH-Asia programme has supported governments, businesses, consumers and related associations in promoting sustainable growth, economic prosperity and poverty reduction across 19 Asian countries with over 100 grant projects in various sectors. In order to encourage effective replication and scaling-up of SWITCH projects as well as to provide a dialogue platform for internal and external stakeholders, the SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility (the SCPF) has been established in 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand. The SCPF fosters dynamic and evolving exchange through so-called Communities of Interests (CoI), i.e. platforms with the aim to connect key experts, entities and stakeholders, both online and offline, who share the interest for an impactful issue. Such a platform should enable participants to discuss ideas and lessons learned and consequently, to identify and develop joint actions.

As per the needs identified in SWITCH-Asia countries, one of the first CoIs of the SCPF shall be established around the theme of sustainable housing. In order to develop this CoI, a comprehensive analysis of the current state and trends of sustainable housing in Asia is required to identify lessons learned, best practices and priority issues as well as key stakeholder groups. Thereby, housing is assessed along the whole lifecycle of a building while also taking into account overarching topics such as affordable housing. The findings of this scoping study shall support SCPF in setting up a CoI for sustainable housing which allows for exchange to some of the most critical issues and guides policy makers in participating countries in addressing them.

adelphi in collaboration with Development Alternatives conducted this comprehensive scoping study on sustainable housing in the SWITCH-Asia countries, with an in-depth assessment on the situation in China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Following an analysis of the current policy environment, technological trends, standards and guidelines as well as access to finance, the countries were assessed and compared according to their progress regarding sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in sustainable housing. Additionally, a concept for the virtual CoI was prepared, including recommendations for the stakeholder circle, stakeholder engaging strategy and operationalisation of the CoI. Finally, the SCPF was supported in organising the first face-to-face CoI meeting on sustainable housing in Jakarta, Indonesia.