This article was originally published on LinkedIn.
Bangkok's commercial real estate market is entering a new phase. Green certified buildings are no longer a niche segment. They are increasingly becoming the benchmark for premium office space.
Recent market data illustrates this transition clearly. During the first quarter of 2026, green certified office buildings recorded net absorption of roughly 69,000 sqm, nearly four times the prior quarter and accounting for the vast majority of Bangkok's office demand growth, while uncertified buildings gained only about 1,000 sqm.
At the same time, an increasing number of existing buildings continue to upgrade their operations by achieving LEED Operations and Maintenance certification. More than 20 existing Bangkok office buildings have done so since 2020, including recent upgrades at The Ninth Towers, CRC Tower at All Seasons Place, and Gaysorn Amarin, demonstrating that sustainability is no longer limited to new developments.
Government policy is reinforcing this direction
Developers continue to benefit from additional floor area incentives for certified green buildings. Bangkok's City Planning Department offers a floor area ratio (FAR) bonus that scales with certification level, from 5% for basic certification up to 20% for the highest tier. Meanwhile Thailand is introducing more comprehensive environmental and climate related disclosure requirements for larger listed companies, with mandatory climate disclosure aligned to ISSB standards phasing in from 2026. Environmental regulation is also expanding through new legislation covering climate change, pollution management and circular economy initiatives.
For building owners, sustainability is no longer simply about construction. It is equally about how buildings are operated every day. Cleaning is one of those daily operations.
Cleaning is becoming part of building performance
Historically, cleaning has been viewed primarily as a maintenance activity. Today it is increasingly recognized as an operational function that influences environmental performance, occupant wellbeing and resource consumption throughout the life of a building.
Every day, commercial buildings consume cleaning chemicals, water, plastic packaging, transportation resources and labor, and generate wastewater that must be treated or discharged. Although each individual activity appears small, the cumulative environmental impact over years of operation is substantial.
This broader operational perspective is reflected in LEED v5. Rather than focusing only on building design, LEED v5 places greater emphasis on operational carbon, indoor environmental quality, resource efficiency and healthier buildings. Nearly half of available certification points now relate to carbon reduction across embodied emissions, operational energy, refrigerants and transport, while the Indoor Environmental Quality category has been reshaped around occupant needs, stronger indoor air quality testing and resilient, healthier spaces.
These priorities encourage facility managers to evaluate not only what products they purchase, but also how everyday operations contribute to long term sustainability goals.
Why Stabilized Aqueous Ozone is receiving increased attention
Among emerging cleaning technologies, Tersano's Stabilized Aqueous Ozone (SAO) has attracted growing interest because it addresses several of the operational priorities that modern green building frameworks encourage.
Produced from ordinary tap water through an onsite generation process, SAO reduces the need for transporting, storing and disposing of conventional cleaning chemicals. This approach can significantly reduce chemical packaging while simplifying logistics and minimizing the handling of concentrated cleaning products. In fact, the LEED v5 Operations and Maintenance Reference Guide explicitly recognizes onsite generated cleaning products using stabilized aqueous ozone, ionized water, or electrolyzed water as compliant cleaning solutions.
From an indoor environmental perspective, reducing dependence on conventional cleaning chemicals may also contribute to healthier environments for building occupants and cleaning personnel. One hospital case study reported a 90% reduction in commercial floor cleaning chemical use and a 35% reduction in overall chemical costs after adopting the technology.
For schools, this supports healthier learning spaces. For hotels, it contributes to guest comfort while improving working conditions for housekeeping teams. For healthcare facilities, it supports environmental hygiene programs by reducing unnecessary chemical exposure during routine cleaning while maintaining established cleaning protocols.
Supporting the objectives of LEED v5
LEED v5 does not prescribe individual cleaning technologies. Instead, it encourages building operators to adopt practices that contribute to healthier buildings, lower environmental impact and more efficient operations.
Stabilized Aqueous Ozone aligns naturally with several of these objectives. The LEED v5 Operations and Maintenance Reference Guide names it directly as a qualifying onsite generated cleaning product.
It supports reductions in conventional chemical use. It can reduce packaging waste associated with cleaning chemicals. It simplifies chemical inventory and logistics. It contributes to improved indoor environmental quality by reducing routine chemical exposure.
It supports measurable results, since the onsite SAO generation lotus PRO devices include IoT capabilities that track usage, dosing and performance data, giving facility managers verifiable operational evidence rather than relying on estimates, and feeding directly into sustainability reporting.
Most importantly, it encourages facilities to think differently about sustainability by replacing consumable chemical products with an onsite generated cleaning solution.
Evidence will separate innovation from greenwashing
As sustainability expectations continue to rise, building owners and procurement teams should become more selective when evaluating environmental claims. Marketing language alone is no longer sufficient. Technologies should be supported by independent certifications, laboratory testing, transparent technical documentation and measurable operational outcomes.
This is where Stabilized Aqueous Ozone stands apart from many products marketed as sustainable cleaning solutions. It is explicitly named as a compliant onsite generated cleaning product in the LEED v5 Operations and Maintenance Reference Guide, a direct, verifiable reference point rather than a self issued claim.
SAO has also earned Green Seal certification, meeting the GS 37 and GS 53 performance standards, a third party mark that can be independently verified through Green Seal's own certified product registry. Many other products promoted as green or eco friendly on the market today cannot point to that same level of independently documented, third party certification.
The future of sustainable buildings
The future of sustainable buildings will not be determined solely by architectural design. It will increasingly be shaped by the thousands of operational decisions made every day after the building opens. Cleaning is one of those decisions.
Selecting technologies that support healthier buildings, improved operational efficiency and reduced environmental impact is becoming an important part of responsible facility management.
As Bangkok continues its transition toward greener buildings, sustainable cleaning is no longer an operational detail waiting to catch up. The technology already exists, is independently certified, and is measurable. It is already an integral part of building performance.