Managing energy, water resources
Business Times 7 Jul 08;
Is enough being done to ensure a sustainable quality of life in Singapore in the areas of energy and water use, and urban development? How can cities share best practices in these crucial areas?
Paul Peeters
CEO
Philips Asean
SINGAPORE is very active in the efficient use of energy resources but more can and needs to be done. The use of energy efficient lighting is a case in point. By adopting new energy efficient lighting technology, Asia could achieve a 40 per cent savings in energy output annually. Thailand and the Philippines have set national targets to switch to energy efficient lighting by 2010 and 2012 respectively. Australia and New Zealand have taken the bold move to ban energy inefficient lighting products.
Cities can also collaborate with companies. An example is the trial run of Philips' new energy-saving LED street lights in Amsterdam. The installation of the LED lamps is part of Amsterdam's new environment plan to investigate new energy sources and cut energy use throughout the city. With expected reduction of energy consumption in the test area by 51 per cent, the results of this trial will determine whether the city decides to continue with the technology.
Lim Soon Hock
Managing Director
PLAN-B ICAG Pte Ltd
IN the area of water use, Singapore has done an outstanding job in converting adversity into an economic asset. We are now not only less dependent on others for water, but are recognised for our achievements in recycling water. Newater is without doubt our single greatest breakthrough in ensuring a sustainable quality of life for Singaporeans, for many generations to come.
Singapore has no oil or any fossil fuel, nor access to hydro-power or wind power to generate energy economically, so achieving a sustainable quality of life comes at a price. Singaporeans and businesses will have to develop the discipline to conserve energy, and hope that other countries will do likewise. This will help drive the oil price down to an acceptable level so we would not have any major disruption to our quality of life, which can happen should the oil price spiral out of control.
Singapore scores top marks in urban development. It has always been well planned, with continuous reviews and enhancements to keep up with the times. The URA's recently released draft Master Plan aims to further transform our garden city into a more attractive place to live, work and play.
Although there has been much angst from the public recently on news of more ERP gantries and higher ERP charges, until our authorities come up with other effective measures, ERP appears to be the only workable solution to prevent massive traffic jams which could cause unpleasant glitches in our quality of life. We all do have a choice, and the choice here is obvious.
There are many ways in which cities can share best practices in these crucial areas, especially relating to water, but whichever approach is chosen, it must be free from any political motive. The sharing must be driven by a desire to improve the quality of life of our fellowmen, predicated on the common understanding that when that happens, everyone benefits. In this regard, Singapore has been exemplary in setting up two institutes, one for water policy research and the other to study urban development. While we continue to live by the philosophy that no one owes us a living, we are willing to share.
Hans-Dieter Bott
Managing Director
Siemens Pte Ltd
ONE area of sustainable development that Singapore has excelled in, is water.
Developing a sustainable water supply was a challenge that Singapore has successfully addressed in recent years. Today, Singapore is an excellent role model for the growing number of mega-cities in the world that are facing the same challenge. Its commitment to advance water science, even to the extent of collaborating with and providing grants to the private sector to develop and test-bed water-related technologies, is commendable. Siemens is a beneficiary of one of such grants, having just received last week a grant from the Environment and Water Industry Development Council to develop an innovative seawater desalination technology, which can cut energy consumption by at least 50 per cent.
In terms of best practice sharing, perhaps the most effective way of convincing cities around the world to invest in sustainable infrastructure is to show them the economic benefits of such investments.
Last week, Siemens released a study on sustainable infrastructure in London, which showed a comprehensive analysis of the costs and potential of greenhouse gas abatement technologies in a city. By investing less than one per cent of London's total economic output in currently available technologies, the city could reduce more than 40 per cent, or around 20 megatonnes of CO2 emission, by 2025. And about two-thirds of the identified levers would pay for themselves, largely by reducing energy costs.
Charles Reed
CEO
DOCOMO interTouch
TECHNOLOGY is a key factor that will continue to enable progress in the areas of energy, water use and urban development. Over the past decade, Singapore has successfully stayed at the forefront of technology in developing these areas by investing significantly in research and development. Various initiatives such as the new institutions for water policy research and urban development are complemented by the sustained efforts of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and National Environmental Agency (NEA) to introduce new and better environmental policies.
I agree with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that there is room for further progress. Besides educating the public on the importance of energy, water use and urban development, the government should continue to work with both public and private sectors to explore innovative ways in leveraging technology to advance the development in these areas.
As global consumption of resources including fuel, food and water, continues to increase, countries around the world must work closely to address this trend. A large-scale event such as the International Water Week is an example of a strategic platform created for global leaders to convene and discuss important issues and concerns of resources on a macro level.
Tan Kok Leong
Principal
TKL Consulting
SINGAPORE has done more than its fair share in ensuring a sustainable quality of life in the areas of energy and water through the creation of Newater, sophisticated urban planning and greenery. Its additional effort to seek future solutions through the Institute of Water Policy and Centre for Liveable Cities deserves further commendation.
Research would help to expand the water industry, improve results in efficiency and conservation and air quality, explore use of clean energy and recommend better water management systems.
The Centre for Liveable Cities would promote best practices on urban development through expertise from both local and overseas, public and private sectors.
Lars Ronning
President, Asia Pacific (excluding China and Japan)
Tandberg
THE price rise in energy is driven in part by global demand, and that demand has been growing faster than supply in recent years. The corollary is how a small loss of output can lead to a big price jump. That gives alternatives a real opening. Already, PM Lee Hsien Loong has reiterated the need to look again at clean energy such as wind and solar power.
The three to four decades of improvements in alternative energy have made wind, solar power and high-tech batteries attractive. A caveat, though, is cost. One reason why green power costs much more than fossil fuels stems from how existing forms of renewable energy rely on subsidies or other forms of special treatment for their viability.
What Singapore can do nonetheless is to follow in the footsteps of DuPont and Shell by sponsoring both academic researchers and firms with bright ideas. Innovation will improve the yielding of biofuels from crops and manufacturing processes. Brazil and the US are world leaders in this field. Another practice, and one that may raise a few eyebrows, is to tax oil companies to finance schemes to help the poor cope with rising energy prices. Countries such as Italy, the UK and US count among those who have done so.
Eric Hoh
Vice-President, Asia South Region
Global Account, Asia Pacific and Japan Geography
Symantec
PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called for Singapore to adopt incentives to avoid energy over-consumption, and to use energy economically. Enterprises too, need to do their part in reducing their carbon footprint, and there are many ways that they can utilise technology to go green, while being more energy-efficient. For example, businesses running large data centres can consider virtualisation to consolidate their servers and storage hardware. This will maximise storage use, reduce the number of physical servers, and eliminate duplicate data. Even SMBs can play a role by doing something as simple as power management - turn off their PCs, monitors, printers and other office equipment when not in use.
Here at Symantec, we are also committed to minimising our environmental footprint by conserving natural resources - we sell about a third of our consumer products online to avoid packaging altogether. We believe in embracing our technologies to implement green practices in our own data centres, helping us reduce our energy and carbon footprint.
Tan Teng Cheong
General Manager
Dell Singapore & Brunei
SINGAPORE'S consciousness in this area is improving as efforts such as ‘Bring Your Own Bag' (BYOB) day at supermarkets, Newater and recycling efforts are observable evidence of what's happening here.
Dell is also contributing to this effort. We have announced and are on track to be carbon neutral before the end of this year. We are also fully committed to design and produce energy-efficient products, that will emit less heat (reducing the need for cooling, thus using less energy) while improving cost savings for our customers. Most importantly, we are seeing more and more customers focusing and basing their buying decision on 'Green IT', a trend/practice that Dell will continue to foster.
Besides reducing the environmental impact from our hardware, we are working directly with our customers on programmes such as 'Plant A Tree For Me' and free PC recycling. We are also putting tons of effort on the social networking front and one of the most successful efforts is our ReGeneration blog (www.regeneration.org), where people from all walks of life can contribute and share concepts, thoughts, tips, and so on, and allowing Dell and its partners to adopt some of the great ideas in future products and services.
Matt Beath
Chief Executive Officer
Talent2 International - Singapore
THE Singapore government has taken proactive, well documented steps to create a sustainable living environment including the recent commitment of funding to the institutes for Water Policy and Urban Development. Organisations such as the NEA, Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore and the Economic Development Board have been proactive, with the latter in particular incentivising R&D by attracting renewable energy companies to invest in Singapore operations. Furthermore, Singapore has developed a world class public transport system, a crucial ingredient in developing sustainable cities.
Despite the positive steps taken, Singapore should be doing a lot more. After the recent positive step of acceding to the Kyoto Protocol it was quite perplexing to read that Tuas Power is looking at building a $2 billion coal-fired power plant in Singapore. Just a single 1000MW coal-fired power plant will add five to six million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. Other anomalies that exist include more fuel efficient diesel cars attracting a 'special tax' from the LTA.
We need to remember that it is not just up to the government to take action, every individual has to do his part.
A sustainable community is one that believes today's growth must not be achieved at tomorrow's expense - if we are really serious we would be assessing all alternatives before building a coal-fired power plant here.
Wee Piew
CEO
HG Metal Manufacturing Ltd
FOR a small city-state like Singapore, maximising the use of limited water and land resources is critical to our long-term survival. Â In terms of water use, Singapore has done well. Political tension over water issues with Malaysia in the past has probably spurred Singapore to become successful in managing water use and to strive for self-sufficiency.
Cleaning up our waterways like the Kallang river and converting Marina Bay into a reservoir, serve to both increase our water supply and enhance the living environment. Â The latest draft Master Plan by the Urban Redevelopment Authority URA) to develop Jurong Lake District and Paya Lebar also reflects Singapore's long-term urban development planning that will create new living areas where one can work and play.
In terms of energy use, however, I feel that more can be done to tap solar energy. Singapore lies in the tropics and enjoys sunshine all year round. Yet not enough is being done to encourage more R&D into transforming this 'free' source of energy into a viable energy alternative. Also, we should expand energy conservation education to a wider public, especially in schools, on a consistent basis rather than at a time when oil prices are high.
Albert Loo
General Manager, Asean/South Asia
Lexmark International
SINGAPORE has clearly become one of the world's model countries in terms of how it has transformed itself from being a third- to first-world country, in such a short time. Such speedy development comes hand-in-hand with sustainability issues. The Singapore government, together with institutions in the private and public sector, has made a concerted effort to deal with it.
As with all initiatives, there's a need to continually evaluate best practices to ensure that measures and frameworks evolve with the times. Likewise at Lexmark, we continually evaluate our business practices by balancing the economic, environmental and social needs of our world today without compromising the opportunities of future generations.
Cities with successful sustainability initiatives can share best practices and case studies. Singapore is itself a good case study. With its forward-looking sustainability policies, I've no doubt that other cities can learn from it; and future generations can reap the long-term benefits of sustainability.
Liu Chunlin
CEO
K&C Protective Technologies Pte Ltd
I THINK of one thing we should continue to build on and one thing we need to address.
The striking first impression of Singapore to visitors and to citizens returning from abroad is our lush greenery. It is a refreshing and welcoming aspect of our urban life that we take for granted. We should continue to build on that.
While we have addressed our water, energy, transportation, waste, pollution and other urban development needs, I can't help but be reminded of our vulnerability.
This to me is the greatest concern we need to address. We need then to build robustness into our system, just as Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has reminded us in the political succession realm. Examples of what I mean about resilience or minimising our vulnerability would be using water and energy carefully, diversifying our sources of energy, continuing to reduce and manage waste, ensuring our infrastructure keeps pace with the demand, and so on.
And since our company is into security and protective design for infrastructure and buildings, I can't help but be reminded of how vulnerable a city is to things like pandemic flu and terrorism. We need to build in robustness in terms of protection of infrastructure and buildings complemented by emergency response capability and a strong social, economic and psychological defence.
Quite often, cities copy other cities in their physical features. But each city is different. Hence, an important point is sharing the software. This requires leaders and practitioners who are multi-talented so that the complexities of city development are understood and applied with wisdom to the specifics of a particular city.
Carol Fong
CEO
CIMB-GK Securities
IN five decades, Singapore has become an economically developed country. Have we done enough? My answer would be that we can definitely do more. It is timely to focus on sustainable development to ensure a good quality of life for everyone, now and in the future. Everyone has a contribution to make because the economy, environment and social well-being are interdependent. Singapore can take the lead by developing a set of 'headline' indicators to monitor progress in energy, water and urban development. These indicators should be able to communicate important trends and provide benchmarks region-wide. They can also be used to raise awareness and educate the public on what it needs to do.
Pramod Ratwani
President & CEO
Consilium Software Inc
IN today's busy life we take for granted uninterrupted energy supply and clean water every time we turn on the tap. Singapore is known as an air-conditioned equatorial island where it is common to keep a jacket handy in the office. Existing office developments in Singapore should be encouraged to become more energy efficient. Singapore should take a look at Abu Dhabi which is investing billions of its oil and gas profits to turn itself into the world leader in renewable energy.
A commitment to clean energy and a holistic approach is required to convert Singapore into an eco-city with a goal of achieving zero waste and zero carbon for all new developments, which would be be powered entirely by renewable energy. This is a challenging goal that will take time to fulfil but one must work towards it for the betterment of the future generation. We need to do more to conserve scarce resources and follow best practices along with other developed cities.
Sam Yap
Group Executive Chairman
Cherie Hearts Child Development Pte Ltd
SINGAPORE is ahead of the game in water management, having ventured into advanced technologies such as Newater and desalination. Crucially, Singaporeans are acutely aware of the nation's limitations in water resources and are committed to sustainability in this area.
However, we may not be doing enough in terms of energy sustainability, as evident in our high dependency on oil and low rate of adoption of alternative energy sources such as solar power. This makes us vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices, which will only go up as the scarce resource is depleted in future. Clearly, more needs to be done in adopting alternative energy sources and getting Singaporeans in tune with energy conservation efforts.
