Singapore’s CleanTech Park to be Ready by 2030

JTC Corporation (JTC) recently unveiled the masterplan for the CleanTech Park (CTP), Singapore’s first eco-business park for companies involved in clean technologies and sustainable urban solutions. The CTP also serves as a R&D and testbedding site for early adoption of clean tech products and solutions for the urban tropics. Besides clean tech companies, the CTP could also house companies providing eco-friendly products and services, and companies with strong CSR or green practices.

The 50-hectare CTP will be developed next to the Nanyang Technological University so as to enhance the integration between the academia, research institutes and the business industry, and provide synergies for the full value chain of the clean tech industry. The development will take place in 3 phases over 20 years. Phase 1 will commence in July 2010 and will provide about 17 ha of business park land when completed in 2018. Phase 2 will be developed from 2019 to 2025, and Phase 3 from 2026 to 2030. The CTP will house a working population of 20,000 when it is fully built by 2030.

In the masterplan, the CTP will be developed as the most sustainable eco-business park in Singapore with the implementation of green strategies and its emphasis on retaining the natural environment and biodiversity. The green strategies to be implemented in the CTP include:

1. Stormwater management

Making use of the existing topography of the site to channel stormwater into the low-lying areas for storage and reuse. The stormwater within CleanTech Park will be channelled into a central wetland where the water can be treated and be reused for irrigation or toilet flushing. The pond will also reduce the ambient temperature through evaporative cooling.

2. Sky Trellis

The sky trellis will be constructed between adjacent buildings and covered with plants. By shading open spaces between buildings, it can reduce heat gain by the buildings from the environment and enhance walkability within open spaces in the area.

3. Conservation of Green Zones

Conservation zones are demarcated areas within CTP where trees and plants are conserved. Development works are planned around these conservation zones to protect the existing trees and plants.

4. Protection of biodiversity

Keeping the existing trees in the park will help to retain the biodiversity, such as the birds and butterflies to remain within CTP.

5. Designated Green Corridors

The designated Green Corridors are green areas between the buildings and land parcels within CTP. These green corridors are strategically located to provide secondary greenery between the buildings and land parcels and are aimed at promoting enhanced walkability within the Park.

6. Building a Green Community

CTP will nurture the fist green business community and environment by way of introducing and inculcating green practices such as recycling programmes and car pooling programmes.

7. Green Features that reduce demand on resource utilization

Building orientation with minimum East-West facing facades; Creating the wind tunnel effect to maximize wind-capture within the buildings; Using recycled and green materials for infrastructure development.

Source and images credit: JTC

4 Simple Green Strategies for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) – Part Three

Continued from Part Two.

The second step to our 4 simple green strategies is to find opportunities to reduce unnecessary wastage and inefficient practices in your business.

Here, we present our third step:

3. Increase Revenue

More consumers are increasing aware of environmental issues, and some of them would even choose eco-friendly products over the normal ones, even though it costs more. The demand for green products and services present new opportunities for SMEs who are willing to explore this new green market.

SMEs can survey the needs of their existing customers (or even potential new customers) and find out whether there is a need for greener products and services. Next, look at your own products and services, and explore whether it is possible to make them more sustainable or even design new greener products.

Find ways to reduce the environmental impacts of your products throughout its life cycle. In addition, you can ensure that your products meet certified eco labels, such as the Singapore Green Label. This will enable your products to have a green premium over normal products but remember that it is still important to first meet the customer’s quality and cost needs.

By exploring the demand for green products and services and being proactive to meet this need, SMEs can gain a competitive advantage by offering greener alternatives first, and thus increasing their revenue.

To be continued in Part Four.

Image credit: mm904ut via stock.xchng

Siemens City of the Future

We visited the Siemens City of the Future recently to learn more about Siemens’ portfolio of innovative solutions for a sustainable future. City of the Future was inaugurated in March 2009 at the Siemens Center in Singapore, led by Siemens’ Center of Competence for City Management and working with other business divisions. It includes a public gallery and the City Management Solutions Center.

At the public gallery outside, visitors can use the interactive UBIQ touch screens to navigate the content using their fingers, like Tom Cruise in Minority Report. The gallery showcases Siemens’ innovative portfolio of Green, Smart, Mobile and Safe city solutions.

Inside the City Management Solutions Center, we found several interactive applications on city management:

City Game

This interactive game is to help participants understand the importance of cross-functional collaboration across city departments and agencies, when building and managing a sustainable city. They must consider aspects such as water, energy, transportation, finance and security, which is dynamic and changes according to the decisions made.

Green IT Solutions

A holistic approach towards exploiting IT across communication, energy, real estate and other platforms can help individuals and companies reduce costs and be green at the same time. One solution is the use of smart energy meters and appliances that can monitor energy and water consumption, and suggest usage during periods when the energy prices are lower.

Smart Solutions

City authorities can use information technology to help deal with the complex and growing challenges within a city. One solution is the City Cockpit, which is an integrated Management Information and Decision Support System to assist authorities in managing the growth of a city based upon key performance indicators such as traffic, environment, and finance, and to ensure that the city is sustainable for the future.

Mobile Solutions

Mobile solutions, from intelligent real-time information systems and fleet management for public transportation to traffic offence management, can help to reduce a city’s transportation and congestion problems. One solution is the Mobile Parking, which allows car users to pay for parking fees using their mobile phones, instead of using parking coupons. This solution is convenient for car users, and helps the authorities to reduce the infrastructure and maintenance costs.

After touring the Siemens City of the Future, we gained new and better insights on how cities can manage their challenges and growth, and plan for a sustainable future through the use of innovative IT solutions across different industries and platforms. We look forward to seeing some of those solutions being implemented in Singapore in the near future.

Source and images credit: Siemens Pte Ltd

Co-opportunity: Join Up for a Sustainable, Resilient, Prosperous World

Author: John Grant

ISBN: 978-0-470-68436-8

Hardcover; 350 pages

Published in March 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Recommended Retail Price: US$27.95 / S$49.17 including GST

Available at all major bookstores

Book Review

John Grant, the award winning author of The Green Marketing Manifesto, is back with his latest book called Co-opportunity, which explores “what co-operative solutions to sustainability challenges could look like.” He explains that the possibility to “co-operate may lead to a better human society”.

The book tackles five key sustainability challenges, introduces co-operative solutions through case examples in practice, and suggests tactics for application:

1. Creating a climate for change: Engaging the public to recognise the problems and take action together

… ideas about new forms of social organisation and campaigning, beyond passive media audiences.

2. Relocating the dreams: Going beyond consumerism and exploring a better future

… ideas about creating desire for brands, campaigns, movements that heal the world.

3. Making organisations accountable (and hence responsible for wellbeing): Being more transparent and taking responsibility

… ideas about new kinds of eco-label, social change campaigns or consumer co-operatives to create change through what they buy.

4. Economic resilience: Rethinking economic growth and switching to co-operative economic systems

… ideas for anything from restoring trust in banking, to a community scheme to support renewable energy.

5. Abundance rather than ‘lean and mean’: Shifting from productivity to wellbeing return on resources

… new ways of organising for service or supply systems – or equally use it to think differently about the design of the organisations themselves.

Promotion for Green Business Times Readers

Readers in Singapore can now buy the book from John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd at a 20% discount from 23 Mar 2010 to 23 Apr 2010.

1. Place your order to this email address: csd_ord@wiley.com or call: +65 6463 4604

2. Quote the ISBN of the book title

3. Quote the 4 digit promotion code to be entitled to the 20% discount – Promo Code 2478

International Green Building Conference and BEX Asia 2009

The inaugural International Green Building Conference (IGBC) 2009 was held recently in Singapore as part of the Singapore Green Building Week. The conference theme was “Build Green. The Future is Now.” and drew about 1,000 delegates from more than 20 countries to focus on sustainable building issues, green building technologies and designs.

During the conference, the new Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) was launched to help lead and coordinate the building industry’s efforts, together with the government, and accelerate the development of green buildings.

As part of the Singapore Green Building Week, there was also a building exhibition, BEX Asia 2009, which showcases green-related products and services for the building industry. Here are some photos taken at the exhibition:

HDB Green Living

Green Roof System

Green Wall

Wood and Plastic Composite

Recycled Concrete

Solar Roof

Solar Street Lighting

Wind Turbine

Greywater Recycling System

LED Lamps

How to Green the Clothes Hanger with bloomerHang

bloomerang Pte Ltd is a young start-up in Singapore, founded by Directors Thian Zhiwen and Wong Joon Ian. The company is driven by the belief that business can address social and environmental challenges through sustainable and innovative practices. To put their belief into practice, they created the bloomerHang, a clothes hanger that is made locally from recycled corrugated cardboard and printed with eco-friendly soy inks.

Dry-cleaners, laundromats and other businesses give out hundreds of thousands of wire and plastic hangers every year. Imagine the resources saved if these hangers were replaced with the bloomerHang, which is 100% recyclable and is collected after use for recycling. The bloomerHang also acts as a new environmental advertising platform, which provides environmental messages or targeted marketing opportunities for businesses, and helps to keep the price of bloomerHang competitive so that they are attractive to laundromats, drycleaners and other distributors.

This young company demonstrates that it is possible to green a normal insignificant product, through eco-conscious design and greening the production process,  and most importantly, adding functional and aesthetic value beyond its current purpose. The new bloomerHang hanger is not only made from sustainable material and processes but also provides a valuable platform for environmental messages and advertising from eco-conscious businesses. And best of all, it still hangs.

Find out more about bloomerHang at www.bloomerang.com.sg.

Source and image credit: bloomerang Pte Ltd

Leading Enterprises Consolidate Efforts to Champion Sustainable Manufacturing in Singapore

This is a joint media release by: SPRING Singapore, Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation (SMa), Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and Singapore Environment Council (SEC).

Launch of Sustainable Manufacturing Programme converges the efforts of SMa, SPRING, SEC and SIMTech to help Singapore manufacturers adopt sustainable manufacturing technologies and processes.

With industrial development rapidly expanding to support our burgeoning global population, SMa envisioned that the development of a conducive environment for the adoption of environmentally-friendly processes is crucial in ensuring sustainability of manufacturing in Singapore.

In pursuant of a clear goal towards sustainable manufacturing, SMa signed separate Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with two prominent partners – SEC and Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR); leveraging on their fields of expertise and professional skills and technology to identify, develop and promote the adoption of sustainable manufacturing practices among local manufacturers. This MOU ceremony was witnessed by Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education, Mr S. Iswaran, as well as SPRING Singapore’s Deputy Chief Executive Mr Ted Tan at the Intercontinental Hotel. Read more

Green Future Solutions is the Official Curator for TEDxGreen

TEDxGreen is an independent TEDx event operated under license from TED, and is curated by Green Future Solutions with the theme: Ideas for a Green Future. Our mission is to share, discuss and spread ideas for a green future through monthly salons and annual conferences in Singapore. At our TEDxGreen events, TED Talks videos and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.

Green Future Solutions is a Singapore-based business that promotes environmental awareness and action for a green future, through our network of green websites, events, presentations, publications and consultancy. We are the publisher of Singapore’s leading websites on the environment, including AsiaIsGreen, Green Business Times and Zero Waste Singapore. Read more

Green Business Times Interview – HydroBall Technics (SEA) Pte Ltd

Energy conservation and energy efficiency are important and urgent aspects of mitigating climate change. There are many different types of energy saving products in the market, one of which is the Hydroball system developed in Singapore.

To learn more about this innovative product and its development, we have the privilege of interviewing Mr Peter Soh, CEO of HydroBall Technics (SEA) Pte Ltd.

About HydroBall Technics

Incorporated in January 2003, HydroBall Technics (SEA) Pte Ltd has since developed, manufactured and patented the HydroBall automatic tube cleaning system in many countries all over the world. The HydroBall system is a cost-effective solution that eliminates equipment downtime and optimises energy consumption of equipment by automatically keeping heat exchanger tubes perpetually free from scaling and fouling.

HydroBall Technics is engaged in the generation of intellectual property relevant to energy conservation in the area of air-conditioning systems. HydroBall Technics aims to deliver practical conservation solutions with a strong, measurable impact on energy cost management. Spearheading this effort is the Company’s proprietary HydroBall automatic cleaning technology, which the Company aims to make available for commercial distribution in all parts of the world. Read more

Waste Equals Food

In the coming year, businesses face an economic recession and lower consumer spending. However, these tough challenges also present opportunities for your company to go green, look at how to cut costs and waste, and to do things better and more efficiently. Going green could help your company to be in a better position to attract customers when the economy rebounds.

This 50-min video on Waste = Food would be useful in giving you an idea of cradle to cradle design popularised by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their book, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. Learn about waste becoming food for nature or to be used as technical nutrients for making new products. Learn about designing things that are more efficient, safe, environmentally friendly and producing no waste.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3058533428492266222

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