Adopt Green IT and Green Computing Practices

Green IT or green computing usually refers to making the data centre and other IT system or equipment more energy efficient, and to reduce the environmental impacts associated with IT, such as recycling of computing equipment.

You can adopt the following Green IT practices on energy efficiency in your organisation’s data centre, energy efficient office equipment, energy saving tips and recycling of used electronic equipment. Read more

Grants for Singapore Companies to Implement the ISO 14064 Standards on Greenhouse Gas Management

Under the Standards Implementation for Productivity (SIP) Project on Greenhouse Gas Management, SPRING Singapore is providing grants for Singapore registered companies and organisations to implement the ISO 14064 Standards on Greenhouse Gas Management. The SIP pilot projects are funded by SPRING to assist local industries in the implementation of standards for the manufacturing and services sectors. Read more

Reduce the Impact of Your Organisation’s Waste, Water and Transport Management

Besides considering the direct energy usage by your business, you should also look at waste, water and transport management as these activities also contribute to carbon emissions. Find out how your business manages waste, water and transport in your daily operations, and take steps to reduce the impact of these activities.

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Waste Management

Waste minimisation helps to conserve resources and reduce energy usage in the production, transportation, usage and disposal process. Visit the Zero Waste Singapore website to learn more about how you can Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Here are some tips:

• Design and Make Sustainable Products
• Eliminate the Excessive Use of Paper
• Conduct a Waste Audit
• Start Recycling at Work

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has published a Guidebook on Waste Minimisation for Industries to help companies reduce their waste and practise recycling. The guidebook contains information on how to conduct a waste audit, and also how to introduce a waste minimisation programme through tips and case studies.

Your organisation can also make use of the new 3R Fund by NEA to implement waste minimisation and recycling projects.

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Water Management

Energy is required for potable water and wastewater treatment and transport, so reducing the amount of water consumed and discharged will help to lower the energy needed.

Visit the following websites for tips to help your organisation conserve water and save money:

• Water Efficient Buildings programme by PUB
• The 10% Challenge by PUB
• Water Efficiency, Green Building Design Guide by BCA

Your organisation can also make use of the Water Efficiency Fund by PUB to explore efficient ways to manage your water consumption.

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Transport Management

The organisation’s transport vehicles and the mode of commuting by employees contribute to carbon emissions. Here are some tips to help your organisation reduce transport emissions:

• Encourage or incentivise your employees to take public transport or carpool to work
• Arrange for company transport to ferry employees
• Use more videoconferencing to replace the need for business trips overseas
• Educate company drivers on good driving habits and maintenance of their vehicles
• Plan your transport needs to consolidate delivery orders and reduce delivery frequency
• Plan your driving journey to reduce driving time and distance
• Use more fuel efficient vehicles and green vehicles such as CNG vehicles, or use cleaner fuel such as biodiesel

Use Government Fundings for Energy Audits and Energy Efficient Technologies

There are several funding and incentive schemes provided by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to help companies reduce their costs in engaging ESCOs or investing in energy saving equipment and technologies.

If companies lack the expertise to manage their energy consumption, they can engage an Energy Services Company (ESCO) to conduct an energy audit for their building or facility, identify energy saving measures and implement projects to reduce energy consumption.

The ESCOs provide a full analysis of the energy flows in and out of a facility, suggest improvements to facility design and operation, and provide financing and implementation of energy saving projects. In Singapore, the ESCOs are accredited under the Energy Services Companies (ESCOs) Accreditation Scheme by the Energy Sustainability Unit (ESU). A list of accredited ESCOs can be found at the ESU website.

Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme (EASe)

The NEA has a co-funding scheme called the Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme (EASe), to help companies in the manufacturing and building sectors engage accredited ESCOs to conduct energy audits and recommend energy saving measures.

Funding is provided up to 50% of the qualifying costs of engaging an ESCO and capped at $200,000 for a single facility or building over a five-year period. Visit the Energy Efficient Singapore website for details on the Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme.

Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies (GREET)

The Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies (GREET) provides funding for the Singapore-registered owner or operator of existing or proposed industrial facilities to invest in energy efficient equipment or technologies.

Funding is provided up to 50% of the qualifying costs and capped at $2 million per project. Only projects with a payback of more than 3 years and up to 7 years are eligible for funding. Visit the Energy Efficient Singapore website for details on the Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies (GREET).

Accelerated Depreciation Tax Allowance

This tax allowance scheme encourages companies to replace old inefficient equipment and invest in energy saving equipment. The capital expenditure on the qualifying energy efficient equipment can be written off in one year instead of three. More info about the tax allowance is available here.

Design for Efficiency Scheme (DfE)

The Design for Efficiency Scheme (DfE) aims to encourage new facilities that are large consumers of energy to integrate energy and resource efficiency improvements into their development plans early in the design stage.

Funding is provided up to 80% of the qualifying costs or $600,000, whichever is lower.

With these funding schemes, your organisation would be able to reduce your costs in conducting energy audits and investing in energy saving equipment and technologies. Save money and energy at the same time!

Also check out The Green Business Times Guide to 30 Singapore Government Funding and Incentives for the Environment.

Image credit: lusi; svilen001.

Conduct an Energy Survey to Identify Energy Saving Opportunities

An energy survey is a simple assessment of the energy use in your organisation and the aim is to identify and correct bad energy habits and practices. Start by forming a small team to conduct the energy survey, appointing an energy manager as the team leader and recruiting staff from different departments as team members.

The team will conduct the energy survey by taking a walk around the offices, building and facilities to observe what is happening on the ground, identify bad and wasteful energy use and habits, and identify opportunities for energy saving.

The survey should be conducted at different timings so as to find out the different energy usage throughout the day and at different periods. Surveys can be carried out:

• At a normal weekday during office hours
• At busy and peak hours
• At lunchtime
• After office hours
• During weekends

Use past and current utility bills, meter data, maintenance records and other energy information to help keep track of the energy usage in your organisation.

Here are some areas to take note of during the energy survey:

Office Equipment

• Are office equipment left on standby after office hours and during weekends? Can we switch them off easily?
• Does the computers, printers, photocopiers and other equipment have built-in energy saving features? Are we using these features and do we know how to use them?
• Can we use software to switch equipment off after office hours?
• Are vending machines and water coolers left on at night? Can we use timers to switch them off after office hours?

Lighting

• Are lights switched off in unoccupied areas or if there is sufficient daylight? Can we reduce unnecessary lighting?
• Can we use motion sensors for the stairs and carpark?
• Are lights switched off when no one is in the room or office? Who is responsible to switch off the lights after office hours?
• Are external and facade lighting switched off during the day? Can we adjust the timers to switch off the lighting earlier?
• Are light fittings arranged strategically and light switches labelled properly?
• Are we still using inefficient lighting? Can we change to energy efficient light bulbs and tubes?

Air-Conditioning and Ventilation

• Is the office too warm or cold? Can we adjust the air-conditioning temperature up to about 25 degree Celsius or at a comfortable high temperature?
• When is the air conditioning switched off and on during the day?
• Are the windows and doors open when the air-conditioning is on?
• Are the air-conditioning and ventilation system maintained and serviced regularly? Are the settings optimised and correct?
• Are there obstructions at air inlets and outlets?

Industrial Equipment

• Do boilers, pumps, fans and other equipment have the correct and optimised settings?
• Are the equipment serviced and maintained regularly?
• Are the equipment misused by operators who are not trained properly?
• Are there any compressed air, refrigerant or steam leaks?
• Are there opportunities to tap waste heat from equipment and exhaust gases?

After the energy survey, look at the findings and decide what actions to take. Implement the no-cost or low-cost actions first, such as educating employees, changing habits and practices, proper maintenance of equipment, changing energy settings and removing unnecessary lighting.

Next, consider the higher-cost actions such as installing new energy efficient lighting and equipment, and using energy saving technologies.

Remember to keep the management and employees informed of the energy survey findings, actions taken and energy savings.

Image credit: dlnny; olimohd; lockstockb.

Measure Your Organisation’s Carbon Footprint or Greenhouse Gas Inventory

For an organisation, the term carbon footprint or greenhouse gas inventory includes the carbon emissions and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated directly from the organisation’s activities or use of fuels, and also indirectly from the use of electricity and from the use and disposal of materials, products and services.

By measuring its carbon footprint or GHG inventory, the organisation can manage and reduce emissions over time, and also use it for disclosure to stakeholders or for marketing and corporate social responsibility (CSR) purposes.

After calculating the carbon footprint, it is then possible for the organisation to take active steps to manage the emissions. The organisation can:

• Set emissions reduction targets
• Identify opportunities for energy efficiency and reduction of emissions
• Take action to implement emissions reduction projects
• Monitor the performance of the projects and improve accordingly

The approach to an organisation’s carbon footprint usually involves five steps:

1. Define a consistent methodology
2. Specify the boundary and scope involved
3. Obtain the emissions data and calculate the carbon footprint
4. Verify the results with a third party
5. Disclose the carbon footprint in a report and to stakeholders

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GHG Protocol

If your organisation wishes to calculate your carbon footprint or GHG inventory, you can follow the GHG Protocol produced by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD):

The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard provides standards and guidance for companies and other organizations preparing a GHG emissions inventory. It covers the accounting and reporting of the six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol — carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

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ISO 14064

You can also follow the ISO 14064 from the International Organization for Standardization, which comprises three standards on specifications and guidance for the organisational and project levels, and for validation and verification. Read more about the standard here.

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Carbon Footprint Calculators

Or you can use these online carbon footprint calculators to estimate your carbon emissions:

• Carbon Trust
• Carbon Footprint
• The CarbonNeutral Company
• ClimateCare

Some of the above websites provide carbon offsets to help your organisation become carbon neutral.

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Carbon Disclosure Project

If you wish to study how companies disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, visit the Carbon Disclosure Project website:

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an independent not-for-profit organisation which holds the largest database of corporate climate change information in the world. The data is obtained from responses to CDP’s annual Information Requests, issued on behalf of institutional investors, purchasing organisations and government bodies. Since its formation in 2000, CDP has become the gold standard for carbon disclosure methodology and process, providing primary climate change data to the global market place.

Image credit: CMSeter; Plusverde.

Neste Oil’s NExBTL Renewable Diesel Plant in Singapore to Start Operations by Year-End

Neste Oil announced that the construction of its new NExBTL renewable diesel plant at Tuas in Singapore, is 90% completed and will be ready for operations by the end of the year. This €550 million plant will be the largest in the world with an annual capacity of 800,000 metric tons.

Mr Matti Lievonen, President and CEO of Neste Oil Corporation said: “With the construction of our NExBTL renewable diesel plant in Singapore into its final stages, we are the world’s leading provider of renewable diesel. We see Singapore developing into the Asian center for biofuels, and Neste Oil’s investment here will contribute to this development.”

The NExBTL renewable diesel is fully compatible with existing diesel engines and will meet the demand for cleaner traffic fuels, especially from European countries due to the EU directive that sets a target for traffic fuels to contain at least 10% from renewable content by 2020. Neste Oil estimates that the market for the renewable diesel is at least 35 million tons in 2020.

Neste Oil’s NExBTL technology allows the use of any vegetable oil and animal fats to be used as feedstock in the production process. The new plant in Singapore will be using palm oil and palm oil derivatives sourced from the region such as Malaysia and Indonesia. There are also plans to use animal fats as feedstock in the future.

Neste Oil claims that the NExBTL renewable diesel is the cleanest renewable diesel available today and compared to conventional diesel, it produces:

• 40-80% less greenhouse gas emissions over the product’s entire life cycle
• 10% less nitrogen oxides
• 28% less particulate matter
• 28% less carbon monoxide
• 50% less hydrocarbons

Responding to questions about the environmental impacts of palm oil plantations, Mr Lievonen said that Neste Oil is committed to environmental responsibility, its palm oil suppliers are expected to act responsibly, and they will follow principles by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

NExBTL Process Plant

Tank farm area for feedstock and intermediate products

Source and image credit: Neste Oil

CCS – Climate-Friendly Power Plant Technology

By Siemens

Power supply over the next few decades will be marked by a balanced mix of centralized and decentralized power plants, and of power taken from all available resources. Efficient and innovative technologies will become more important than ever for climate-compatible electricity generation.

Increasing importance of CCS Technologies for carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) in coal-fired power plants will provide a crucial bridging solution, enabling substantial reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from coalfired power plants.

Up to 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions produced in the combustion process can be reduced with this technology. CCS describes the chain of processes whereby carbon dioxide is sequestered from the power plant process before or after combustion, compressed, and then stored in geological formations.

Siemens is developing two technologies in the area of clean coal electrification for existing and new power plants. The first, for existing steam power plants and new plants, is the scrubbing and capture of carbon dioxide after combustion.

The other technology, carbon dioxide capture before combustion, is used for new IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) plants. These are combined cycle power plants with integrated coal gasification and upstream carbon dioxide capture. Having acquired the coal gasification business of the Swiss Sustec Group, Siemens can offer the GSP entrained-flow gasification process, which forms a central element of climate-friendly IGCC power plants.

Siemens technologies are also used for carbon dioxide transport and subsequent storage. Compressors supply the necessary pressure in the pipelines, and the pressure required for forcing the carbon dioxide deep underground. Here again, efficiency is called for, to minimize line losses.

State of the art

The various processes for carbon dioxide capture are presently being developed and tested. From today’s technological viewpoint, flue gas scrubbing is the main process available as a retrofit for existing power plants (if these plants are capture ready).

However, to enable CCS technology to be used on a large scale, a reliable political and regulatory framework must first be put in place for implementing CCS and for constructing CCS demonstration plants to verify environmental compatibility and economic viability. If this succeeds, the zero-carbon-dioxide coal-fired power plant will be able to play an important role in delivering climate-friendly and reliable energy from 2020 onward.

This article and image is contributed by Siemens Pte Ltd.

Call on Companies to Act Against Climate Change

This post was first published at ECO @ COP 15.

There is growing concern from the business sector about the resulting uncertainty and risk breeding in the economic environment. Climate change contributes to this uncertainty and there is thus a growing need for long term and new policies that will link economic development together with environment protection.

In urgent response, the Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change, initiated by the Prince of Wale’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change run by the University of Cambridge, collates the voices of businesses to call for a credible deal. In just two pages, it sets out the business case for an ambitious, robust, effective and equitable UN climate framework and offers progressive global consensus on the shape of an agreement.

Basic ideas the Copenhagen Communiqué pushes for

1. Long term global emissions reduction that will be guided by science

2. Proactive role of developed nations in commitments towards reducing emissions of which they should show the possibility that low carbon growth is both ‘achievable and desirable’

3. Developing nations too should ensure that its development is via a path of sustainability, where low carbon growth plan should be emphasized

Please refer to this link for the Copenhagen Communiqué.

We urge you to be part of this.

Why should your company be a part of it?

Climate change is perhaps the gravest issue our generation has yet to tackle. Widely accepted through scientific research, an increase in temperature by 2°C can be expected to have catastrophic effects on our climate and ecosystem. This can be prevented. But what we need is for greenhouse gases to fall- dramatically. This is within our hands.

Your company has a strong role to play in pushing for a binding and fair agreement. This will enhance the economic environment to promote companies’ investment and innovation in green technologies, goods and services.

There are currently more than 500 major companies who have committed, including business leaders in their fields such as PwC, MacQuarie, Shell and British Airways.

Join them in signaling that your company supports the need for a stable economic environment that a binding and fair agreement can offer, and active participation in moving towards a green economy.

It’s only a few days away from Dec 18, there’s no time to waste.

Show your commitment by signing now. Click here to do so.

Live from COP15

Eleina

ECO Singapore

SIEW 2009: Plug-In Singapore 2009

Plug-In Singapore 2009 was held recently as part of the Singapore International Energy Week 2009. The conference and expo is organised by the Cleantech Agency and brings together the market players to discuss key electric vehicle issues.

Opening Speech

During the conference, David Tan, Deputy Chief Executive, Energy Market Authority, gave a speech on the Electrification of Singapore’s Land Transport. He highlighted the current global interest in Electric Vehicles (EVs) and that the use of EVs are expected to pick up from 2015 onwards and become fully commercially viable for the mass market after 2020. Even in an alternative energy disadvantaged country like Singapore, we can reduce up to 4% of our land transport sector’s carbon emissions by 2020 with just a 2% EV penetration rate.

To prepare for such a future, Singapore has embarked on a S$20 million EV test-bedding programme, launched in May to provide an open platform for all auto manufacturers and technology companies to examine the infrastructure requirements of an EV system, to test the performance of EVs under local road conditions and in the tropical environment, and to identify related industry and R&D opportunities.

This test-bed will start next year and run for three years, driven by a multi-agency Taskforce, co-chaired by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA). As part of the deployment plan for the EV test-bed project, the EV Taskforce has been working with Renault-Nissan, Mitsubishi and other auto manufacturers to secure a supply of EVs for Singapore.

Mitsubishi plans to roll out its i-MiEV model of electric cars next year. So the Taskforce is expecting 50 i-MiEVs to arrive from September 2010, which would cost about S$89,000 – S$99,000 each. Renault-Nissan’s EVs will only be available for commercial sale in 2011. The Taskforce is now looking for interested companies to participate in the test-bed and be an early adopter of EVs in Singapore, under the Transport Technology Innovation and Development Scheme (TIDES), jointly administered by LTA and EDB.

Participants will be required to collate data on the performance of the EV such as driving range between charging, ease of charging, annual mileage and total costs of operation. The data collected will be instrumental in evaluating the costs and benefits and overall feasibility of the future adoption of EVs in
Singapore.

The EV Taskforce will also be rolling out a small network of about 50 EV charging stations. A competitive tender will be launched next year to select an EV infrastructure service provider. The EV charging stations will have to be compatible with the EVs produced by the major auto-manufacturers, and the deployment of the stations will be timed to coincide with the actual take-up of EVs under the test-bed.

In addition, EMA, SPRING Singapore and industry partners will be working on a Technical Reference for the public EV charging systems to set minimum standards for the development of EV charging systems and the safe charging of EVs.

Expo

Here are some photos of the exhibitors’ electric vehicles:

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