Singapore Watermark Awards Ceremony - Ms Grace Fu

Speech by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, at the Singapore Watermarks Award Ceremony on 26 March 2024

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

I am delighted to join you today at the Singapore Watermark Awards 2024 ceremony. We come together to honour our water champions, who demonstrated exemplary leadership and advanced our water sustainability agenda.

The importance of Water Efficiency: Meeting the Challenges of the Future

2 When you stepped into Gardens by the Bay, along the way, you would have seen the Marina Reservoir, the 15th of our 17 reservoirs. While many countries, too, have numerous reservoirs, Singapore stands out as one of the few cities to harvest urban stormwater on such a massive scale despite our limited land. Two-thirds of our total land area serves a dual role as water catchment areas.

3 As our economy and population continue to grow, demand for water is projected to double by 2065. The non-domestic sector will be the major source of growth, and will increase from the current half, to about two-thirds of total water demand. To meet this demand, PUB has invested in weather-resilient water sources such as NEWater and desalinated water. These sources are however more energy intensive and costly. Water conservation is thus an indispensable part of PUB’s efforts in ensuring a secure and sustainable water supply for Singapore.

4 PUB takes a comprehensive approach to water demand management. We have been supporting businesses in their journey to become more water efficient and have rolled out several initiatives. One such initiative is the recent introduction of mandatory water recycling for water-intensive sectors like wafer fabrication, electronics, and biomedical industries, which collectively account for 17% of the current non-domestic water demand. Such measures will encourage large industry water users to manage their water usage prudently. The enhanced Water Efficiency Fund will provide increased financial support to businesses in their water recycling journey, by raising the funding cap from $1 million to $5 million. To date, PUB has awarded close to 400 grants for water efficiency projects, which collectively save 70 million litres of water each day.

5 Efficient water use is an important part of a sustainable business growth strategy. Besides cost savings, it also contributes to long-term competitiveness and resource resilience. We want to recognise businesses and organisations that are actively advancing water efficiency and raising the bar for the sustainable use of water.

Honouring Water Champions

6 We are conferring 46 awards in three award categories - Singapore Watermark Awards, Water Efficiency Awards and Water Efficiency Awards (Projects).

7 The Singapore Watermark Awards (SWMA) is the pinnacle award for water conservation. It recognises organisations that not only achieved outstanding outcomes in water efficiency in their operations but are also innovative in reducing water use or recycling water. Our winners have also demonstrated how they have gotten active staff and community engagement and advocacy.

8 The growing emphasis on water sustainability is timely, as more businesses and organisations are embracing responsible water management and undertaking water efficiency projects as a component of their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals.

Setting the Standard for Recycling and Innovation

9 The 3 winners of the Singapore Watermark Awards, out of 64 nominations, come from different sectors - a water-intensive manufacturing industry, a service industry, and the community sector. This shows how regardless of which sector you are from, all of us can contribute to water conservation and sustainability.

10 The first recipient, Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Company (SSMC), is a trailblazer in water recycling and efficiency in the wafer fabrication sector. Since 2015, through continuous innovation and investment into sustainable practices, SSMC has been recycling at an average level of 67%, as compared to the industry average of 45%. To promote wider public awareness of water conservation, SSMC has relaunched its Lorong Halus Wetlands Learning Trail with PUB’s support. This trail also helps to remind the wider community on their role in keeping our waterways clean.

11 The second recipient, Amazon Web Services Singapore (AWS Singapore), invested in wastewater recycling technologies to reduce the water consumption levels of their cooling tower, placing them within the top in the industry. Their advocacy efforts complimented well with their sponsorship of Science Centre Singapore’s Youth Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Empowerment Programme. They mentored students in developing project prototypes, including one that reuse rainwater for energy generation.

12 The third recipient, Mee Toh School, has significantly reduced its water usage by 30% between 2019 to 2022 through various efforts that included a rainwater collection system. Students have taken their commitment to water conservation a step further by designing innovative prototypes such as the ‘Wishy-washy’, which uses rainwater to clean plastic drink bottles and metal drink cans before they are recycled. I am told that the students are already working on a second-gen prototype to further these efforts.

Pioneering Solutions for a Water-Resilient Future

13 Next, the Water Efficiency Awards. The awards recognise top water efficiency performers in various sectors. This year, we have created a new “Projects” category to recognise specific initiatives that demonstrate innovation in improving water efficiency. Through the award, PUB hopes to encourage more organisations to take on innovative projects and incorporate industry best practices in their business operations.

14 Among the recipients of the inaugural Water Efficiency Awards (Projects Category), SBS Transit worked on a bus washing efficiency improvement project at their Ulu Pandan and Seletar Depot. The depot utilises a series of underground separation tanks which collect the used water from bus washing, separating sludge and oil to produce water suitable for reuse for bus washing. To improve the efficiency of the washing process, SBS has also optimised the size of spray nozzles and increased water pressure for more efficient wash. Overall, the project has enabled SBS Transit to achieve a savings of up to 25% of water used per bus washed.

Conclusion

15 Water is a scarce resource. Its conservation requires the collective and continual efforts of all stakeholders. Whether you are a business owner, a consumer or environmental advocate, we all have a role to play in ensuring the sustainable use of water. The actions of one company or individual may seem insignificant on its own but when multiplied across industries and communities, they have the potential to bring about meaningful change.

16 Let me conclude by extending our heartfelt congratulations to all winners and award recipients. Your dedication, innovation and unwavering commitment to sustainability serve as an inspiration for us all.

17 Let us commit ourselves to ensuring the responsible stewardship of our precious water resource for the present and future generations of Singapore. As the theme for PUB’s water conservation campaign this year goes – Save water. Big ways, small ways. All OK!