Launchpad for the CleanEnvio Summit Singapore - Dr Amy Khor

Speech by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, at the Launchpad for the CleanEnviro Summit Singapore on 19 June 2024

Distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen,

1 A very good morning, I am happy to welcome you to the LaunchPad at CESG 2024. Today, we are all here to celebrate groundbreaking ideas and innovations in environmental sustainability.

Importance of the Environmental Services Industry and Industry Transformation

2 The Environmental Services (ES) industry plays a pivotal role in keeping Singapore clean, liveable and sustainable. Every day, some 71,000 dedicated workers across 1,700 establishments, perform services ranging from waste collection, treatment, and material recovery, to cleaning, disinfection, and pest management. Their efforts are essential in protecting Singapore’s public health and safeguarding our environment.

3 To ensure the ES industry remains prepared for future challenges and opportunities, the Environmental Services Industry Transformation Map (ES ITM) was launched in 2017 to accelerate efforts to strengthen innovation, improve productivity, and create better quality jobs. The industry has come a long way since then, overcoming numerous challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, where the industry rose to meet the rising demand for environmental services and the introduction of new and more stringent hygiene standards.

4 The ES ITM is an important strategy to drive growth and productivity even as Singapore continues to advance our green growth agenda. New opportunities are expected to emerge, propelling demand for environmental sustainability, resource circularity, public hygiene and decarbonised waste management solutions. Firms will need to intensify innovation, digitalisation and technology adoption in the industry. This will enable firms to improve productivity and prepare them for these emerging opportunities in the green sectors.

Embracing Innovation to Uplift the ES Industry

5 Innovation and digitalisation are key pillars of the ES ITM 2025. It empowers industries to overcome emerging challenges, capitalise on new opportunities, and remain relevant in a rapidly evolving global landscape. I am inspired by the efforts led by the industry in fostering continued innovation and technological advancement. Today, we have the privilege of showcasing numerous cutting-edge technologies by pioneering leaders in the industry. A notable example is the Enhanced Automated Tray Return System (ATRS), developed by Mishima under the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Enterprise Singapore’s joint innovation call. Using a combination of video imaging enhanced with artificial intelligence, robotic arms and flipping mechanisms, the ATRS has streamlined cleaning workflows and increased productivity in collecting, sorting and transporting trays and used crockery by around 50%. It is currently operated by Clean Solutions in Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre. Another example is from our Silver Sponsor Weston Robot. In fact, I remember them showcasing their capabilities in CESG 2022 at a Start-up Area. That shows you that I have been to nearly every edition of CESG. Today I am happy to see them help keep Singapore’s waterways clean at Sungei Seletar, with their Waterway Cleaning Robot, that is fully solar-powered and achieving up to 80% productivity for 800 Super, NEA’s contractor of public cleansing. This is a good success story of how CESG has helped build capabilities and business opportunities for participating companies. We look forward to more of such successes.

6 As we celebrate the latest innovations showcased by the start-ups and IHLs in our LaunchPad today, we must also re-affirm our commitment to supporting and incubating the next generation of innovators. One challenge that all start-ups must overcome is how to commercialise their research and bring their new technologies to market. I urge all aspiring start-ups to make full use of the available support from the Government, IHLs and partners such as the Urban Solutions and Sustainability Innovation & Enterprise Office (USS IEO), and Enterprise Singapore’s Innovation Partner for Impact (IPI) to maximise their impact into new markets. We also recognise the need for dedicated spaces for innovators to develop capabilities, co-create, and test-bed their new technologies. This is the goal of the Enviro Tech Innovation Hub (ETIH), which was launched with the support of NEA, the Environmental Management Association of Singapore (EMAS), Temasek Polytechnic and a number of industry players. I am honoured to officiate the opening of the ETIH pavilion at CESG Expo today.

7 As the first of its kind in Singapore, the ETIH is envisioned as a “living laboratory” dedicated to advancing sustainable environmental cleaning and integrated facilities management. It serves as an open platform for developing capabilities including co-creating and test-bedding innovative solutions, planning and carrying out initiatives for workforce upskilling as well as talent development. ETIH will also provide consultancy on Outcome-based Contracting (OBC) aimed at helping to address challenges in a fast-changing environmental cleaning landscape including manpower constraints. To date, partners in ETIH have invested about a million dollars in establishing and trialling pipeline projects. During my visit to ETIH earlier this year, I explored various technologies and observed some innovative solutionssuch as a toilet cleaning robot to automate the toilet cleaning operations for the upkeep of toilets. Indeed, it was very encouraging to see the toilet cleaning robots with robotic arms that mimics all the steps that cleaners need to take to clean toilets. The ETIH is a valuable initiative that will provide the much-needed support to aspiring innovators. I encourage all of you to visit the ETIH pavilion and discover how it can help you on your own start-up journeys to success.

8 I hope as well that this LaunchPad will serve as an inspiration for future innovators and a platform to forge partnerships and collaborations with like-minded individuals in the industry. Earlier at the opening ceremony, the panellists were also talking about the importance of partnerships. Not just multi-disciplinary, but across key sectors, which is important to ensure that we can commercialise, scale and launch in the market. I want to encourage all of you to explore all the booths at our LaunchPad and gain hands-on experience with the latest prototypes and technological innovations in the industry. We also have many exciting pitching sessions and knowledge-sharing forums that will be hosted on this stage later today, which I am sure will provide a highly engaging and dynamic experience. I have visitedmany research institutions as well as some of the companies that are doing innovation. This is a very exciting space and very different from yesteryear. Increasingly you see implementation and adoption of many technologies including AI to improve productivity and efficiency, to address many of the challenges faced by the industry, as well as solutions for the industry.

Announcement of ES Productivity Solutions Grant

9 Since 2018, NEA has been administering the Productivity Solutions Grant to encourage businesses in the ES industry to improve their operational efficiency and productivity through adoption of equipment and digital solutions. To date, NEA has approved close to 2000 applications, and completely fulfilled the initial funding of that was set aside for the ES industry. I understand that this initial tranche supported 600 companies. So I am pleased to announce that NEA will provide a new tranche of $90 million in funding support. The next bound of industry transformation will focus on driving the adoption of new innovative and commercially available technologies, to support the industry’s efforts to enhance public hygiene and cleanliness in Singapore. More details on this additional funding support, including the updated list of supportable solutions will be made available at NEA’s website in Q4 of 2024.

Championing Global Impact and Continued Collaboration

10 As we celebrate the achievements of pioneering innovators in the Environmental Services industry today, let us also remain steadfast in our commitment to exploring new frontiers, pushing the boundaries of innovation to explore new opportunities beyond the local market, towards the larger regional and international markets. Ample support is available to help startups internationalise, such as Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance and other initiatives for SMEs. Let us reaffirm our commitment to transforming the Environmental Services industry and fostering a sustainable and innovative future. We have made very good progress but there is much more we can do.

11 Thank you very much and enjoy the pitching session later.