Forward Singapore (Steward Pillar): Building a green economy for our tomorrow

10 May 2023

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, alongside Senior Minister of State for Finance, Chee Hong Tat, engaged over 100 business leaders at the Singapore Business Federation.

Group photo of participants at the event

On 14 April 2023, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, alongside Senior Minister of State for Finance, Chee Hong Tat, engaged over 100 business leaders at the Singapore Business Federation to discuss opportunities and trade-offs businesses will face in Singapore’s green transition.

When we do our part to mitigate the impacts of climate change, we are not just protecting ourselves today, but we are also giving future generations of Singaporeans a better life.

— Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu

Minister Grace Fu giving her opening remarks at the Singapore Business Federation

In her opening remarks, Minister Fu expressed her optimism that business leaders today are adopting a long-term view of adapting to the effects of climate change while simultaneously looking for opportunities to become more sustainable in their businesses.

Participant raising a question to the panel

A member of the Singapore Business Federation raising his question to the panel

You know your business better than policymakers. It’s best for business owners to make business decisions on their own. However, the government can still find ways to collaborate with businesses to successfully transit into a green economy.

— Senior Minister of State for Finance, Chee Hong Tat

SMS Chee continued the conversation by elaborating on three ways the Government will support the private sector in this green transition.

Fostering a Supportive Ecosystem
With the Government’s support, companies can make progress in their sustainability journey through schemes like the Energy Efficiency Grant, Enterprise Development Grant, and Productivity Solutions Grant that provide up to 70% co-funding support to transform their business processes, improve productivity and become more energy-efficient.
Leveraging Government Procurement
From FY2024, environmental sustainability will be one of the evaluation criteria (i.e., 5% of overall scoring) used by the government to evaluate construction and ICT projects. This initiative aims to encourage suppliers to adopt sustainability practices and develop green products and services.
Building A Regulatory Sandbox
Through the Green Economy Regulatory Initiative (GERI), companies can participate in sandbox programmes to test their experimental technology. While this initiative may yield failures, successes will drive greater innovation and help Singapore achieve new breakthroughs in our green economy.

Working together for a greener Singapore

Minister Fu reiterated that the Government will lead by example through the GreenGov.SG initiative. Most notably, the public sector aims to reduce its carbon emissions around 2025, five years ahead of the national target.

She also encouraged Trade Associations and Chambers to continue organising member companies by sectors, which would facilitate closer public-private collaboration in developing sector-specific strategies for internationalisation and product standards.