On 5 August 2016, City Developments Limited (CDL) and Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) launched the Singapore Sustainability Academy (SSA), which aims to promote a low-carbon economy, resource efficiency and sustainable practices among businesses, the community and the youth.
Officially launched by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), the SSA is the first major People, Public and Private (3P) ground-up initiative in support of the national goals to tackle climate change. The initiative is supported by MEWR, the National Environment Agency, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Building and Construction Authority.
To be located at the roof terrace of CDL’s City Square Mall, SSA will cost about $2 million to build. The 4,300 square feet academy will house two classrooms (which can accommodate up to 60 people combined), a veranda, an office and an exhibition gallery. Jointly designed by CDL and ONG&ONG Pte Limited, and built by Woh Hup (Private) Limited, the SSA will be the first in Singapore to have its construction materials, Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glued Laminated Timber (Glulam) verified by the Nature’s Barcode™ system as coming from responsible sources. This entails scientific tests like DNA analysis, to reduce the risk that the wood comes from illegal logging.
When completed in March 2017, the SSA will be a zero-energy building featuring solar technology with more than 3,200 square feet of photovoltaic panels and monitors to track real-time energy generation and consumption. The made-in-Singapore solar panels which are designed and built by REC are expected to generate an annual energy yield of over 60,000 kilowatt hours (kWh). This is more than the SSA’s estimated annual energy consumption of about 50,000 kWh. There will also be an automation control and energy monitoring system that adapts lighting and air-conditioning to situations, providing maximum energy savings while maintaining full comfort.
The focus areas of the SSA will include advancing sustainability through advocacy, building capacity and collaboration, education and training, information and resource as well as user engagement. SEAS, operating from the new SSA, will continue to work with local industry and business as well as key initiatives with the Asian Development Bank and International Enterprise Singapore, to provide policy makers in the region with insights and share experiences on policy, technology and project financing in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy access. It will invite senior policy and decision makers to share on these subjects and explore other crucial sustainability topics pertaining to the banking, power, building and infrastructure sectors. The SSA will also look into offering a suite of education and mentorship programmes for students from tertiary educational institutions, focussing on energy efficiency, solar power, climate change, and sustainability. It will further forge partnerships with relevant educational institutions to provide high quality and practical education to build knowledge capacity, foster understanding and promote adoption of sustainability.
