Sustainability has been a cornerstone of Singapore’s development since our independence. However, megatrends such as rapid urbanisation, excessive consumption of resources, as well as the intensifying effects of climate change are leading us to an increasingly resource- and carbon-constrained world. This has added impetus to our drive for green growth. To ensure that our future generations can continue to enjoy a vibrant and liveable city, we are working to build up our climate, resource and economic resilience.
Following the success of our Year of Climate Action in 2018, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources designated 2019 as Singapore’s Year Towards Zero Waste. This reflected our ambition to design waste and wastefulness out of our economy. We recognise that everything we produce, consume, and dispose of has an impact on our environment and climate. We are taking steps to transit towards a low-carbon economy, by making a paradigm shift from the ‘take-make-throw’ linear model to the circular economy model where resources are used over and over again. Just as we have done for our Water Story through NEWater, we are working to close our resource loops. In fact, we already recycle 99 per cent of our ferrous metal waste, and construction and demolition waste. But we are looking to do even more.
Singapore’s inaugural Zero Waste Masterplan charts our strategies towards this future. We have set ourselves an ambitious target, to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill per capita by 30 per cent by 2030. All stakeholders must work together to achieve this — individuals, schools, businesses, civil society, and the government. This includes the co-creation of innovative environmental solutions between the public and private sectors, and tapping into ground-up initiatives to drive sustainability.
Sustainability will be a competitive advantage for companies in the future economy, and the circular economy approach will create new economic growth opportunities and good jobs for Singaporeans. We already have a vibrant waste management and recycling industry in Singapore. Plans are underway to further strengthen our local recycling capabilities to close our food waste, e-waste, and plastic waste loops. These initiatives will create new jobs in emerging areas, such as engineering, robotics and automation. They will also put Singaporean companies in a position to export these solutions to the region and the rest of the world. I am heartened that the Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (SGC) has contributed this insightful publication to advance the discussion. Both Singapore and Germany place high importance on sustainable development, and the Grün Book covers important areas of waste management and recycling which will be of great relevance to us.
Singapore and Germany enjoy strong cooperation in a broad range of areas, and bilateral trade between our countries stood at SGD$21 billion in 2019. Notably, Germany is Singapore’s largest trading partner in the European Union (EU), and Singapore is Germany’s largest trading partner in the South-East Asia region. Our trade links will continue to be enhanced under the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement which came into force last year and commits the EU and Singapore to protecting environmental standards. German environment and water companies have also played a key role in Singapore’s sustainability infrastructure and value-chain over the years.
The Grün Book is a continuation of this long-standing partnership. The issues addressed in this book, such as the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility and turning waste into valuables through resource recovery or even upcycling, are among the areas of cooperation between Singapore and Germany. In particular, I encourage greater research and exchanges in the area of recycling.
Singapore and Germany are well-positioned to help address the waste challenges facing the South-East Asia region through the use of cutting-edge technologies and solutions. There is immense potential to generate economic opportunities and green jobs in doing so.
I congratulate the Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce on
this initiative and look forward to new opportunities for collaboration with
Germany and the SGC to address common challenges, and realise our joint vision
of ensuring a sustainable future for our people.
Grace Fu
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment