Question

Detailed success story on how cleaner production was undertaken in Singapore (Max 200)

Answer 1

The growth in environmental awareness, the increasing demand for environmentally friendly products and the increasing pressure imposed by corporations with regard to the use of natural resources are examples of factors that have contributed to the increased use of tools and techniques for pollution prevention or reduction of waste generation, waste and emissions in industrial operations. These factors, together with the creation of laws and monitoring of air quality programs, water pollution, energy saving and waste generation significantly contributed to the emergence and spread of the concept of CP, as proposed by the United Nations Environment Programme – UNEP in 1989. CP is defined as the continuous application of a preventive and integrated environmental strategy applied to processes, products and services in order to increase efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment. One seeks to adopt practices designed to eliminate the problems in the source, by means of avoiding the generation and of the minimization or recycling of effluents, waste and emissions of all involved processes. Therefore, it establishes the commitment to prevent environmental risks of processes and products, obtaining environmental benefits, economic and occupational health. CP involves changing of the existing technology, changes in processes and products, work organization system and internal recycling, and are due primarily to reduce in the source, reuse and recycle, respectively. When the waste generated cannot be reintegrated to the company's production process through internal recycling, external recycling is adopted. If these techniques are not sufficient, waste treatment practices, effluents and emissions are adopted as alternative.

In order to address climate change and reducing CO2 emissions, Singapore has committed to reducing its emission index by 36% from 2005 levels by 2030. As non-residential commercial buildings consume about 37% of the total electricity, the building sector has a critical role in reducing the national energy consumption and carbon emissions. Moreover, laboratory buildings are highly energy intensive due to their unique operation and energy requirements and on an average end up using 5 to 10 times more energy per square foot than office buildings. The main reason for the high-energy consumption in laboratory facilities is the requirement to provide high ventilation rates and the associated air conditioning loads. Being a leading advocate for green buildings, Singapore has set up an ambitious target of having 80% green buildings by 2030. Spearheading this movement is the Green Mark (GM) green building rating scheme, launched in 2005 to provide a platform to asses and improve the overall environmental credentials of buildings. Although the GM scheme was launched more than two decades ago, little has been publicized in literature, especially with regards to the building performance results while compared to more popular green building rating scheme like LEED which have been studied in detail. There has been sporadic mention of GM in studies that compare the assessment criteria between different green building rating schemes and an assessment of the awareness of GM rating scheme by the occupants of the GM building as well as general public