Opening Remarks by Minister Chee Hong Tat at the Sustainability Impact Awards 2025
Sep 25, 2025
A very good evening. I am delighted to join you at the third Sustainability Impact Awards Ceremony.
We are here to celebrate the best in sustainability leadership. The Sustainability Impact Awards shine a spotlight on individuals and enterprises who are going above and beyond to embed sustainability into their work, and who are also paving the way towards a greener and more sustainable future for Singapore.
Tackling Climate Change Remains a Priority for Singapore
Singapore remains focused on reducing our carbon emissions and preparing ourselves to adapt to the effects of climate change. Climate change is real. It is something that we have to prepare for; it is something that is based on science; it is something that we have to take seriously. As a low-lying island city-state, we are vulnerable to rising sea levels and increased flood risks. We are also concerned about the effects of rising urban heat; we can feel it.
With our limited land and natural resources, we must think long-term and take decisive moves to safeguard the well-being of our future generations, just as our forefathers have done for us.
We have committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. This is still our goal. This is an ambitious target, especially because Singapore is alternative energy disadvantaged, with limited options. But this ambitious target reflects our collective resolve to make Singapore a greener and more resilient city.
Public-Private-People Partnerships
Achieving this goal requires strong partnerships across the public, private and people sectors, so that we can achieve meaningful change. The private sector brings resources and enterprise to turn green solutions into reality, and to scale these solutions for greater impact. The people sector, comprising individuals and community groups, play a vital role in shaping a culture of sustainability from the ground up. And finally, the public sector plays a key role in setting the policy direction and to put in place the right incentives that can support businesses and individuals in their sustainability journey.
The Government is committed to continue helping businesses and individuals tackle sustainability challenges, by making it easier to adopt green solutions, and for companies and individuals to benefit from their investments. Since I come from MND, I will just share one example of what we are doing in the Built Environment sector. The Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark certification scheme marks its 20th anniversary this year, and this has been a key enabler in our journey to build a greener and more sustainable Built Environment Sector in Singapore.
We know buildings account for about 20% of Singapore’s carbon emissions, and a significant part of this comes from cooling. Greening our buildings reduces embodied carbon by using sustainable construction materials, and we also want to lower the operational carbon through energy-efficient designs, especially to reduce the emissions related to cooling. When implemented well, it allows us to progress toward our climate goals, while helping businesses and households to save costs and also to improve liveability.
Besides being a well-recognised accreditation, Green Mark also provides building owners and developers with a clear framework with incentives and benchmarks on how to design, construct and operate their buildings sustainably. The scheme has evolved over the years. From focusing on energy efficiency at the beginning, it now embraces a more holistic understanding of sustainability, including health and well-being, smart technology, and climate change resilience.
In addition, the Green Mark Incentive Scheme for Existing Buildings 2.0 that was launched in 2022 supports building owners to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. Lowering the upfront costs of sustainable retrofits such as energy-efficient lights and lifts will make them more commercially viable, and help more owners to reduce their carbon emissions and energy bills. So if we do it well, it is both good for business and good for the environment.
Through such initiatives, we want to ensure that sustainability is not just an expenditure, but it is also an opportunity – one that businesses and individuals can embrace with confidence and to implement sustainably from a financial point of view.
Now ladies and gentlemen, I want to share my own observations of our efforts, our journey to achieve a greener and a more sustainable Singapore. And if I try to summarise what are some of these key lessons, I think there are three, in my view.
First, is the importance of thinking and planning long term. Now, many of the things that we do, we won’t see results immediately. In fact, some of the investments that we put in may only produce good outcomes over 10, 20 years, or even further away. But if we think about the long-term impact of our actions today, and the desire to want to leave a better future for our children and grandchildren, then our perspective would change. It is like what the native American proverb says – “we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”.
Second, it is important to be action oriented. And this is not about chanting slogans, chasing after some nice targets, virtue signalling. Those are not what we should be focusing on. Instead, we should be taking practical, concrete steps, to set the right incentives, to facilitate the development of new technologies that can make a difference to reducing carbon emissions on a sustainable basis. So sustainability must also be financially sustainable in order for the impact to be meaningful and to be long lasting.
Thirdly, I think the importance of working together with like-minded partners, learning from one another, including best practices so we do not have to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes we make mistakes, so learning from the mistakes that others have made will also help us to shorten the learning curve. Developing new innovations; sometimes these will require a bit of risk taking. So pulling our resources together will help us to reduce the risk that we take individually. And this very important partnership between the government, the private sector, the people sector. The people sector will include our workers and also our citizens – this is key.
I will add one more point, which is the collaborations with like-minded partners from abroad, collaborations with other countries who believe in the need to embark on sustainable growth. We still want to have growth, because growth is still very important, but we want to make sure that the growth can be greener and more sustainable.
Award Winners Leading by Example
Tonight, we showcase and celebrate the success of our winning enterprises and individuals. I understand they come from different sectors. Our large enterprise award winners show that scale can be a force for good. By embedding sustainability across their operations and value chains, they create ripple effects across their industries. I know many of the larger companies also help to bring their SME partners along. Or a bank like UOB for example; your financing decisions can help to set the right incentives for your clients, including your SME clients. And the linkages that you can provide for them, to link up with companies that can provide solutions with the customers that they serve; this is a very powerful force for change.
Our small and medium enterprise award winners demonstrate that size is no barrier to impact. They may be small at the moment, but they have found creative ways to innovate and to drive greener practices. I hope some of them over time can scale up and grow.
And lastly, our individual champions inspire their communities to do more for the environment, demonstrating that larger shifts are often built up over time from small changes, one step at a time.
To all winners who will be announced later, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations. Each of you has taken steps not only to imagine a better, more sustainable world – but more importantly, you also to help build it.
Your efforts set a powerful example for others to follow, and inspires others to step forward to build a more sustainable Singapore. I look forward to your continued contributions as we work together to build a more sustainable and resilient Singapore.
Thank you.