posted by: DECEMBER 22, 2014 Singapore, 6 June 2014– The second edition of CleanEnviro Summit Singapore (CESS), a global platform to develop environmental solutions for rapidly growing cities, closed on 4 June with over 590 delegates exchanging ideas in the thought leadership discussions, and more than 280 business meetings facilitated. The event saw over S$318 million worth of projects announced and concluded, and an estimated S$369 million worth of potential deals in the pipeline.
2 These signed deals included the $15 million project for the development and operation of a metal recovery facility to salvage ferrous and non-ferrous metals from incineration bottom ash generated by the incineration plants. The metal recovery facility is part of the Government’s long-term strategy to manage solid waste in Singapore and move towards a resource efficient society. Other announcements included the award of two separate Integrated Public Cleaning (IPC) tenders for the north-east and south-east regions of Singapore. The IPC aims to improve the cleaning standards and service quality in public areas, and the contracts have a combined value of $301 million.
3 The CleanEnviro Summit Singapore, organised by the National Environment Agency (NEA), was held from 1 to 4 June 2014 in conjunction with the World Cities Summit and Singapore International Water Week. The events attracted more than 20,000 participants from 118 countries including ministers, government officials, industry leaders, academics and representatives from international organisations. The events facilitated the sharing of insights on the latest market trends and exchanged sustainable solutions through its various plenary sessions, conferences and business forums.
4 More than 100 exhibitors from international and local companies took part in WasteMET Asia and the inaugural CleanMET Asia 2014. The exhibition attracted more than 14 countries, including Australia, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, UK and United States.
5 Mr Ronnie Tay, NEA’s Chief Executive Officer said, “This edition of the CleanEnviro Summit Singapore proved to be a valuable platform to discuss and co-create waste management and cleaning solutions, as well as encourage discussions on how to develop cost-effective measures to increase productivity in these industries. The vibrant exchange of best practices and experiences, as well as innovation and technologies across government and industry sectors over the past few days is testament to the strong level of commitment from stakeholders to adopt innovative solutions to address rising challenges. This is a positive step in changing mindsets to make environmental issues a critical part of business decisions.”
6 CleanEnviro Summit Singapore 2014, themed “Innovative Clean Enviro-Solutions for Asia’s Growing Cities”, also saw participation from high level government and industry thought leaders, and international organisations such as the Asia Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Discussions to discover and chart a synergistic and sustainable environmental path
7 The conference component of CESS – including the Clean Environment Leaders Plenary (CELP) and Clean Environment Regulators Roundtable (CERR), generated robust discussions among key expert speakers on how Asia can rise above prevailing environmental challenges and resource constraints, and benefit from the synergy of environmental sustainability and growth.
8 Key discussions at the CELP raised the roles of various mechanisms that support a dynamic green economy. These included robust regulation and strong governance, and also the need for community outreach and education initiatives. Panellists agreed that the establishment of domestic and international environment markets, particularly in Asia, is important. The panel also highlighted that the introduction of mechanisms that encourage responsible waste management on the part of citizens, businesses and industry are critical.
9 Participants at CERR discussed various wide-ranging topics relating to waste management, air and water pollution management, and environmental management. Some of the case studies shared at this CERR included air quality initiatives and targets, environmental planning, river cleaning, sustainable waste management systems and water quality management solutions.
Emphasis on Resource Efficient Waste Management and Sustaining the Future of Cleaning
10 CESS 2014 sessions discussed and addressed challenges and issues in waste and cleaning management. The Waste Track under the Clean Environment Convention (CEC) highlighted the challenges facing the industry in the context of the latest issues, trends and developments. A key point discussed was the issue of waste reduction in households. Attitudes towards household recycling will depend on the availability of the equipment and systems of recycling and public willingness to participate. In addition to incentivising households to recycling, the forum panellists also shared that understanding of the motivation of individuals, education and active participation must not be ignored.
11 While investment in state-of-the-art waste management technology such as sensors can better the efficiency and productivity of waste management systems and aids in reducing waste volumes, other solutions such as educational efforts, community engagement programmes and partnerships between the public, private and people sectors can enhance a city’s liveability.
12 CESS also introduced a new discussion platform to address the challenges faced by the cleaning industry this year. The inaugural Cleaning Track under the CEC put the spotlight on the role of social behaviour in keeping public venues clean, and the importance of stakeholder and community partnerships in moulding the social attitudes of people, and mobilising the community to keep public places clean.
13 Insights on technological advances adopted by the cleaning industry to maintain high standard of cleanliness and hygiene were also discussed at the CEC. Speakers shared the various technological solutions that cleaning companies and service buyers could adopt to enhance workflow processes, optimise the use of resources, improve operating efficiencies and productivity such as through mechanisation, infocomm technology and robotics, and ensure more effective outcomes for the cleaning industry. The importance of having a common understanding on the cleanliness standard set between service buyers and service providers and communicating these standards to end users such as the general public was also underscored at the Cleaning Track. It was also highlighted that training is key in the manpower development efforts for the cleaning industry. Future editions of the Cleaning Track will continue to shape the conversation on sustainable growth in the cleaning industry.
14 The next CleanEnviro Summit Singapore will be held from 10 to 14 July 2016 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.