Speech by Minister Grace Fu - A Clean, Green and Resilient Singapore for All

Speech by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, at Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment's Committee of Supply (COS) Debate 2024, 4 March 2024

Introduction

1 Mr Chairman, in our early days of independence, Singapore stood at critical crossroads, with limited resources, an uncertain economic future, and pressing public health concerns.

2 Back then, our forefathers recognised the importance of safeguarding a clean and green environment to protect the health of our people, fuel economic growth, and pave the way for a brighter future. A public cleaning regime was put in place, where our cleaning workforce swept the streets and removed refuse on the daily. We cleaned up the Singapore River, which was heavily polluted from human and economic activities. Street hawkers were rehoused into hawker centres, equipped with proper facilities to ensure food safety and hygiene standards.

3 Today, we again stand at crossroads of political, economic, social and environmental changes. This is why the Government launched the Forward Singapore exercise last year – to re-examine our values and aspirations, and to forge a new social compact for the road ahead.

4 Forward SG underscored the crucial role of collective responsibility in shaping our shared future. It also highlighted the importance of ensuring that the basic needs of all Singaporeans continue to be met. This includes a clean and liveable environment, with reliable access to safe food and water. My Ministry will work with all segments of our society to build a Clean, Green and Resilient home for our current and future generations.

5 In this COS debate, I will provide an overview of our efforts to enhance public hygiene, and update on the Singapore Green Plan. SMS Amy Khor will talk about our efforts in green procurement, energy efficiency, and waste management. SMS Koh Poh Koon will speak about how we are enhancing our food security, protecting our coasts, and strengthening the resilience of our hawkers. SPS Baey Yam Keng will delve into the operational and technological aspects of our environmental cleanliness initiatives, as well as our community engagement efforts.

Public hygiene as the founding stone of our Clean, Green and Resilient future

6 First, public hygiene. What comes to mind is environmental cleanliness – keeping our surroundings free from litter and clutter, and perhaps the iconic “Keep Singapore Clean” campaign.

7 Public hygiene is more than that. It forms the very foundation of our well-being – safe food, clean air, and clean water. Collectively, all facets of public hygiene come together to create a thriving urban environment and protect our physical and mental health.

2024 as the Year of Public Hygiene

8 Sustaining high levels of public hygiene requires the active participation of all of us. The Government, businesses, communities, and individuals must all work together to contribute to a clean environment, safe food, clean air, and clean water. This is the social compact that will strengthen our sense of collective responsibility to one another.

9 MSE will designate 2024 as the Year of Public Hygiene. The Year of Public Hygiene will see greater emphasis on delivering of public environmental services, resourcing the environmental industry with capability building and technology adoption, and augmenting our enforcement efforts.

10 Complementing enforcement are our efforts to harness the spirit of collective responsibility as part of Forward SG, for all stakeholders to play a role in upkeeping good public hygiene practices for the betterment of our society. SPS Baey will elaborate on this.

Clean environment

11 Let me first touch on environmental cleanliness.

Partnering businesses to keep premises clean

12 The Government has been working closely with our businesses to keep our public spaces clean.

13 In 2021, we launched the Environmental Sanitation (ES) Regime under our Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA), to promote higher cleanliness standards and place greater accountability on businesses to keep their premises clean. The ES regime sets out mandatory baseline cleaning and disinfection standards for premises with high footfall and vulnerable occupants, such as coffeeshops, food courts, schools, and elder care facilities. It requires premises to appoint a trained and registered individual to develop and implement an ES programme in accordance with prescribed standards. Our agencies have been working diligently with business owners to ensure that minimum cleanliness standards set out under the ES Regime, and others under the EPHA, are met.

14 Several Members – Ms Poh Li San, Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Ms Hany Soh and Mr Murali Pillai – have raised questions on toilets in coffeeshops and other public places. NEA and SFA have been conducting enforcement blitzes on public toilets, including those in coffeeshops and hawker centres, to ensure that they are properly maintained and cleaned according to requirements under the EPHA.

15 NEA and SFA have also been conducting checks to ensure proper disposal of food waste by food establishments, to provide clean, pest-free dining environments for Singaporeans. This includes making sure that establishments have sufficient and properly maintained bins, and that any waste generated is properly bagged, conveyed to the bin centre in a timely manner, and not left overnight.

16 We will step up on enforcement where necessary and SPS Baey will speak more on our approach.

Uplifting and supporting the cleaning industry

17 Mr Chairman, our cleaning industry has been a cornerstone in our environmental cleanliness efforts, forming the backbone of our cleanup initiatives.

18 With an ageing population and a shrinking workforce, the industry faces shortages and reductions in manpower. It is important for us to uplift our cleaning industry, to ensure that they are adequately equipped and resourced to uphold high standards of environmental cleanliness.

19 We have seen several efforts, led by the industry, in supporting our cleaning workforce.

20 Temasek Polytechnic launched their Enviro Tech Innovation Hub (ETIH) last year, with the support of NEA, together with the Environmental Management Association of Singapore and industry players such as cleaning companies and tech partners. The ETIH will develop training programmes to upskill our cleaning industry and testbed cutting-edge technology solutions to increase productivity, such as the usage of IoT sensors and devices to manage cleanliness performance.

21 We are actively upskilling our cleaners, so that their capabilities and skillsets evolve in tandem with the industry’s needs.

22 Mr Louis Ng mentioned the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) earlier. We introduced enhanced training requirements under the PWM for the cleaning industry in December 2022, which has allowed cleaners to acquire new and relevant skills, such as how to operate emerging technologies and digitalisation tools used in cleaning operations.

23 The PWM also entails a cumulative wage increase of up to 85% from 2022 to 2028, ensuring that our cleaners’ wages continue to rise alongside improvements in their competencies and skillsets. Base salaries of local cleaners have risen to between $1,570 and $2,210 in 2023, and will increase each year until 2028.

Safe food

24 Now safe food. SFA takes a risk-based approach in regulating food safety, where licensing requirements and food safety grading criteria are calibrated based on food establishments’ risk profiles. This focuses our inspection resources on where risks are higher and encourages businesses to implement sufficient measures to ensure food safety, while keeping compliance costs low.

Improving our food safety grading system

25 Let me update on our food safety grading system.

26 Under the existing grading system, food establishments are graded from A to D, based on an annual audit. This provides a snapshot of an establishment’s food safety standards at the point of inspection. However, it does not adequately reflect whether these standards are consistently maintained.

27 For better food safety assurance, we are moving towards a new Safety Assurance for Food Establishments (SAFE) framework, where establishments will be graded based on their food safety track record and prevailing food safety management systems. It will harmonise the grading systems for both retail and non-retail food establishments, which are currently regulated by two different frameworks.

28 In line with our risk-based approach, establishments involved in significant food handling with a large scale of distribution, such as food manufacturers and caterers, will need to meet additional requirements to attain higher grades compared to those of smaller scale. Establishments with poor food safety performance and lower grades will face more frequent inspection. Poor performance during these inspections could lead to downgrading.

29 This new SAFE Framework is a better version from the one we announced in 2021. SFA incorporated feedback it has received from the industry, and kept the intent of recognising food establishments with a consistent record of good food safety performance, and spurring others to achieve and maintain high grades of food safety. More details will be released later this year.

Removing licensing requirements for food businesses

30 With a risk-based approach, we are also removing licensing requirements and fees on food establishments with minimal food safety risk. This helps to reduce regulatory compliance and increase operational efficiency.

31 I announce that by 1 January 2025, all market stalls and vending machines selling non-food items or low-risk food items, such as canned food and packet biscuits, will not need to be licensed. More than half of existing market stall licensees and around 2 in 5 existing vending machine licensees will benefit from this new policy.

32 The safety of food from these stalls and vending machines will continue to be regulated through standards imposed by SFA on the importers and suppliers of these food items.

Clean air

33 Another aspect of public hygiene is the quality of indoor air which Mr Pillai spoke about.

Control of formaldehyde in building products

34 Formaldehyde is a chemical that can be found in some building products such as paints. Prolonged exposure to formaldehyde can lead to negative health effects, such as respiratory discomfort and an increased risk of certain cancers.

35 To protect our people from such exposure, we will be progressively introducing limits on formaldehyde in building products, starting with interior paints. From 2026 onwards, interior paints with formaldehyde will not be allowed for sale in Singapore. Further details will be released.

Ensuring minimum air quality standards in buildings

36 To Mr Pillai’s question on how we are safeguarding indoor air quality in buildings, NEA currently does not mandate minimum indoor air quality standards for buildings. Instead, NEA takes the approach of promoting greater business responsibility in maintaining high levels of indoor air quality, and providing guidance on best practices.

37 NEA, BCA and MOH have jointly issued a set of guidelines on improving ventilation and indoor air quality in buildings, which Mr Pillai had mentioned earlier. These guidelines encourage premises managers to install carbon dioxide monitors to assess the adequacy of ventilation in their premises. NEA has also published a detailed guide for premises managers on how to implement carbon dioxide monitoring.

Managing the spread of Legionella bacteria from cooling towers

38 Mr Pillai also asked for an update on the implementation of the Code of Practice (COP) for the Control of Legionella Bacteria in Cooling Towers. The COP was replaced by the Code of Practice for Environmental Health (COPEH) and related Guidelines in 2021.

39 Under the EPHA, we require all cooling towers to be registered with NEA, to enhance the traceability and control of potential outbreaks. As Legionella is primarily spread via inhalation of contaminated water aerosols, the EPHA requires building owners to regularly submit water sampling results to NEA, to ensure that the water quality in their cooling towers complies with stipulated regulatory limits.

Clean water

40 Last but not least, clean water. Ensuring a supply of clean water is a collective responsibility shared by both the Government and businesses.

41 Businesses must play an active role by implementing adequate earth control measures to prevent silt from being washed into our waterways and reservoirs, and refrain from disposing hazardous substances into our public sewerage system.

42 On the Government’s part, PUB will look to introduce additional measures to safeguard our waterways, reservoirs, and sewerage system. This includes tightening controls on silt discharges into our waterways and reservoirs, and illegal discharges of dangerous and hazardous substances into our public sewerage system. More details will be released later.

Update on the Singapore Green Plan

43 Mr Chairman, even as we draw focus on the “hygiene” factors in the year ahead, we are not taking our eyes off longer-term challenges such as climate change.

44 Dr Lim Wee Kiak and Ms Poh Li San asked for an update on the Singapore Green Plan. We are making good progress to achieve our targets. Dr Lim asked about the progress of specific initiatives and targets. I will not go into details for each target under the Green Plan, but focus on providing an overview of our key achievements. I invite Dr Lim to separately file questions on specific initiatives and targets to the respective Green Plan Ministries.

45 On City in Nature, MND and NParks are pressing on with conserving and extending our natural capital throughout the island. SMS Tan Kiat How will provide further details during MND’s COS.

46 On Sustainable Living, my Ministry rolled out the Disposable Carrier Bag Charge last year, requiring large supermarket operators to charge for disposal carrier bags. Since its implementation, supermarket operators have observed a 50 to 80% reduction in the use of disposable carrier bags. More Singaporeans are observed to use reusable carrier bags for their grocery shopping.

47 MOE has also been instilling sustainable living habits in our students through the Eco Stewardship Programme, where schools have implemented the “4Cs” approach of Curriculum, Campus, Culture and Community to allow students to learn about sustainability in a more integrated and applied manner.

48 We are also powering on with our Energy Reset. Thanks to MOT and LTA’s efforts, about 2 in 3 new car registrations in 2023 were cleaner energy cars, and 1 in 3 HDB carparks are now equipped with electric vehicle charging points.

49 MTI and EMA are making good progress in greening our national grid, issuing the first Conditional Approvals for low-carbon electricity imports from Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

50 To foster an inclusive transition to a Green Economy, MAS announced Greenprint, a digital solution to help businesses simplify and standardise the reporting of sustainability data. Greenprint will launch in phases in 2024 and focus initially on automating basic climate reporting for SMEs, before scaling its automation capabilities to support larger corporates.

51 To secure our Resilient Future, my Ministry is pressing on with our efforts to ensure that our environment remains liveable, our food supply remains reliable, and our coastlines remain well-protected in the face of extreme weather patterns.

52 SMS Khor recently updated this House on the measures we are taking to increase Singapore’s heat resilience, which should address Ms Poh’s queries on the topic. SMS Koh will update on our food security and coastal protection efforts later.

53 As Dr Lim alluded to, the Green Plan is a living plan that will evolve over time with more ambitious targets and aspirations. In 2022, we announced that the public sector will commit to achieve net zero emissions around 2045. Last year, we raised our target for restoration and enhancement of forest, coastal and marine habitats, from 30 hectares to 80 hectares by 2030. We are closely monitoring the progress of our initiatives, to ensure that they remain relevant to our long-term sustainability goals.

Conclusion

54 Mr Chairman, as the world grapples with daunting, long-term challenges like climate change, let us not lose sight of the fundamental necessities for a good and healthy life – a clean environment, safe food, clean air and clean water.

55 As committed under Forward SG, the Government will continue to spearhead efforts towards our shared vision of a Clean, Green and Resilient Singapore. But we can do so only through collective action with our businesses and our people.

56 My hope is for Singapore to be a clean country and not just a cleaned country. I hope to see businesses operate with pride, offering not only clean spaces for Singaporeans, but also implementing responsible practices that safeguard the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink.

57 I hope to see communities become engines of positive change, fostering a culture of shared ownership and partnering the Government in building a new social compact.

58 I hope to see Singaporeans treat our streets, parks, and public spaces like extensions of our own homes, going the extra mile to keep our surroundings clean, as Singapore is our home.

59 This is the Singapore we deserve, the Singapore we can build, and the Singapore we must leave for generations to come.