Strategy
Overview
Our carbon footprint is primarily generated by three major components: electricity consumption (Scope 2 emissions), business air travel (Scope 3 emissions), and outsourced currency operations (Scope 3 emissions). Together, these account for close to 97% of our total emissions in FY2023. We have successfully reduced Scope 2 emissions by 23% from its peak in 2013, with the key driver being the replacement of the central air-conditioning system in MAS Building.
To guide our environmental sustainability efforts until 2030, we have developed a roadmap that sets out our targets and strategies for emissions reduction in Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 (business air travel and outsourced currency operations) by FY2025 and FY2030.
Our approach involves evaluating the potential for reducing the major components of our carbon footprint, conducting cost-benefit analyses to determine the best approaches, and considering the use of carbon offsets for emissions that are challenging to abate.
Our 2030 roadmap builds upon the progress we have made since 2013, including the implementation of energy efficiency measures such as central air conditioning, heat recovery system, and lighting systems in MAS. By keeping up with technological advancements, we have maintained our Green Mark (GM) certification (Platinum) for MAS Building since 2015 and last renewed in 2022.
In addition, we have integrated NEWater into our water reticulation system, which supplies water to our air-conditioning cooling system. This initiative has reduced our reliance on potable water. These strategies have played a crucial role in our sustainability achievements.
Scope 2 Emissions Reduction and Supporting Greener Vehicle Usage
Energy Efficiency Measures for our Buildings
In continuing our efforts to reduce Scope 2 emissions, motion-controlled LED lightings have been installed in carparks and staircases of MAS Building. We have also embarked on the Guaranteed Energy Savings Performance contracting model for chilled water plant retrofit in Currency House. The retrofitting work is slated for completion by Q4 2024. We have also started to experiment with hybrid cooling to raise the ambient temperature on some office floors.Renewable Energy
As part of our efforts to harness renewable energy, solar panels will be installed at Currency House under the SolarNOVA programme, which is a whole-of-government initiative to aggregate government demand for solar panels to achieve cost efficiencies. Based on our available roof space, the estimated solar energy that could be harvested is 70kWP.Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging
To encourage and support the adoption of greener vehicles, we have installed 6 EV chargers in MAS Building and Currency House.Green Building Certifications
MAS has plans for Currency House to attain the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) GM Platinum Super Low Energy (SLE) standard. This will be achieved by retrofitting the chilled water plant and implementing other energy efficient measures over the next 3 years. MAS Building will be required to achieve the GM Platinum SLE standard when it next undergoes a major retrofit.Net Zero Feasibility Study
Net Zero Study for our Building Operations
A feasibility study to achieve net zero carbon emissions for MAS Building and Currency House by 2045 has been completed by Surbana Jurong Consultants Pte Ltd/Atelier Ten Asia Pte Ltd. The study indicated that the refurbishment scenario is the most carbon-reducing and cost-effective scenario to achieve MAS’ net zero energy goals. MAS is considering the recommended energy efficiency measures by Surbana Jurong, along with our ongoing reduction measures to achieve our targets.Scope 3 Outsourced Currency Operations
MAS is committed to reduce the carbon emissions of our outsourced currency operations across the currency value chain:
- Currency replenishment tender – MAS will continue to nudge our potential currency suppliers to advance their sustainability efforts. We have incorporated a higher evaluation weightage of 10% for Sustainability and Environmental Management from the current weightage of 5% for future currency replenishment tenders.
- “Fit-for-Gifting” currency notes (Fit notes) – This year, MAS continued with our multi-year efforts to encourage the use of Fit notes for festive gifting during Lunar New Year (LNY). Gifting Fit notes are more sustainable and reduce carbon emissions from the issuance of new notes, while conveying the same well wishes to loved ones. To raise public awareness of the environmental benefits of using Fit notes, MAS intensified our publicity efforts for LNY 2024 through a social media campaign in collaboration with content creators and influencers. Fit notes were also made more accessible to the public, with the three local banks continuing to offer online reservation and making available more pop-up and branch ATMs for withdrawal of Fit notes compared to LNY 2023. We continue to see a sustained take-up of Fit notes with about 11.7 million pieces of these notes exchanged in LNY 2024, an increase of 5% compared to LNY 2023. This translates to emissions savings of around 408tCO2e from not issuing an equivalent amount of new notes to meet festive demand during LNY.
- Issuance of Second Series (SS) coins – This is a new sustainability initiative that MAS implemented in April 2023. As SS coins continue to be legal tender with a substantial quantity of good quality coins remaining in circulation, MAS supplemented the regular issuance of Third Series coins with these coins to further reduce the environment impact from our currency operations. This initiative has resulted in MAS needing to issue fewer new coins, bringing emissions savings of around 441tCO2e in FY2023, comparable to powering 240 four-room HDB flats annually.
Green Procurement
We continue to adopt the green procurement requirements under GreenGov.SG. We have also incorporated environmental sustainability criteria for large tenders. Three such tenders have been awarded as of April 2024, and all awarded suppliers demonstrated environmental sustainability efforts.
Culture of Sustainability
To promote a culture of sustainability, the MAS Recreation Club Sustainability Committee was formed in 2021 to lead staff-initiated initiatives and interventions. Staff were engaged through co-creation discussions and were empowered to implement their ideas for the MAS Environmental Sustainability Week (ESW), which was organised in January 2024. The week-long ESW provided a platform for staff champions to come together and organise more than 14 activities, which included:
- Initiatives such as the launch of a staff “food rescue” Telegram group to reduce food waste from our corporate events and the set-up of a red packet redistribution corner in MAS;
- Brown-bag session where environmental sustainability documentaries were screened to raise awareness and staff champions also stepped up to share experiences of how they adopted environmentally friendly habits;
- Workshops that provided hands-on guidance for staff to learn how to repair basic household appliances and make eco-friendly household products; and
- Learning journeys such as Chek Jawa Nature Tour and “Kayak & Klean”, to learn about biodiversity and gain first-hand understanding of the impact of human activities on the environment.