Debated in Parliament on 14 Apr 2014.
Ms Faizah Jamal asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what measures are in place to strengthen and reinforce the commitment to the Public Sector Taking The Lead in Environmental Sustainability (PSTLES) initiative, in particular in educating Government officers involved in procurements; (b) what steps are in place to measure and record the commitment and observance by all Government agencies of the PSTLES initiative so far; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider implementing PSTLES through a more systematic and compulsory green procurement policy as a way of keeping to Singapore's commitment to sustainability and in dealing with climate change.
The Senior Minister of State for Finance (Mrs Josephine Teo) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance): Mdm Speaker, in support of efforts to enhance environmental sustainability, the Public Sector has since 2006, put in place several environmental sustainability measures to promote recycling and efficient use of energy and water resources, including green procurement. When evaluating tenders, agencies consider factors like energy efficiency or other green measures and cost-effectiveness over the entire period of use. For instance, all new office information and communication technology equipment are required to meet the latest international standards, that is, the ENERGY STAR standards.
We are also taking steps to green our public sector buildings. New and existing large public sector buildings are required to achieve the Green Mark standards, which is the benchmark for environmentally sustainable buildings in Singapore. To date, 52 public sector buildings have received the Green Mark Platinum and GoldPLUS ratings, which are the highest ratings for green buildings in Singapore. For example, buildings, such as the National Library Building, Environment Building and Health Promotion Board Building, have all achieved Green Mark Platinum status.
To strengthen public sector's commitment to sustainability, we regularly review our standards. For example, now chiller plants in buildings have to achieve a higher energy efficiency level than previously and this has translated to roughly 15% reduction in the building's energy consumption.
MEWR, NEA and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) track Government agencies' progress under the PSTLES initiative and also provide the necessary assistance to help agencies achieve the environmental
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sustainability standards.
We will continue to refine our PSTLES framework to ensure that the public sector upholds our strong commitment to environmental sustainability.
Mdm Speaker, one supplementary question, please. Beyond green buildings and the points that have been mentioned, I would like to ask one question. There have been reports that paper that is commonly used in offices for photocopying and so on sometimes comes or is procured from or manufactured by companies that do not practise sustainable oil palm production. And in view of the fact that we are very concerned about transboundary haze, pollution and things like that, can there be at least greater vigilance and commitment towards this particular area of green procurement?
Thank you, Mdm Speaker. If the source of this supply could be made known to us, I think we could take a closer look at it.
PAPERCUTS