Speech by 2M Indranee Rajah at BCA Awards Ceremony 2024

Sep 6, 2024

Distinguished guests

Friends and partners from the Built Environment sector

Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be here with you today. Let me start by congratulating all award finalists and winners.

Today’s awards celebrate the achievements of our BE sector, including the Project of the Year Award which recognises transformation in building projects and the inaugural Company of the Year Award, an accolade for companies at the forefront of business and workforce transformation.

Today, I would like to speak on two important areas.

Strengthening environmental sustainability; and Fostering a dynamic, progressive and attractive BE sector.

Strengthening Environmental Sustainability

First, environmental sustainability. Singapore has stated our ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Given the nexus between the built environment and carbon emissions, the BE sector is key to realising Singapore’s net-zero goals.

In support of our national decarbonisation efforts, the Buildings sector has committed to achieving three targets, or “80-80-80 in 2030”, under the Singapore Green Building Masterplan.

The first target is to green 80% of buildings by Gross Floor Area by 2030;

The second is for 80% of new developments by Gross Floor Area to meet Super Low Energy standards from 2030; and

The third is for best-in-class green buildings to achieve 80% improvement in energy efficiency from 2005 levels by 2030.

The Government is committed to supporting the sector’s sustainability efforts, towards achieving these targets. 

First, we are launching a consultancy study tender entitled the Design Prototyping for Decarbonisation Challenge, or DPfD challenge.

Today, the best-in-class green buildings can achieve 72% energy efficiency improvement from 2005 levels.

The challenge is, how can we do better than this? The DPfD seeks to identify new pathways that can deliver on our target of 80% energy efficiency improvement, through advanced energy modelling and simulation.

This challenge is now open.

I encourage interested firms to participate actively and push the boundaries of our sustainability efforts.

The insights gained will be shared with the industry to chart the way forward.

Second, I am pleased to share updates on the Energy Efficiency Grant, or EEG, for the construction industry.

At Budget 2024, then-DPM Lawrence Wong announced that the EEG would be extended to the construction industry.

The grant will provide up to 70% co-funding support to construction firms for energy-efficient construction equipment.

Since then, our agencies have been consulting industry stakeholders and experts to identify key construction equipment that would be most impactful to greening the construction process.

Some examples include eligible Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), electric excavators, wheel loaders and crawler cranes that are more energy-efficient than their diesel equivalents.

Interested construction firms may apply for the EEG on the Business Grants Portal from the end of this year.

To realise Singapore’s net-zero goals, we will need the collective efforts of everyone from developers to building users.

I am glad that firms have started to take a value-chain approach to collectively advance the sustainability agenda.

Take for example, local developer City Developments Limited (CDL). 

Not only has CDL developed its roadmap to achieve net-zero emissions for its assets by 2030, it has also been bringing partners together to drive sustainability through various initiatives.

Under a Green Buildings Innovation Cluster demonstration project, CDL and its joint venture partner IOI Properties will partner local startups to pilot AI-enabled solutions to help the South Beach Tower Office building achieve 75% energy efficiency improvement from 2005 levels.

In addition, CDL has launched a new Green Tenant Bonus Programme that will provide its tenants with rebates for reducing energy consumption.

CDL also provides advisory support and best practices guidelines to help its tenants realise energy savings. 

I hope more firms and stakeholders will join our national effort to build a more sustainable Singapore for generations to come.

Fostering a Dynamic, Progressive and Attractive BE Sector

Next, I would like to talk about the need to foster a dynamic, progressive and attractive BE sector.

The BE sector has been an essential part of Singapore’s nation-building journey, building our homes, as well as world-class infrastructure for trade and commerce.

It has also put Singapore on the world map with iconic landmarks, such as Jewel Changi Airport and Gardens by the Bay. But we are not done building Singapore.

We have exciting plans for our future city. We are going to build a more sustainable, liveable and inclusive Singapore.

This includes the Long Island, Greater Southern Waterfront, Changi T5 and Kallang Alive! which PM Wong spoke about in his National Day Rally.

In order to achieve our building aspirations, we will need a strong and dynamic BE sector.

In particular, we will need a thriving community of BE professionals – architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and more.

I will refer to these collectively as the Professions. 

While the Professions have done well to date, we understand that there are issues and challenges that need to be tackled.

These include: Talent attraction and retention.

With many other competing courses and disciplines, the challenge is to ensure that individuals with the right talent and aptitude continue to enrol for BE related disciplines like architecture and engineering.

There is also the issue of attrition after they enter the sector. Viability of current business models and practices. What was fit for purpose in past decades may not work as well in today’s environment. How to adapt to the continuous need for change driven by innovation and technology and ensuring recognition for the professions and promote more collaborative relationships among all stakeholders in the BE sector.

Your feedback to us has not gone unheard and has been taken seriously. 

This is why we have set up the Taskforce which will look into these and other issues confronting the Professions, as announced by Minister Desmond Lee on 4^th  September 2024. 

The Taskforce is co-chaired by Mr Chaly Mah, Chairman of Surbana Jurong Group and myself.

Let me outline the key areas the Taskforce will be looking at.

First, we need to make the BE sector a career of choice.

The BE sector must be able to recruit and retain its fair share of the best and brightest talents. Think of it this way: the structural safety, integrity and design of our buildings and structures are determined by the Professions.

Our lives are quite literally in your hands. The aesthetics of our built environment, and how it is designed affects how we live, how we work and how we play. It can affect our mental and physical health, and impacts our lives in innumerable ways. Why would we not want the very best to do this?

Hence, the Taskforce will examine the issues which may currently be hindering good talent from joining or staying in the Professions. And explore strategies to attract a strong pipeline of talents for them. Second, the Taskforce will look at the need to evolve existing business models to improve profitability and capture growth opportunities.

As a general rule, competition in an open economy is good. But there is a difference between healthy competition and unhealthy competition. Competition based on quality and value is good. Fee diving at the expense of quality and sustainability is not. We will examine how to foster healthy competition while maintaining high standards of quality and value-add to clients.

Collectively, the sector needs to encourage our firms to develop differentiated offerings and value-added services that meet clients’ demands. This would require firms to sharpen their value propositions and rethink their business strategies. It would also require service buyers to engage competent firms and pay them right. Third, we will look at how to grow a dynamic and progressive BE sector.

Innovation and technological advancements are rapidly transforming the way we plan, design, build and operate. Our BE professionals and firms need to harness technologies and upskill themselves to thrive in a constantly evolving sector.

To this end, the Taskforce will look at ways to transform the BE workforce and workplaces for the future. 

We will consider:

How to effectively encourage firms build deep enterprise capabilities,  leverage technology and support employees to upskill.

How our Institutes of Higher Learning, or IHLs, can partner the industry to ensure that their curriculum equips the workforce with industry-relevant and future-ready skills.

How the sector can hasten the adoption of progressive workplace practices to meet the changing needs of our workforce.

Finally, we need to better recognise our BE consultants as professionals that play critical roles in the BE value chain.

Through their professional expertise and creativity, BE consultants give life to clients’ vision and requirements, translating them into practical and buildable plans and solutions.

Oftentimes, BE consultants act on the behalf of their clients to interface with builders, regulatory agencies and various project stakeholders to deliver buildings that are safe, of high quality and meet users’ requirements.

We also increasingly rely on the professional skill and expertise of our BE consultants to deliver ever more sophisticated designs, more sustainable features and more value-added solutions.

The value of the work done by the Professions needs to be recognised and acted upon. We will consider how to promote more collaborative relationships among all parties along the value chain. So, as you can see, we have our work cut out for us. The work of the Taskforce is by no means an easy undertaking. However, we think that it is a worthwhile endeavour, Because at the end of the day, what is at stake is the future of the Professions;

And consequently, of the BE sector as a whole. 

I am grateful to all the individuals who have stepped up and agreed to be members of the Taskforce. They come from a wide range of entities and disciplines. But this work cannot be the work of the Taskforce alone. This is your sector. These are your consultants. And these are your Professions. So if you have thoughts and ideas of how to make things better, how to address the issues identified; Or if you think there are issues we have not yet identified; And most importantly, if you have solutions; Please feel free to channel them to the Taskforce through BCA, your TACs or the Taskforce members. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, let me say that the Government wants to work with you to foster a more dynamic, progressive and attractive BE sector.

The Government has your back. But if this is to succeed, you must also have each other’s backs. And we must all work together. So, let’s do it.

Thank you very much.