DPM Heng Swee Keat at the Clean and Green Singapore Day 2023

Minister Grace Fu,

Senior Ministers of State Dr Amy Khor, Dr Koh Poh Koon and Tan Kiat How, 

Mayor Mohd Fahmi Aliman,

Grassroots Advisers for Marine Parade, and East Coast GRCs,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning and welcome to Clean & Green Singapore Day 2023! This year’s event is being held in conjunction with the East Coast Green Festival and hosted here at the site of Greenspace+. My fellow East Coast Grassroots Advisers and I are delighted to welcome all of you here. Last year, I announced Greenspace+ as a new “green hub”, under the East Coast Green Pillar, to enable residents to get involved in developing new green and eco-solutions. Since we launched the East Coast Green Pillar in November 2020, our community has come together to mobilise greater action for the environment. Different groups of residents, together with corporate and community partners, have collaborated on tree-planting, beach and coastal cleanups and other initiatives. By working together to keep our community spaces clean and green, we have also strengthened our vision for East Coast to be a caring, vibrant and green community. Once operational in 2024, I am confident that Greenspace+ will add even more vibrancy to East Coast and catalyse many new and exciting green ideas for Singapore.

Clean and Green 

Today, Singapore is known as one of the cleanest and greenest cities in the world. But our beloved “City in Nature” did not come about by chance. The cleanliness and greenery we enjoy in Singapore today is borne out of the convictions of our founding leaders, especially Mr Lee Kuan Yew. As we celebrate Mr Lee’s 100th birth anniversary this year, I am reminded that a clean and green Singapore is one of his most enduring legacies.

As our “Chief Gardener”, Mr Lee launched our first nationwide greening campaign in 1963 by planting a Mempat tree at Farrer Circus. We have come a long way since. 2023 marks 60 years of greening Singapore. And we will continue to plant more. In 2020, NParks launched the OneMillionTrees movement to plant one million more trees in Singapore by 2030. Over 600,000 trees have been planted in the 3 years since, including more than 120,000 trees planted this year so far. We  expect to hit our target of planting one million more trees by 2027, ahead of schedule!

Just this morning, we planted several trees. This is now more than just an annual tradition. The vision of our founding fathers is now shared by many Singaporeans who embrace nature and our environment. COVID-19 reminded us why these values are important. Many people took to parks and nature reserves to stay active. Maintaining public hygiene limited the spread of the virus. Planting a tree is therefore more than just a standalone action. It represents how we act on our values, and how we exercise our responsibilities towards one another as members of the Singapore family. In fact, there is a well-known Chinese saying “前人种树，后人乘凉”. It means that our descendants will enjoy the shade provided by the trees planted by our forefathers. In other words,  long-term thinking of what we can leave behind for future generations. 

The values that our society embraces are also reflected in the priorities of Government. Two years ago, we launched the Singapore Green Plan 2030 as a roadmap to build a greener, more sustainable future. Besides planting one million more trees, we are also pushing for more electric vehicles on the roads and generating enough solar energy to power 350,000 households. And much more. We are also looking to provide more opportunities for our people to make the most of our green spaces. So, I am pleased to announce that you can now sign up for therapeutic horticulture programmes at three newly opened therapeutic gardens – in East Coast Park, Sun Plaza Park and Sembawang Park. This will allow you to experience the health and wellness benefits that therapeutic gardens can bring. The emphasis of environment is also part of our refreshed social compact, as reflected in the recently-released ForwardSG report. Government will do its part, and each of us can also do more.

How then do we put our values into action to create a cleaner and greener Singapore? Let me suggest 3 “A”s for how we can keep Singapore Clean and Green for many years to come. They are: Act, Amplify, and Appreciate. 

First, Act, or more precisely, take action to show that you care for the environment. Minister Grace Fu and her MSE colleagues mentioned some of these in the video screened earlier. As individuals, there is much more we can do to keep Singapore clean and green. We can plant more trees like we did today and tend to green spaces around us. We can return our trays at hawker centres and keep the table clean for the next person. We can bag our groceries using a reusable bag and buy only what we need to reduce waste. We can recycle what we have used, and the Bloobox that was distributed earlier this year is most handy for setting up a home recycling corner. Each of these actions may seem small. But if each and every one of us do it consistently day after day, the collective impact will be huge. 

I am most encouraged to see growing levels of youth interest in sustainability, as we pass on the values of clean and green to the next generation. At an event earlier this week, I met teams of university students working on innovative sustainability ideas and solutions, such as using probiotics to reduce water, chemical and plastic waste. Such enthusiasm and drive for sustainability among our young should be encouraged, and we are doing more to support this. Here in East Coast, we have launched Eco Heroes @ East Coast, a 4-month long programme for children below 12 years old that will teach about energy conservation in their own homes while empowering them with financial literacy. We are also launching Munch Bunch, a programme to inspire young residents and their parents in East Coast to embrace healthier and more sustainable eating through locally-sourced vegetables. As I was walking in earlier, two groups of people came up to speak to me. One was a group of Siglap residents who told me about the pots of edibles that they were growing as Mayor Fahmi mentioned. Another was a young lady who participated in one of our flower-pressing workshops, she showed me what she and her mum did. All very lovely artwork, turning green into art.

Second, Amplify. We must encourage and amplify catalysts for change in our communities. As many of you know, Singapore works with many international partners around the world to advance a greener and more sustainable future. As a small city-state, we can do our part to tackle global climate change. But by collaborating with others and supporting collective efforts, we can move the needle and achieve so much more. In fact, Minister Grace Fu will be going for COP-28 and co-facilitating very important Ministerial consultations on climate mitigation I wish her success at COP-28. Similarly, in sustaining a clean and green Singapore, each of us can do our part. But if we can mobilise others to also do their part, we can achieve much more. Government will take the lead to develop opportunities for interested individuals to co-create with others. For example, the Green Action for Communities (GAC) movement established last year, aims to foster active, green citizenry across estates. To date, over 200 community projects have been proposed and more than half of them are being implemented across the 93 GAC groups formed. You will see some of these projects on showcase today, focusing on areas such as waste reduction, community greening and gardening.  

In addition, we see more than 1,900 community gardens across the island. These help promote a gardening culture in Singapore, in partnership between NParks and community volunteers. They also help to foster strong community bonds and good neighbourliness. Today, we are giving out eight Community in Bloom Ambassador Awards to exceptional garden volunteers who actively promote the love for gardening amongst their community.

Here in East Coast, the East Coast Green Ambassadors Programme has also trained close to 300 residents to help drive environmental sustainability and long-term behavioural change. These Green Ambassadors do so by helping to refresh community gardens, facilitate estate and coastal clean ups, and organise farm tours. Many of them are also initiating and leading projects with Community Centres, including green workshops. Minister Desmond Lee and I had launched the Green Corridor between Changi Beach and East Coast Beach. There will be more community gardens there and you are all welcome to join us 

Third, Appreciate. Cleanliness and greenery do not come naturally. Many workers toil behind the scenes to keep Singapore clean and green. Let us take this occasion to appreciate them for their contributions.Today, we are recognising exemplary employees from the cleaning, waste management, and pest management sectors with 27 Environmental Services Star Awards. We also recognise the efforts of the cleaning industry, which recently developed a new Singapore Standard on “Measurement of Cleaning Performance for Commercial, Residential Estates and Retail F&B Premises”, with support from the government. This standard will help cleaning companies to better manage and measure their cleaning outcomes with the use of technology and innovation, thus, improving productivity and cleanliness standards across various premises types.

Beyond today, appreciating our Environmental Services workforce also means helping them future-proof and stay resilient in the face of rapid technological changes. This refreshed Industry Transformation Map 2025 explores new areas of opportunity and growth in the sustainability space. It also includes a new Resilience pillar to prepare the industry to adjust to potential disruptors and leverage emerging trends. 

With passionate individuals, motivated communities, and an uplifted workforce, we lay a good foundation to ensure a clean and green Singapore that everyone will be proud of. 

Conclusion

In closing, a Clean and Green Singapore is more than just a slogan, but a journey and a movement that we’ve embarked on. As a society, we have come to embrace nature and our environment. By putting our values into action through our individual actions, amplifying the catalysts for change, and appreciating those who work hard behind the scenes, we can collectively build a cleaner and greener Singapore and uphold the legacy that Mr Lee Kuan Yew and our founding generation started 60 years ago.

Thank you.

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