“We need to ensure a Singapore for our future generations. All of us have to work together, and make Singapore a bright green spark for the world…” – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
What is the Singapore Green Plan?
The Singapore Green Plan is an entire nation movement to advance Singapore’s agenda on sustainable development with concrete targets over the next ten years (SG Green Plan, 2021). Furthermore, the Green Targets aim to strengthen Singapore’s commitment towards the UN SDGs and Paris Agreement (Channel News Asia, 2021).
What are some of the targets?
Some examples of the targets for the Singapore Green Plan, include:
-Economy:
- Seek green growth to create new jobs, transform industries, and harness sustainability as a competitive advantage
- Create business and job opportunities in sectors such as green finance, sustainability consultancy, verification, credits trading, and risk management
- Be a leading centre for Green Finance in Asia and globally
- Anchor new investments and grow local businesses to ride the green wave
-Society:
- Plant 1 million trees, to sequester 78,000 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide which improves the quality of air and having cooler shade
- Allot 50% more land – around 200 hectares, for nature parks. Every household will live within a 10-minute walk of a park
- Raising awareness and building a culture of sustainability in the public service sector
- Embed sustainability education within the curriculum for students to start taking action
-Environment:
- Quadruple solar energy deployment by 2025, including covering the roof-tops of HDB blocks with solar panels
- Invest in water research and development, to half the energy required to produce desalinated water
- Reduce landfill sent waste by the amount per capita per day is 20% by 2026, intending to reach 30% by 2030 – e.g. redistributing food that is safe to eat
- Adopting electric cars
- Repurposing roads and implementing pedestrianisation to encourage more walking, cycling and active mobility
“There must be a better way to make the things we want, a way that doesn’t spoil the sky, or the rain or the land…” – Paul McCartney
Coco Veda’s commitment towards the 5 pillars
The Singapore Green Plan comprises five pillars: City in Nature, Sustainable Living, Energy Reset, Green Economy and Resilient Future (Ministry of National Development Singapore, 2021).
As a Sustainable Singapore Social Enterprise, Coco Veda’s commitment towards the 5 pillars are outlined below:
- City in Nature:
Sustainability education is a core pillar within our brand. We aim to encourage every household within Singapore and internationally to understand the health and wellness benefits by embedding our products within their lifestyles. Furthermore, the environmental benefits and giving back to communities is a no-brainer.
- Sustainable Living:
To showcase our efforts in achieving the circular economy, Coco Veda created a 5R’s Philosophy – Reduce, Reuse, Refill, Recycle and Rethink. As a result of this, over 60% of our product packaging is in glass, and therefore the remaining is Reusable, Refillable, and Recyclable plastic. Since all of Coco Veda’s products are pure, concentrated, and long-lasting, this minimizes packaging consumption by over 50% against the industry benchmarks.
- Energy Reset:
Coco Veda’s operations facility utilises minimal energy due to no machinery. All our sustainable products are handmade by Women Communities who we empower and upskill.
- Green Economy:
In the last two months Coco Veda has recruited 16 youth from across the globe to provide them with education, practical exposure, growth and business opportunities. Instilling sustainability values for the next generation of future leaders is a strong mission for our Co-CEO Simarna Singh. Simarna believes that if we do not invest in our next generation, it is impossible to achieve the UN SDGs Agenda, and it is why she believes youth need opportunities to take action now.
- Resilient Future:
We believe that collectively every step and action will lead towards a resilient future. Within Coco Veda, we have eliminated water from our entire manufacturing process, firsty to conserve a scarce resource and secondly, to reduce carbon footprint in logistics, by creating long-lasting products.
“No one is too small to make a difference…” – Simarna Singh, Co-CEO of Coco Veda Singapore Pte Ltd
Sustainable Impact requires Stakeholder Involvement
The Green Plan reinforces the importance of adopting a sustainable approach from an economy, society and environment standpoint whilst reinforcing commitment from stakeholders.
“No matter how complex global problems may seem, it is we-ourselves who have given rise to them. They cannot be beyond our power to resolve.” – Daisaku Ikeda
In order to execute a plan, we need to start today! We have taken the first step forward by raising awareness and showcasing our contribution. Do connect with us and share your passion, commitment and drive towards achieving Singapore’s Green Plan 2030.
