Khoo Tech Puat Hospital (KTPH) is the only hospital in Singapore to have pledged to heal the earth. They are one of the four hospitals in Southeast Asia to commit under a campaign by the United Nations to halve their emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero goals by 2050.
Health Care Without Harm is the campaign’s official partner and they announced that more than 50 healthcare institutions globally are part of the UN drive. The Singapore Government has plans to green its public sector by peaking its carbon emission by 2025, by installing solar panels at premises and introducing government vehicles with cleaner energy models.
Public hospitals are devising plans and sustainability measures to meet the GreenGov.SG targets. Currently, at KTPH, they have installed solar panels on their rooftops, producing 456 MWh of clean energy annually, which will translate to 184.2 tonnes of carbon footprint savings a year. This will contribute to 1% of energy needs for both KTPH and Yishun Community Hospital. KTPH also has plans to expand their solar power for Yishun Health’s facilities, such as powering street lights at the Yishun pond.
Other hospitals are ramping up their green sustainability plans and will be rolling out initiatives such as converting heat from chillers and setting up electric vehicle (EV) charging points. For instance, Changi General Hospital has deployed solar panels at their medical center and integrated buildings to generate 50 MWh of energy a year. It has enabled the hospital to lower its carbon emissions by 800 tonnes over 25 years. They plan to carry on their green efforts and install up to 14 EV charging points at their carparks to meet Singapore’s Green Plan 2030.
A Health Care Without Harm 2021 report shares that Singapore’s healthcare sector was one of the top carbon emitters globally. It states that 92% of the local healthcare sector’s climate footprint stems from electricity, gas, heating, cooling systems and waste treatment. One of the recommendations was to invest in net-zero emission facilities with electricity generated from renewable resources.
(Source: RapidTelecast)
