In an unusual  Last Word we take the step this issue to focus on energy efficiency and here we cover the first day of the National Energy Efficiency Conference in Singapore and feature four outstanding leaders in the business of managing energy. Read More

Singapore, 9 October 2013 – 10 companies, six public agencies and two individuals were recognised earlier today for their commitment to and achievements in energy efficiency at the Energy Efficiency National Partnership (EENP) Awards 2013 – the highest number of award recipients recorded since the inaugural launch of EENP Awards in 2011. (Refer to Annex A for information on the various EENP Awards)

2 The distinguished award recipients received the EENP Awards 2013 from Guest-of-Honour Ms Grace Fu, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the opening of the National Energy Efficiency Conference (NEEC) 2013 on 9 October 2013. The winners this year come from a wide range of industries, including wafer fabrication, food manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and energy transformation, and have all achieved significant energy savings by investing in energy efficiency and management.

3 “Over the years, Singapore-based companies are increasingly recognising the need to manage their energy costs just as they manage their manpower and other operating costs. The increase in the number of EENP Awards recipients this year reflects companies’ efforts in achieving good energy management and better energy efficiency. We hope that participants in NEEC 2013 will gain from the presentations and discussions on energy management solutions and best practices, which will benefit their organisations”, said Mr Ronnie Tay, Chief Executive of the National Environment Agency (NEA).

4 Organised by the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Economic Development Board and the Energy Market Authority, the EENP Awards aim to foster a culture of sustained energy efficiency improvements in the industry and public sectors. The three award categories are: (1) Excellence in Energy Management, (2) Best Practices and (3) Outstanding Managers of the Year. Selected public agencies are also recognised at the ceremony and conferred with Commendation for Best Energy Efficiency Practices in the Public Sector.

5 Among the 18 recipients are Asia Pacific Breweries (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Eastman Chemical Singapore Pte Ltd, GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore Pte Ltd and Nestlé Singapore Pte Ltd. (Refer to Annex B for the full list of winners and synopses of their achievement)

National Energy Efficiency Conference (NEEC) 2013

6 Running in its third year, the conference theme is on “Sustaining the Energy Efficiency Drive” and will bring together over 30 renowned energy efficiency experts and industry energy professionals to share best practices, case studies, technologies and standards on energy efficiency and energy management. (For the full list of speakers and moderators, visit http://www.neec2013.sg/speakers_and_moderators.jsp)

NEA Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Institution of Engineers, Singapore

7 The NEEC 2013 opening ceremony also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NEA and the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES). This partnership will see NEA and IES partnering to form and co-chair the Singapore Certified Energy Manager Steering Committee (SCEM-SC), in a move to effectively administer the various aspects of training and qualification of the Singapore Certified Energy Manager (SCEM). The SCEM-SC comprises members of the public sector, such as the Economic Development Board and the Building & Construction Authority, non-governmental organisations such as Singapore Manufacturing Federation, Singapore Chemical Industrial Council, Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.

8 Professor Chou Siaw Kiang, IES’ President said of the partnership: “As NEA continues its drive towards greater energy efficiency in Singapore, it is important to develop a pool of trained energy managers who can support the government’s efforts. We are pleased to have the opportunity to partner NEA on this matter and help install a robust training and certification framework. This will help ensure that energy managers are equipped with the professional knowhow required to undertake statutory obligations under the Energy Conservation Act and energy efficiency innovations in their companies.”

9 Mandatory energy management requirements under the Energy Conservation Act (ECA) came into force on 22 April 2013. Under the ECA, registered corporations[1] must appoint at least one energy manager from among its employees who holds an SCEM (professional level) certificate by 1 April 2014.

10 The NEEC will be held from 9 to 10 October 2013 and about 300 participants are expected to attend.

Energy Efficiency National Partnership Award 2013 Recipients

Award Recipients in the Category of “Excellence in Energy Management”

This award recognises companies that have demonstrated a high level of commitment to excellence in energy management. The four award recipients under this category are:

 Asia Pacific Breweries (Singapore) Pte Ltd

 Eastman Chemical Singapore Pte Ltd

 GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore Pte Ltd

 Nestlé Singapore Pte Ltd (Jurong Factory)

1. Award Category: Excellence in Energy Management This recognises companies that have demonstrated their commitment to excellence in energy management.

Asia Pacific Breweries (Singapore) Pte Ltd

In 2002, Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) Limited and its breweries embarked on an energy efficiency programme, “Aware of Energy”, which aims to reduce specific energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. To establish APB Singapore as a “Green Brewer”, a target was set for 2014 to reduce thermal energy and electricity by 13%. Current initiatives ensure continuous and thorough process optimisation and waste reduction. Some of the training capabilities APB has implemented include: participation in the Sustainability Academy where employees can learn more about “Brewing a Better Future”, dedication of a pool of energy champions to drive energy saving initiatives and participation in the regional Energy Champion Workshop to build new knowledge and promote sharing.

APB’s “Energy Saving Programme” (ESP) was launched in 2009, and three objectives were set. These objectives are achieved through ongoing collection and exchanges of Good Practices, internal and external bench-marking and implementations of improvements driven by TPM (Total Production Management) deployment. In all, this is part of APB’s mission towards achieving excellent energy management.

Eastman Chemical Singapore Pte Ltd

Eastman Chemical has an energy policy implemented which continuously improves energy efficiency and minimise overall energy impact while contributing to regulatory compliance. Eastman Chemical also has short-term to medium-term goals for energy saving in place. In addition, Eastman Chemical has several Training & Capability Building implementations, including an Energy Management and Conservation (ENMCON) energy team, comprising members from different departments to support the overall management of energy in the business. Eastman has also developed a strong energy efficiency culture among its employees through various initiatives such as organising energy efficiency awareness training for all employees and encouraging employees to make a pledge to make a small change in the workplace or at home to save energy. Evidence of the strong EE culture in Eastman can be seen from the high participation rate among Eastman employees for the energy pledge.

Since the start of operations 15 years ago, Eastman Chemical has embarked on several energy efficiency (EE) improvement projects to achieve sustained energy performance. These EE Improvement Projects are consistently implemented to help reduce the overall energy-to-product ratio.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore Pte Ltd

GLOBALFOUNDRIES seeks to continuously improve the energy efficiency of itsmanufacturing operations. This process is driven by a cross-functional energy management team which focuses on improving loads optimisation and converting low energy efficiency to high energy efficiency system across all fabs in Singapore. Implemented in 2010, the team’s goal is to achieve a 15% energy reduction across GLOBALFOUNDRIES in Singapore by 2013.

Regarding longer-term training and capability building, GLOBALFOUNDRIES has engaged a consultant to conduct workshops on energy efficiency improvement and this is open to all energy management team members. In addition there is a high level of employee engagement to increase the level of EE awareness in the company. For example, EE achievements are shared with all employees through the company newsletter. Further, they have also implemented several key energy improvement projects and savings such as the retrofitting of conventional lighting to LED and the optimisation of facilities infrastructure system to reduce utilities supply to production tools and processes.

Nestlé Singapore Pte Ltd

The energy policy at Nestlé is to continuously improve environmental efficiency. Nestlé aims to use the most efficient technologies and apply best practices to further optimise energy use, and control and eliminate emissions. Although Nestlé’s target is to achieve energy savings of 2% year-on-year, they have been consistently achieving energy savings of more than 5% for the past 3 years. To create an energy saving culture, the Nestlé Jurong factory designed and implemented a 10 point-plan for education, training and capability building. In addition they have various energy saving projects and an Energy Task Force (ETF), who is responsible for identifying and implementing energy saving projects, as well as managing and sustaining energy savings in the company to achieve and exceed their target.

The Malt extract plant at Nestlé Jurong factory is the best-in-class in terms of energy usage (i.e. lowest in production cost and energy consumption). The Nestlé Jurong factory is also the best performer among the Singapore and Malaysia factories, in terms of energy saving projects.

Source: www.nea.gov.sg