Singapore expands quality and standards development efforts to support businesses in green transition

30 October 2023

On 29 September 2023, Enterprise Singapore (“EnterpriseSG”) announced that, together with the Singapore Standards Council (“SSC”) and the Singapore Accreditation Council (“SAC”), it will be leading efforts to develop new international and national standards and accreditation programmes for greenhouse gas reporting, decarbonisation, and renewable energy in the next two to three years. These efforts aim to support businesses in the transition towards more sustainable practices and to access new opportunities in the green economy.

Upcoming local and international programmes supporting sustainability

Set out below are some examples of what businesses can look forward to in 2024 and 2025 as Singapore aims to develop and roll out standards and accreditation programmes to support local companies in their sustainability journey:

• EnterpriseSG and SSC are leading the development of an International Electrotechnical Commission (“IEC”) standard on the design guidelines and recommendations for floating photovoltaic power plants. This new international standard is expected to be available by the end of 2024.
• Targeted for completion by mid-2024, a new IEC standard on electrical energy storage (EES) systems will be adopted locally to support the integration of power intensive and renewable energy sources. The standard can help businesses optimise the storage of power intensive energy sources and integrate renewable energy sources such as solar power into the grid.
• A series of IEC standards on smart grids will be adopted locally by 2024 to support the integration of digital technologies related to sustainable energy management systems into smart grids, to improve their security, efficiency, and interoperable deployment. The new standards will also support the integration of renewable energies distributed within Singapore’s smart grid network.
• Expected to be developed by 2025, there will be new standards to assist the decarbonisation and net zero emission targets of harbourcrafts operating in Singapore.
• A methanol and ammonia bunkering standard is planned for 2025, covering refuelling, and operational and safety requirements for the delivery of methanol and ammonia, and guiding the local maritime industry in their transition to sustainable alternative fuels.
• To support companies in their trial of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and the associated refuelling operations and infrastructure development, a new standard on hydrogen refuelling to guide the transportation of hydrogen and operational and safety requirements of refuelling stations is planned for 2025.

Set to be ready by end-2023, there will be the Clean and Green Urban Farms accreditation programme for aquaculture farms to adopt a sustainable and quality assured system in food production. Further, SAC plans to expand Singapore’s international mutual recognition arrangements in areas such as greenhouse gas validation and verification for the International Civil Aviation Organisation - Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (ICAO-CORSIA).

These upcoming developments on the global and local fronts are part of ongoing efforts to identify and address Singapore’s needs for sustainability standards and certification, under the key pillars of SG Green Plan 2030. To help defray some of the costs associated with transiting to more sustainable practices, EnterpriseSG also supports companies with the adoption of sustainability-related standards under the Enterprise Sustainability Programme.

Reference materials

The media factsheet is available on the EnterpriseSG website www.enterprisesg.gov.sg.