Singapore EXPO, the country’s largest purpose-built MICE facility, is taking firm strides towards achieving Net Zero by 2024 with the largest single-site solar rooftop installation in Singapore, as well as the development of the largest electric vehicle charging hub in the eastern part of Singapore. The projects are a significant boost to the venue’s sustainability infrastructure and will enable it to become Asia’s first MICE venue running on clean energy. Singapore EXPO is managed by Constellar.
With over 17,000 photovoltaic panels installed on the rooftops of 10 exhibition halls and convention wing, Singapore EXPO would be the country’s largest single-site solar panel installation at a total estimated size of about 6.5 football fields. In a Singaporean context, the energy generated from these panels can power 4,000 units of HDB 3-room flats (at 68 square metres per flat) for a year. The installation is expected to be completed in October 2023 and once completed, it will replace conventional energy consumption at Singapore EXPO with renewable energy.
As events and communities return to Singapore EXPO, the venue is also enabling a more sustainable way to travel. Shell will be installing 20 Shell Recharge electric vehicle charging points at Singapore EXPO’s carparks, making this the largest charging hub in the eastern part of Singapore. 20 drivers can charge at any single point of time while attending events or enjoying the F&B offerings at Singapore EXPO. Sustainability has been a continuous journey for Singapore EXPO since 2012 when its meetings and convention wing became the first MICE venue in Singapore to receive the BCA Green Mark Platinum Award. It has accelerated its efforts in the past year as sustainability considerations from travel, meeting and event professionals have grown in importance towards their selection of service providers including venues.
Last year Constellar pledged its commitment to the ‘Net Zero Carbon Events” initiative by the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) and also joined the Global MICE Sustainability Alliance to explore solutions for green events, develop relevant MICE sustainability standards and accelerate adoption of green practices. As part of the Alliance’s efforts, Constellar will also be piloting waste measurement methodologies at BuildTech Asia, a Constellar event, from 28-30 March 2023, as well as Food & Hotel Asia 2024. Both events will be held at Singapore EXPO
Mr Chua Wee Phong, Chief Executive (Venues), Constellar, said: “We are proud to support Singapore’s vision to become Asia Pacific’s leading sustainable MICE destination by 2030. It’s important to invest in both our physical infrastructure as well as develop the necessary skillsets in our people in our journey to Net Zero, so that we can create a strong foundation to build, sustain and scale our sustainability initiatives. Education is a focus area this year as we learn and share about industry standards and reporting with our eco-system of communities including event organisers. We want to support them in their sustainability journey, and to create impact with scale.”
Doong Shiwen, General Manager of Shell Mobility Singapore, said, “We are glad to partner with Singapore Expo in their sustainability journey. We want to deliver more and cleaner energy solutions, and electric mobility is one of the solutions that can meet the growing demand for transport in a lower-carbon world. With the largest EV charging hub in the eastern part of Singapore, we are extending Shell Recharge to more customers and hope to encourage even more drivers to embrace EVs.”
