By Ken Hickson
A highlight of the Clean Enviro Summit (CESG), held in conjunction with Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 17-21 April was learning about the set-up of the Centre for Sustainability Excellence is being established in Singapore by the UK RSK Group.
Consolidating the expertise of over 130 environmental businesses, the RSK Centre for Sustainability Excellence will provide practical solutions for industries and governments from its new Singapore base.
“The world has woken up to the realities of climate change and biodiversity loss. It is imperative that we act now to mitigate and adapt to our changing planet. Through the Centre, we will deliver services that bring tangible change and upskill the next generation of sustainability leaders,” Alan Ryder, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, RSK Group told us at the launch of CESG.
The Centre for Sustainability Excellence is built around four core themes covering fundamental aspects of sustainable development and will also house the RSK Research Institute for Climate Strategy. The themes are: Climate and Sustainability Strategy; Renewable Energy; Digital Water and Sustainable Agriculture.
RSK has already started on sustainable agriculture. In Singapore, the potential offered by vertical farming to green the national economy and supply food by sustainable and resilient means is being realised.
Currently, Singapore is highly dependent on imports, procuring around 90% of its food needs from neighbouring countries and farther international markets. To overcome this, the government has introduced a 30 by 30 initiative to enhance food security and fulfil 30% of nutritional needs domestically by 2030.
RSK is gearing up to meet this challenge in Singapore and Southeast Asia.
We also meet and interviewed Lucy Thomas who will head the new Centre: “RSK is a well-established and trusted service provider across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and through the Centre for Sustainability Excellence we hope to bring this wealth of experience to the Asia Pacific region.
“Underpinned by real-world knowledge and the leading-edge climate research that will be delivered by the RSK Research Institute for Climate Strategy, the Centre will help businesses move at pace towards a more sustainable future.”
There will be much more to report from our conversation with Lucy Thomas and there’s more coming up on the RSH Centre for Sustainability.
Here’s a little more from RSK on their notable presence at CESG and SIWW.