Change the Present, Save the Future – An Exhibition on Building Climate Resilience through Global Collaboration
- Jointly organised by City Developments Limited and the National Parks Board, this exhibition reinforces collaborative efforts between private and public sectors in support of the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment’s (MSE) Climate Action Week 2021 and the Singapore Green Plan 2030
- Net zero-certified exhibition leverages energy-efficient fittings, on-site solar generation and off-site renewable energy
- Panel discussion on “Building a Sustainable Future – Collaboration Beyond Borders and Sectors”, serves as a clarion call for everyone to do their part and contribute to climate action
Singapore, 14 July 2021 – City Developments Limited (CDL) and the National Parks Board (NParks) have today launched an exhibition themed “Change the Present, Save the Future” on building climate resilience through global collaboration. Running from 15 July 2021 to March 2022 at the net-zero CDL Green Gallery located in the Singapore Botanic Gardens[1], the exhibition is held in support of MSE’s Climate Action Week 2021 and amplifies the call for action to support both global and national climate efforts. The exhibition will also showcase the transformation of Singapore into a City in Nature, a key strategy in mitigating the effects of climate change while also creating a more sustainable, liveable and beautiful city.
Officially launched by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment of Singapore, the opening ceremony was accompanied by a high-level panel discussion on the topic “Building a Sustainable Future – Collaboration Beyond Borders and Sectors”. Minister Grace Fu, who shared further details on the Singapore Green Plan 2030, was joined by distinguished panellists Ms Lynn McDonald, High Commissioner of Canada to Singapore; Mr R Raghunathan, World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore Chief Executive Officer; and Mr Max Loh, Singapore and Brunei Managing Partner, EY ASEAN IPO Leader, Ernst & Young. Ms Esther An, CDL Chief Sustainability Officer was the moderator for the panel discussion.
The Singapore Green Plan 2030 is a nationwide sustainable development agenda launched in February this year. One of the key pillars of this plan is transforming Singapore into a City in Nature, where nature pervades our urban landscape. This includes the setting aside of 1,000 hectares of green spaces in the next 15 years to expand Singapore’s natural capital, as well as the extension of the Park Connector Network and other recreational routes to provide Singaporeans with more opportunities to immerse themselves in greenery and explore nature throughout the island. These efforts will also help to enhance ecological connectivity between Singapore’s natural habitats, strengthening our climate resilience and helping to build up our carbon sinks.
Exhibition: Change the Present, Save the Future
Leveraging contactless interactive displays, the exhibition takes visitors across four zones:
- Building Climate Resilience Through Global Collaboration – highlighting global goals and actions
- Building A City in Nature – spotlighting NParks’ extensive greening efforts and community engagement in Singapore
- Advancing A Low-Carbon and Resilient Built Environment – featuring CDL’s green buildings, low-carbon operations, sustainable innovation and technology initiatives
- Global Action Beyond Borders and Sectors – showcasing CDL’s community engagements as well as a collage of quotes by prominent leaders across the public, private and people sectors, as well as the international community, to reinforce the exhibition’s message on climate urgency (please refer to Annex A for visuals and details).
In line with the thematic focus on climate action, the exhibition is net zero-certified. The energy required for running the exhibition and its energy-efficient multimedia fixtures is offset by on-site solar generation and off-site renewable energy. The exhibition will feature activities in collaboration with global and local partners in climate action, including the World Green Building Council, Resilient Cities Network, C40 Cities, Asia Pacific Real Estate Association, SGInnovate and United Nations Global Compact Network Singapore.
To extend its outreach, a virtual exhibition has been made available on the CDL Sustainability website (https://cdlsustainability.com/) to allow overseas visitors to tour the exhibition online. As part of MSE’s Climate Action Week, CDL will also be holding a virtual Youth4Climate Concert on Sunday, 18 July 2021, which will feature youths creatively expressing their passion for the environment through the performing arts, driving awareness and accelerating climate action amongst the community at large. The concert will be made available on CDL’s YouTube channel and Sustainability website.
Mr Sherman Kwek, Group Chief Executive Officer of CDL, said: “Together with our longstanding partner NParks, we are pleased to stage an exhibition on climate action, which emphasises active collaboration across borders and sectors. This net zero-certified exhibition, which covers a diverse range of key sustainability issues and transformative climate efforts, illustrates our common vision of greening Singapore into a City in Nature. Scientists have said that carbon emissions must fall by 7.6% annually to achieve the 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature rise cap[2] by 2030. Last year, even when the world almost came to a complete halt, emissions reduction only decreased by a mere 7%. We hope that visitors will heed the call to action and join the global effort in protecting our planet and creating a more sustainable future. With greater awareness, stronger action and more collaboration, we can indeed Change the Present and Save the Future together.”
Professor Leo Tan, Chairman of the Garden City Fund, NParks’ charity arm and IPC, said: “Singapore, as a small island city-state, is vulnerable to the impacts of global climate change and its associated extreme weather events. While NParks has been working to intensify greening and transform Singapore into a City in Nature, a key pillar in the Green Plan to mitigate the effects of climate change, we will also require the concerted and sustained support of the community and partners in this greening journey. The ‘Change the Present, Save the Future’ exhibition underscores the importance of this collective action – within Singapore and on a global scale – to tackle climate change, and illustrates how people can step forward and contribute to this shared future. We would like to thank CDL for initiating this timely exhibition and taking the lead to help our natural heritage.”
Before heading down to the Gardens to view the exhibition, the public can check the Safe Distance @ Parks portal (safedistparks.nparks.gov.sg) for the latest updates on visitorship levels. They can also refer to the NParks website for the latest advisories for gardens, parks and nature reserves in response to the COVID-19 situation.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Ry-Anne Lim (Ms)
Manager, Communications
National Parks Board
Tel: 8218 0357
Email: [email protected]
Dominic Seow (Mr)
Manager, Corporate Communications
City Developments Limited
Tel: 6877 8369
Email: [email protected]
About City Developments Limited
City Developments Limited (CDL) has been Singapore’s property pioneer since 1963. It is a leading global real estate operating company with a network spanning 112 locations in 29 countries and regions. Listed on the Singapore Exchange, the Group is one of the largest companies by market capitalisation. Its income-stable and geographically diverse portfolio comprises residences, offices, hotels, serviced apartments, integrated developments and shopping malls. As a socially responsible corporation, CDL is fully committed to environmental sustainability and has been initiating and supporting sustained outreach programmes to deliver a lasting and positive impact in the communities where it operates.
For more information on CDL, please visit www.cdl.com.sg.
For details on CDL’s sustainability journey, please visit www.digital.metafusion.com.sg/websites/2023/cdl
Follow CDL on social media:
Instagram: @citydevelopments / instagram.com/citydevelopments
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/citydevelopments
Twitter: @CityDevLtd / twitter.com/citydevltd
About the CDL Green Gallery
Developed and donated by CDL in 2013 in celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary, the 3,380 sq ft CDL Green Gallery @ SBG Heritage Museum is an eco-friendly building sited on Holttum Lawn in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It was conceptualised as an extension of the Heritage Museum and features botanical or green-related exhibits that are changed every six to nine months.
Designed to be sustainable right from the start, the project introduced two eco-features for the first time in Singapore: the use of Hempcrete, a bio-composite material; and a pre-fabricated modular system that reduced on-site construction time to under 24 hours. Rooftop solar panels harvest solar energy to generate an annual energy yield of over 31,000 kWh. This is greater than the gallery’s estimated annual energy consumption of about 30,000 kWh/year, making the CDL Green Gallery Singapore’s first purposefully built zero-energy Green Gallery.
Other eco-friendly features at the CDL Green Gallery @ SBG Heritage Museum include:
- Green walls. The east and west facades are clad with fauna-attracting plant species to enrich biodiversity.
- Green roof. Selected drought-resistant plant species help to lower the Urban Heat Island effect around the building.
- Energy-efficient interior fittings. The gallery is fitted with LED lights and energy-efficient air-conditioning systems.
About National Parks Board (NParks)
The National Parks Board (NParks) is responsible for enhancing and managing the urban ecosystems of our City in Nature. We are the lead agency for greenery, biodiversity conservation, and wildlife and animal health, welfare and management. We are also working closely with the community to enhance the quality of our living environment.
NParks manages more than 350 parks, 3,347 hectares of nature reserves, the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Jurong Lake Gardens, Pulau Ubin and the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park. Adding to this is the extensive network of Nature Ways, and the over 300 km Park Connector Network that links major parks, nature areas and residential estates island-wide. Every year, we run over 3,500 educational and outreach programmes across our various green spaces.
NParks has developed an urban biodiversity conservation model, which aims to conserve representative ecosystems in land-scarce Singapore. NParks also monitors and coordinates measures to enhance the presence of biodiversity in our urban landscape.
NParks is working closely with partners in the landscape, horticulture, veterinary and animal sectors to increase productivity, and provide training for all levels of the workforce. Enhancing competencies of the industry will support Singapore’s vision of being a City in Nature.
For more information, visit www.nparks.gov.sg and www.facebook.com/nparksbuzz.
About Singapore Botanic Gardens (SBG)
Established in 1859, the Singapore Botanic Gardens played an important historical role in the introduction and promotion of many plants of economic value to Southeast Asia, including the Para rubber tree. Over the years, the Gardens has continued to introduce and rejuvenate its horticultural attractions while continuing its mission of connecting plants and people.
Today, the 82-hectare Gardens is a key civic and community space, and an international tourist destination. Attracting an annual visitorship of more than 4.7 million, it is also an important institution for tropical botanical and horticultural research, education and conservation.
The Gardens showcases the best and most spectacular of tropical flora, including more than 10,000 types of plants and the region’s most significant living collection of documented palms, orchids, cycads and gingers. Its historic 19th-century garden landscape is well preserved and includes the earliest ornamental designed lake in Singapore. Home to numerous heritage trees and a tract of primary rainforest, the Gardens is less than a 10-minute walk from the shopping belt in Orchard Road. The Gardens was inscribed as Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.
The Gardens was ranked the number one park in Asia in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards for attractions in 2014. In 2012, it clinched the inaugural Garden of the Year Award by the Canadian Garden Tourism Council. In 2008, it was awarded the Michelin three-star rating and selected by Time Magazine as Asia’s Best Urban Jungle.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is managed by the National Parks Board. For more information, visit www.nparks.gov.sg/SBG and www.facebook.com/singaporebotanicgardens.
[1] Since its opening by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2013, the Gallery has hosted 17 exhibitions on biodiversity, gardening and sustainability-related subjects.
[2] Emissions Gap Report 2019, United Nations Environment Programme, 2019
Annex A: Change the Present, Save the Future
The exhibition comprises four zones:
1. Building Climate Resilience Through Global Collaboration
2. Building A City in Nature
3. Advancing A Low-Carbon and Resilient Built Environment
4. Global Action Beyond Borders and Sectors
Inspirational quotes from global and national sustainability advocates fill these walls, showcasing the extensive collaborations and partnerships taking place for climate action.
Visitors will also notice quotes by prominent world leaders sharing their hopes for a greener world peppered throughout the exhibition.
A wall on the global race to net zero, featuring countries all around the world and their ambitious goals towards a more sustainable future.
The exhibition is also available for virtual viewing on the CDL Sustainability website (https://cdlsustainability.com/), where online visitors can “navigate” around the CDL Green Gallery.