Green Innovation Centre - Media Kit
The Green Innovation Centre, launched on 8 June 2023, is a unique partnership between Swedcham, Bukit Batok Grassroots Organisations, South West Community Development Council (CDC) which aims to promote and showcase sustainable urban living and practices to support the Singapore Green Plan 2030.
Video: SwedCham Singapore
Quotes
The Green Innovations
Green and Smart Community | Renewable and Reliable Energy | Smart Rodent Trap | Outdoor Living Room |
Rainwater Harvesting | Low-carbon Concrete Pathway | Therapeutic Garden | Hydroponic Farming | Composting |
Digital Explorer Trail | Measuring Impact | Telling the Story
Green and Smart Community
Partners: ABB - Axis - Nöjdhs - Securitas - Cosy Garden
Singapore has set its sights on becoming a Smart Nation, harnessing technology to transform how people live, work, and play. One of the three key pillars of the Singapore Smart Nation initiative is Digital Society, which is about developing ability to use technology safely and ensure equal access for all. Green and Smart Community builds one important foundation of the Digital Society, by making technology more accessible to every Singaporean, improving Singaporeans’ digital literacy, helping the local community and businesses drive widespread adoption of technology, and designing inclusive digital services, such as the digital readiness blueprint.
Here at Cosy Garden, we have created a showcase to show how a local community can benefit from technology as part of a Digital Society, driving smart adoption of technology and making digital services accessible to everyone in the community while at the same time focusing on sustainable living.
The smart energy solution designed in the garden provides a reliable and renewable energy solution with the battery keeping the essential loads operational in case of grid supply failing. The Axis security equipment and the Securitas integrated protective services are leveraging the latest technology to give the garden volunteers increased security, control, and peace of mind with real time monitoring of the movements in and out of the garden.
How Cosy Garden’s energy loop and connected equipment is set up:
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Renewable and Reliable Energy
Partners: Nöjdhs - 10 Degree Solar - ABB - Cosy Garden
To reach the Paris Agreement’s target of limiting global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius, every country must do its part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One important step is to install renewable energy systems. For Singapore, solar power is one of the most promising renewable energy sources available. The SG Green Plan has set a goal to increase solar energy fivefold to at least 2 gigawatt peak by 2030.
Here at Cosy Garden, 10 Degree Solar and Nojdhs Technologies have worked together to install solar panels to locally harvest energy from the sun, as well as a battery storage system so that the electricity supply can switch between the grid and the battery. In case of power supply failure, the essential loads will be kept operational for more than 12 hours with help of the intelligent energy supply monitoring and maintenance solution designed by Nojdhs and provided by Axis, Securitas and ABB. Thanks to these solutions, a closed energy loop with renewable and reliable energy has been created at Cosy Garden.
Here at Cosy Garden, a closed energy loop with renewable and reliable energy has been created, with close collaboration between local start-ups and the Swedish companies:
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10 Degree Solar and Nöjdhs Technologies have worked together to design and implement the smart renewable energy supply solution
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Solar panels are installed to locally harvest energy from the sun and charge the batteries via the battery storage system AC200Max. Only when there is shortage of sunlight, the batteries will be charged from the power grid. The switch of the electricity supply between the solar panels and the power grid is monitored real time and controlled smartly to maximize the energy usage of solar power and minimize the dependency on the power grid. The information on the electricity usage, charging and discharging will be monitored real time.
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To improve the reliability of the renewable energy solution, designed by Nöjdhs Technologies, and provided by ABB, Axis, and Securitas, an intelligent Energy Supply and Monitoring and Maintenance solution has been implemented. In case of the grid power supply failure, the battery acts as the uninterrupted power supply to keep the essential load (such as the koi fish!) operational for more than 12 hours. To extend the battery backup time, the ABB monitoring relay will disconnect the non-essential load until the grid power supply is back and trigger an alarm to the garden team through the Axis and Securitas monitoring system being installed in the garden.
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Smart Rodent Trap
Partners: Anticimex - Cosy Garden
In Cosy Garden, Anticimex has installed five smart rodent traps to help get rid of pesky rodents in a nice way. This intelligent system combines hardware and software to keep the garden free from unwanted pests. With its advanced sensors, it can detect any rodent activity and quickly respond to prevent any infestations. It doesn't use any toxic pesticides, making it safe for both people and the environment. Once a rodent enters the trap, the catch function is activated, delivering an instantaneous electrical current that quickly and humanely eliminates the pest. And with its smart data hub, Anticimex is alerted to any catches, ensuring that our Cosy garden remains rodent-free. The system uses sustainable rechargeable batteries to power the trap, making it an eco-friendly choice.
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Outdoor Living Room
Partners: reXtore - Tetra Pak - Cosy Garden
In the middle of Cosy Garden you will find the newly constructed outdoor living room. It aims to provide a peaceful place in the garden where you can come and relax, de-stress and let nature help calm mind and body. The outdoor living room was built by reXtore out of discarded scaffolding poles. It is carbon-neutral and was designed to be easy to dismantle and reuse, eliminating any future waste once we don’t need it anymore.
The roof has been provided by Tetra Pak and is made out of PolyAluminium, which has been recycled from used beverage cartons. A good thing with a PolyAl roof is that it doesn’t get hot - it actually has a cooling effect, which is an advantage in Singapore’s hot climate. The corrugated tiles used for the roof in Cosy Garden were made out of approximately 120,000 beverage cartons (based on portion pack size of 250ml).
All furniture in the outdoor living room was bought second hand. Recycling furniture and other things we use in a home is a good way to help the environment by saving resources and not adding pressure to landfills.
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Rainwater Harvesting
Partners: Hydro Dynamic - Cosy Garden
Freshwater is an essential resource, but scarce on our small island. The per capita household water consumption in Singapore was measured to be 141 litres per day in 2019. One of SG Green Plan’s key targets is to reduce this number to 130 litres per capita per day by 2030.
One way to reduce our water consumption is to harvest rainwater. The rainwater harvesting system that has been installed by Hydro Dynamic Engineering in Cosy Garden helps the community to use water more efficiently. When you use harvested rainwater, you conserve groundwater, reduce soil erosion and save energy. It can also help avoid flooding which can happen in heavily concreted areas. Freshwater is vital for life - don’t waste it by using potable water for tasks that do not need it. The greenest way to water your plants is to make use of available rainwater.
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Low-carbon Concrete Pathway
Partners: Pan United - Hortherapeutics - Cosy Garden
As Cosy Garden wanted to make the garden accessible for wheelchair users and for people with disabilities, they needed to widen and smoothen the pathways. Within the scope of the Green Innovation Centre, Pan-United helped by using a more environmental-friendly concrete called CO2 mineralised concrete. In this type of concrete, harmful carbon dioxide produced from industrial activities has been captured and converted into nano-sized minerals. This permanently stores the CO2 in the concrete, and also reduces the amount of cement used in the mix. The concrete is additionally much stronger than regular concrete. And here’s a fun fact: Every cubic metre of this type of concrete can remove and reduce up to 20kg CO2. Potentially, with other recycled materials, it can save about 3.1 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere annually, which would be equivalent to the emissions of 689,000 cars on Singapore roads.
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Therapeutic Garden
Partners: Hortherapeutics - Tetra Pak - Len Meng Engineering - Cosy Garden
Singapore is one of the greenest cities in the world. As part of Singapore Green Plan 2030, Singapore would like to continue to intensify nature in gardens and parks and restore nature into the urban landscape. Important tools to make this happen are so called therapeutic gardens. These gardens are designed to provide various health benefits for young and old, relieving mental fatigue and improving emotional well-being. By 2030, 30 therapeutic gardens will be built across public parks in Singapore to offer both restorative and enabling spaces for people, including seniors, those with dementia, as well as children and young adults with special needs.
The therapeutic corner of Cosy Garden, designed and built by Hortherapeutics, is a space specifically created to promote both physical and psychological well-being and serve as a peaceful retreat for people of all ages. To ensure that the Cosy Garden is accessible and easy to use for people with physical disabilities, movable planter boxes on wheels were created by Len Meng Engineering and Tetra Pak. The planter boxes for the therapeutic garden were made of PolyAluminium, which was produced from approximately 60,000 recycled beverage cartons (based on portion pack size of 250ml).
Hortherapeutics is Singapore’s first social enterprise specialising in therapeutic garden design and therapeutic horticulture. This local SME has been one of SwedCham's key partners within the initiative the Green Innovation Centre. Apart from leading the creation of a therapeutic corner in the Cosy Garden in Bukit Batok, they also coordinated the construction of an enlarged footpath which can cater for wheel chairs in the garden as well as the implementation of a water retention system, supplied by Hydro Dynamic, another local SME.
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Hydroponic Farming
Partners: Cosy Garden
Cosy Garden has a hydroponic farm which the garden community has built themselves. Hydroponics is a farming technique where you grow plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soiI. This technique requires far less space and uses up to 98% less water than traditional soil-grown plants. Hydroponics also produces higher-quality and better-tasting plants, typically with more nutrients. The growth rate for a hydroponic plant is 30-50% faster as well.
The SG Green Plan has set a goal for Singapore to be 30% self-sufficient on nutritional needs by 2030. Since hydroponic gardening can be done in smaller spaces, it will be an important tool to reach this goal. It will also help Singapore to reduce its carbon footprint as we will import less food.
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Composting
Partners: Cosy Garden
The Cosy Garden community produces their own plant fertilisers through composting and has a wealth of knowledge and experience in how to do this efficiently in a tropical climate. Composting is a process in which organic material is broken down by bacteria and other microorganisms via decomposition. The resulting material is called compost and is very nutrient-rich. Mixing compost into your soil can improve drainage, increase organic matter and help plants grow better and healthier. The waste the Cosy Garden uses mainly comes from the local market. The community collects leftover fruits and veg that would otherwise just be thrown out.
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Digital Explorer Trail
Partners: Queenstown Secondary School - Bukit Batok Secondary School - susGain - Cosy Garden
susGain is a B-Corp certified social enterprise focused on driving sustainable behavioural change in communities. They do this through the susGain app, where you can earn points for practicing eco habits such as reducing waste, lowering your carbon foot or supporting social causes.
susGain has partnered with SwedCham to put together The Cosy Garden Tour, a virtual app challenge to help people discover the many amazing sustainability solutions implemented in the Cosy Garden in collaboration with many Swedish businesses and community partners.
To join the virtual tour, simply scan the QR code. Once logged in, accept the challenge to view the 10 stations of the tour.
At each station, students from Bukit Batok Secondary school and Queenstown secondary school give you more details about the sustainability solutions in a short video followed by a quiz question.
As you complete all 10 stations and finish the challenge, susGain will remove 100g of waste from Singapore waterways through their impact partner All Clear.
The goal is to complete at least 1000 challenges, so we can remove 100kg of waste together.
So please also share this challenge with your friends and family as we all come together to learn, discover and create impact together for a more sustainable future..
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Measuring Impact
Partners: Tulya - NUS
Tulya has committed to measure the impact for the Green Innovation Centre. To create a showcase that inspires and be replicated elsewhere in Singapore, was a guiding star for the project team since start. In this effort, we have identified six areas where the project seeks to make a difference and to make a positive impact: Environmental Impact, Garden Visits and Learning Engagement, Social Impact from Activities, Recycling Drives, Enabler of Collaborations and Volunteer Opportunities.
Photos: SwedCham Singapore
Green and Smart Community | Renewable and Reliable Energy | Smart Rodent Trap | Outdoor Living Room |
Rainwater Harvesting | Low-carbon Concrete Pathway | Therapeutic Garden | Hydroponic Farming | Composting |
Digital Explorer Trail | Measuring Impact | Telling the Story
Telling the Story
Partners: Dilucidar, Qeren, SwedCham
Dilucidar has led the communications and design support to ensure that the Green Innovation Centre presented a coherent message with a unified visual identity. The overall emphasis in terms of messaging was to highlight the importance of partnerships to deliver real sustainability. Working closely with SwedCham, the project partners and Qeren, this partnership has been about creating an outreach strategy for a collective vision shared between the private sector, the public sector and civil society. With multiple partners engaging their networks, so many different sustainable solutionsand objectives, we decided to create a framework where every partner had their voice and ability to share their own story while at the same time continue to be part of a greater constellation. We created platforms to engage all of the partners with transparent communication, integrating diverse perspectives and collaborating with the different stakeholders to ensure everyone was informed, aligned and able to participate.
Media outreach was also a collaborative effort, with Qeren providing key strategic insights and local partners working in a concerted and collaborative way.
Rooted in the nature of how Cosy Garden has developed over the years, and with so many other elements stemming the grassroots level, the design and execution of the social media campaign and communications material had a no-frills approach. Photos taken by volunteers, videos shot on hand phones and everything crowdsourced from the partners themselves. This too was deliberate in the way to tell the story of the Green Innovation Centre because this project was not about creating a showroom for a group of business but rather a working space to develop new ideas, foster collaboration and inspire others to do the same.
Photos: SwedCham Singapore