Written Reply by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen to Parliamentary Question on Sustainability within the SAF

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) how does the SAF assess and promote sustainability in its operations and training, especially in reducing the use of single-use items; (b) whether the SAF tracks its use of single-use items; and (c) if not, whether the SAF will start tracking its use of such items.

Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen:

As announced, MINDEF and the SAF are committed to meet the national targets set under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, without compromising the SAF’s operational effectiveness. Apart from developing and implementing these centrally driven plans, the SAF has also launched a sustainability challenge amongst units to encourage ground-up ownership and initiatives in sustainability efforts.

On single-use items, the SAF is guided by our national protocols which take into account that almost all of our waste is incinerated and stored locally. Nonetheless, to inculcate good habits, the SAF has largely stopped the use of bottled water for routine meetings. Single-use items will also no longer be used by canteen vendors under new contracts starting Jan 2022. To discourage the single use of plastic bags, the SAF eMarts have also started charging for plastic bags. ​Besides reducing the use of single-use items, the SAF also makes effort to recycle our used items. For example, the SAF has established waste disposal contracts that recycles electronic waste, waste oil, chemicals and scrap metals.

MINDEF and the SAF will continue to consult our External Advisory Panel for Environmental Sustainability and ground advocates on ways to reduce our emissions and waste footprint. Where feasible and practical, we will track our progress.