[Singapore, 8 March 2013] – The Singapore Management University (SMU) today became the first public-funded, autonomous university in Singapore to achieve certification to the ISO 50001 Energy Management System (EnMS) standard. DNV Business Assurance, a RvA (Dutch Council for Accreditation)-accredited certification body for the new ISO 50001 standard, presented the Certificate to SMU at a ceremony held this morning.

The impact of Energy Consumption and Efficiency on Global Warming and Climate Change has been established for some time now. Coupled with depleting fossil fuels and rising energy costs from the removal of subsidies by governments worldwide, Energy Management is one of the crucial building blocks towards the sustainability agenda of organisations globally. Similarly,   Singapore’s sustainability blueprint has Energy as a major component and has put in place a number of legislation, initiatives and incentives to improve energy efficiency and to curb wastage such as the Energy Conservation Act 2013 and Energy Efficiency Plan, E2 Singapore, and the Green Mark Scheme for buildings.

ISO 50001 is the widely-recognised and adopted international standard with the purpose of enabling organisations to establish the systems and processes necessary to improve energy performance, including energy efficiency, use and consumption. Proper implementation is intended to lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other related environmental impacts and energy cost through systematic management of energy based on the Plan - Do - Check - Act (PDCA) continual improvement framework. The standard also incorporates energy management into daily organisational practices.

Over the last few years, SMU, has demonstrated its commitment to support the Singapore’s programme for Sustainable Development – `The Singapore Way’ by attaining the Green Mark Platinum Award for its Administration Building and the Green Mark Gold Award for all its other campus buildings. The implementation of various energy efficiency projects have resulted in considerable reductions in energy consumption, despite the increase in the University’s student population, with corresponding hikes in the number of campus activities and operational floor space. SMU has now embarked on another bold initiative and taken the lead among Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) in Singapore in demonstrating sustainable operations by attaining certification to the ISO 50001.

“With a more structured approach, we aim to institutionalise our energy conservation processes. We also expect to achieve further reductions in energy consumption through the reduction of wastage without compromising the quality of our working and learning environment. We have been engaging the entire SMU community in this effort and our students, who are active champions of the environment, have played a significant role in our energy management effort. We believe that they will continue to play a bigger role in their future undertakings,” said Mr Sim Teow Hong, Senior Vice President of SMU.   

 “SMU is leading the way in the education sector in meeting the most rigorous standards for energy and environmental management. ISO 50001 is an excellent way towards reducing the organisation’s environmental footprint.  We congratulate SMU for taking the lead in the initiative towards energy efficiency,” said Mr. Mauricio Venturin, DNV Business Assurance’s Chief Operating Officer for Asia & Australia. 

DNV Business Assurance was the first Certification Body to attain full accreditation for ISO 50001 with the Dutch Council for Accreditation, RvA. “ISO 50001 is widely accepted around the globe and the standard has been slowly gaining traction in Singapore as awareness of its benefits increases and the pressing need to address the rising costs of energy. More organisations are adopting ISO 50001 as a demonstration of support for Singapore’s ambitious goal outlined in its Sustainability Blueprint report to reduce  its energy intensity (per dollar GDP) by 20% from 2005 levels by 2020, and by 35% from 2005 levels by 2030,” said Mr. Lim Jit Ting, DNV Business Assurance’s Lead Assessor for Energy Management.

About DNV Business Assurance

DNV Business Assurance is a world-leading certification body. We work with companies to assure the performance of their organisations, products, people and facilities through certification, verification, assessment and training. Our 1,800 employees worldwide help our customers build sustainable business performance and create stakeholder trust. As part of the DNV Group, an independent foundation established in 1864, we belong to a global network of more than 10,500 employees working from 300 offices in 100 countries. www.dnvba.com.sg