SINGAPORE - Secondary school students will be encouraged to take charge of improving the sustainability of their school buildings through a new green programme announced on Friday (June 24).
Called the Greenovate Programme, it will have nine secondary schools undergo energy audits by energy service company Johnson Controls and tertiary students.
It is a collaboration between the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Singapore Green Building Council, Republic Polytechnic and Johnson Controls, who signed an agreement on Friday.
Based on the energy audit reports, the secondary school students will then be able to propose action plans to work on projects with industry experts to green their schools.
Senior Minister of State for National Development and Home Affairs Desmond Lee said that Singapore has a role to play in climate change despite its small size, and it is important to engage young people in the green movement.
"By explaining how the actions we take in our daily lives can have an impact on the environment and for climate change, we can inspire our children to adopt sustainable and green living habits from an early age, and turn them into lifelong habits," he said, speaking at the opening of the three-day Build-it-Green Day Out carnival at Toa Payoh Hub to promote green buildings and sustainable living habits.
A spokesman from Marsiling Secondary School, one of the schools participating in the Greenovate Programme, said: "The students will gain exposure to expert knowledge on green buildings in Singapore. This will also give students greater ownership in auditing and recommending measures to promote sustainability in the school building."
The Greenovate programme used to be organised by BCA as a competition which has been enhanced into an educational programme.
BCA also launched on Friday a three-year partnership with Keppel Land to work on a public outreach campaign centred around smart and green homes and towns, energy efficiency, new technologies and sustainability.
They committed $225,000 each to fund outreach projects which could include exhibitions or roadshows, workshops, partnerships with non-government organisations or documenting the testing of prototype innovations.
Projects must be put together by any Singapore registered organisation or company together with at least one school or partner from the education sector. They can receive up to $30,000 in funding.
