Buildings and operations

Stories on Green Spaces and Biodiversity

Our campuses have many architectural design features that minimise the need for energy for air-conditioning (our biggest component of energy use by far) by relying on ‘passive design’ to keep buildings cool. There are also engineering features that help reduce energy consumption especially those associated with air-conditioning systems.

Dover

• Our new High School building has an award-winning design to minimise energy use in air-conditioning and was even featured in the Straits times.
• Beyond Efficiency Blog by Operations Department with more details on the whole construction of this new system in the High School.
• Passive design and energy efficiency. This slideshow from our campus engineering team shows many features of both. You can pause at any time to read more.
• Air Conditioning: For more details on energy efficient air-conditioning at Dover
• For a detailed analysis of why it pays to minimise air-conditioning parts of the campus. See here also.

East

• Slide show by our now departed engineer Kenny Low showing some energy saving features that contributed to East Campus being awarded BCA Green Mark platinum.
• Air-conditioning systems - explore our systems on this site provided Kenny Low.
• Statistics for our air conditioning systems show how we save energy and cost with efficient systems.
• For a detailed analysis of why it pays to minimise air-conditioning parts of the campus in holidays.
• Pie chart breakdown of where electrical energy is used at East Campus.

UWCSEA - whole college

• Electricity Consumption figures and costs for both Campuses. Use tabs at base of spreadsheet to explore.
• Article that shows how crucial it is to conserve energy and some of the basic ongoing costs for electricity for UWCSEA.

Both campuses have invested in Solar Energy Generation technology to reduce the demand for electricity from fossil fuels.

Dover (Solar Photovoltaics)

• Solar for Dover Website where you can even adopt a solar panel!
• Live site for the Solar Panels where you can see the amount of solar power being generated each day and throughout the year.

(Login: Use facilitiesdover@uwcsea.edu.sg and the password jitukane)

• Post from negativewatts blog gives information about the Solar Project at Dover.

East (Solar Thermal)

• Efficiency measures - Some features of the solar thermal system made available by Engineer Kenny Low
• System live view

Stories on Energy

Other Energy Uses

Transport

Most transport in Singapore is fuelled by fossil fuels so we are aiming to encourage use of more energy efficient transport as well as trying to reduce the 'Carbon miles' in our travel. Some policies and practices are outlined below:

• School bus idling times have been significantly cut in recent years to reduce emissions for a healthier campus and planet. More work is being done on streamlining routes to reduce bus journeys also.
• Covered walkways and more bicycle parking has encouraged alternative transport
• No Drive Days have been a long standing tradition at Dover Campus (Figures here).
• A Carbon Offset scheme is being expanded alongside a review of all staff and student travel.

Food & Waste

Food and waste management are significant sources of energy consumption at UWCSEA as both require significant transport as well as processing off campus. See the relevant sections on this page for how we are addressing this.

Our rationale for Energy Conservation and Production

As a country with limited options for energy generation due to lack of space and resources, Singapore relies on imported fuels for almost all of its energy requirements. Gas, despite being a non-renewable fossil fuel and thus a contributor to Climate Change is, however, cleaner than burning oil, so for electricity generation Liquid Natural Gas is now the fuel of choice in its thermal power stations and also for some transport, industrial and domestic needs. On a densely populated island Nuclear Energy has only a very slim possibility of ever being considered and the lack of large rivers, waves, tides and wind makes hydro-electric or wind power impossible. There is however increasing investment and interest in harnessing solar power and this contributes to the energy supply at both UWCSEA campuses.

However again space remains a key issue for large scale deployment of solar and frequent cloud cover in Singapore means solar energy capture is not always as effective as one would imagine in such a hot country! Therefore while we continue to seek opportunities to develop solar energy, both Singapore and UWCSEA acknowledge that investment in energy efficiency and conservation is the most effective way to address the energy issue, reducing our energy demand rather than always increasing our supply. Given that most of UWCSEA’s energy use will remain as electricity sourced from Singapore’s gas-fired (and trash-fired) power stations , this seems to be where we could and should concentrate our efforts in design and behaviour. Singapore has committed to slowing its carbon emission from fossil fuels under the Paris Agreement in 2015 and UWCSEA will want to play a leading role in helping it to meet these commitments.

Stories on food

School uniforms

Used uniform sales run by the Parents Associations have proved a popular and significant way to reduce consumption and waste in our community and raise money to support our Global Concerns or PACE charities. Our new PE kit is also made from recycled plastic bottles.

Paper

Our office paper and exercise book paper used to be sourced from a company that used residue from Sugar Cane production in India, however a lack of transparency from the company meant that we have switched to Forest Stewardship Council certified paper where possible. All paper items are under review especially since Singapore increasingly recognises the link between paper pulp manufacture and the Haze crisis and introduces a Green Mark System.

The College Shops also sell greeting cards made from recycled materials as well as items made from recycled paper.

I.T

A big dilemma for IT procurement is trying to balance the often conflicting environmental strategies. To reduce continued consumption and keep replacement costs low we try to get the most use out of existing machines before replacing with upgraded products. However keeping machines for a long time with heavy use means they are often only suitable for scrap recycling when finished and this is an energy-intensive and often polluting process. Furthermore newer machines are usually more energy efficient so we need to balance material consumption with energy consumption - the maths of sustainability get quite tricky! Given these dilemmas, the IT department current practices are as follows although in a rapidly changing industry these will continue to be adapted to make our IT use as cost-effective and sustainable as possible:

To maximum use of machines before recycling many of our laptops and ipads are passed on while in good working condition to our Service partners in Singapore or overseas where they have a major educational impact for those with very limited resources. However recent improvements in technology especially with MacBooks means that parents and staff are now offered the option to delay their replacement until 4 years, instead of 3. Initial uptake has been promising with as many 37% of staff opting to do this. Among many families too, older Macbooks find further use among family members and helpers, whenever they choose to upgrade.

Paper

Office paper / student paper for recycling is collected from classrooms at Dover by Green Campus Service and at East by Ramky, our cleaning contractors. Boarding groups at both campuses also manage paper waste in the boarding houses. Both campuses are working at reducing waste through issuing of re-use trays for classrooms and offices and, for staff, termly printing advice and ranking is provided for each department to highlight the opportunities for reduction. Some shredded paper is added to our compost bins also. Paper waste is then taken off for recycling by a 'Garanguni' man (local, independent waste collector) at Dover and by our partners the Tzu Chi Foundation at East.

Card

Carton cardboard is recycled by Sodexo and Facilities departments and then taken off for recycling by a 'Garanguni' man (local, independent waste collector) at Dover and by our partners the Tzu Chi Foundation at East.

Plastics

We have worked with Sodexo over many years to reduce the amount of plastic disposables such as crockery and cutlery. These are now replaced with re-usable melamine and steel items in the canteens and use of compostable cups in the cafes. More information provided here (applies to both campuses) . The removal of PET drink bottles and switch to use of water fountains has dramatically reduced the amount of plastic waste on campus.

Tetra packs

Up to 900 drink cartons per week are collected by Green Campus Service at Dover and these and are now taken off for recycling by our partners the Tzu Chi Foundation (under review at East Campus).

Cans

Aluminium cans are not sold extensively on campus but are usually collected at large events and taken for recycling as these are highly valuable.

Food

Food waste is a hot topic in Singapore as it tries to reduce the amount that goes to incineration. For Sodexo their Wasteless Week is part of a their key global waste policy and they work with student groups to engage a wider understanding of this. For more details on how we work extensively with them to reduce Food Waste (both pre and post consumer) see the slideshow below. Watch out for more innovation in this area soon.

Horticultural Waste

Large horticultural waste like tree prunings are handed by our landscape contractors and taken to Biodigestion facilities in Singapore for turning into mulch. Leaves are collected at Dover where they are more in abundance and these are shredded and left to decompose naturally then used as mulch on our gardens and added to our compost to provide essential carbon.

I.T

Electronic waste is collected by Cimelia on Dover (Yellow bins in underground car parks) and by Star Hub on Dover and East (Green bins beside library/I.T department). To reduce waste, many of our laptops and other equipment are passed onto our Service partners in good working condition when due for replacement.

Bulky Items

Bulky items like old broken furniture are removed by contractors and recycled where possible. Metals are highly valuable in Singapore and will almost always be recycled. Increasingly we repurpose larger items such a wooden pallets for planters in our gardens. Banners advertising events are re-used where possible by Communications Department where dates only change or sent to our Jakarta Street Kids Global Concerns for making into laptop cases.

Personal Items

Once a term a Lost and Found stall is run by the Middle School Environmental Stewardship Council. Lots of water bottles, clothes etc are returned to their owners or given away rather than make their way to the bins and the incinerator, reducing waste and consumption. Best items are washed and distributed to the very poorest in our Global Concerns areas during Project Week.

Publicity Banners

These are often re-used where annual events just need dates changed. Others are re-purposed on campus as covers or sent to the Jakarta Street Kids Global Concern where they are turned into laptop cases and sold through the College to raise money for the NGO's waste-picking community.

Community Recycling

Both campuses accept some recyclable waste from members of our community, but use of blue mixed recycling bins in condos and HDBs is preferred while we reorganise our systems. Contact Facilities departments is you need further information:

• facilitiesdover@uwcsea.edu.sg
• facilitieseast@uwcsea.edu.sg

Alternatively the wonderful Tzu Chi organisation runs recycling mornings at various places in Singapore.

Stories on Waste

East Campus Water Conservation

Water features at East - A slideshow on the Singapore Water Issue and the features at East from our Director of Operations, Simon Thomas

East Water management -A superb detailed resource from our Engineer Kenny Low -including real time water consumption statistics for East Campus and historic ones here. For costs see under College.

Dover Campus Water Conservation

Slideshow explanation of Water Conservation in the Middle School - by student Stella Mackenzie with help and photos from the Operations Department. See the process in video action here!

A slide show by our Operations Department of Water Conservation in the new High school .

Statistics for Water Consumption at Dover Campus. See costs below under College.

Features of Water Conservation at Dover. Part of a slideshow that outlines many green features.

Technical Water information including maps of layout of water systems at Dover.

Technical report for our storm water retention pond in the middle of the campus. This reduces flood risk in our neighbourhood by holding water temporarily from the run-off from the high school building and surrounding areas. It also makes a great wetland habitat for wildlife.

College Data

Historic Water costs at Dover and East (see Utilities charts on fourth tab marked Costs of Utilities).

Water consumption charts for Dover and East.

Feasibility study for NeWater at Dover with good statistics and costs for East Campus too.