Sustainability Trends in Singapore for 2025

Staying informed about sustainability trends is not just about being environmentally responsible — it’s about future-proofing their businesses for long-term success in a rapidly changing world. This is especially important for SMEs in Singapore and ASEAN, who are facing greater pressure to adopt sustainability practices from both consumers and regulators.

Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable products, with 85% of them having experienced the disruptive effects of climate change, according to PwC’s 2024 Voice of the Consumer Survey. As a result, 46% of consumers are buying more sustainable products.

Meanwhile, regulators are strengthening sustainability reporting requirements. The Singapore Exchange, for example, has expanded its mandatory climate reporting to include all listed companies in the materials and buildings, and transportation industries, increasing the number of industries subject to mandatory reporting from three to five.

UOB FinLab is always keeping a close watch on the latest sustainability trends to ensure we impart the latest knowledge and best practices with our programme participants. By understanding the evolving landscape of environmental challenges, innovative solutions, and policy shifts — we can refine our programmes, and effectively empower the SMEs we support.

Here are three sustainability trends UOB FinLab is keeping a close eye on in 2025.

1. Deepening the Circular Economy:

This trend goes beyond basic recycling and focuses on fundamentally rethinking resource flows to minimise waste and maximise the lifespan and value of materials.

We see that there is going to be more emphasis placed on waste management solutions. This includes implementing technologies for waste sorting, treatment, and resource recovery. For example, the National Environment Agency (NEA) in Singapore is actively developing and implementing advanced technologies in waste management. This includes initiatives like the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for e-waste and the Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF).

UOB is also driving implementation of waste reduction solutions within its buildings. UOB CRES recently culminated its pilot project with Circular Unite, a green tech from UOB FinLab’s GreenTech Accelerator Programme 2024. This pilot enabled Circular Unite to conduct a waste audit to collect data, then leverage AI and analytics to make it easy for UOB CRES to capture, track, visualise and manage waste and recyclables. This will help create waste data visibility and potentially improve operational efficiency of waste data collection. You can read more about the pilot here.

2. Accelerating Cleaner and More Efficient Energy:

Recognising the limitations of relying solely on imported natural gas, Singapore continues to pursue cleaner energy sources and striving for greater energy efficiency.

Singapore has reinforced its dedication to clean energy by increasing the Future Energy Fund by S$5 billion, bringing the total to S$10 billion. This additional funding aims to explore the potential of nuclear power and support infrastructure investments for Singapore’s energy transition, including the possible deployment of emerging energy technologies like hydrogen and nuclear power.

The fund, initially established in Budget 2024, was increased in Budget 2025 to accelerate Singapore’s shift towards cleaner energy sources. Energy experts believe that this investment is in line with Singapore’s overall goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, especially considering the country’s limited domestic renewable energy resources.

On the industrial side of things, Singapore’s government has announced plans to pilot carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at waste-to-energy plants by 2026. This initiative aims to capture and store residual carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes before they are released into the atmosphere.

Additionally, the government has pledged to invest S$300 million over the next five years to improve energy efficiency in public buildings. This investment will fund projects such as retrofits to energy-consuming systems and the installation of smart systems in offices, hospitals, and MRT stations.

3. Building Climate Resilience:

As a low-lying island nation, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels and extreme weather events.

The nation has made great strides in its climate targets and expects a further reduction of its emissions targets to 45-50 million tonnes (Mt) by 2035 as outlined in its latest climate targets submission to the United Nations in February. These progressive targets place Singapore on a linear path toward achieving net zero by 2050.

Singapore is actively establishing international collaborations to address its domestic resource constraints. These collaborations include agreements with neighbouring countries and cross-border carbon capture projects. The three key measures with the greatest potential to reduce emissions are industrial energy efficiency initiatives, carbon capture technology, and renewable energy imports. Combined, these measures could reduce emissions by approximately 12,000 kilo tonnes by 2030, which represents about 20 percent of Singapore’s total emissions in 2022.

COMING SOON!

UOB FinLab will continue to empower SMEs in accelerating their sustainable journeys through tailored programmes and access to our vast network. We remain committed to staying ahead of the latest trends to ensure our programmes have relevance and impact. Our popular Sustainability Innovation Programme will make its return in 2025! We are looking forward to sharing more information very soon.

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