Sustainability and Technology

5 pillars of the Singapore Green Plan 2030

31 October 2025

Discover how Singapore’s Green Plan 2030 drives sustainability through five pillars—from greener energy and sustainable living to digital innovation—and how GovTech powers this journey with smarter, energy-efficient solutions.

Image of two people teaming up to build a more sustainable future

The existential threat of climate change in our times is a defining challenge that requires collective action from citizens, businesses, and public agencies. To navigate this, Singapore has been on an ambitious course toward a greener, more sustainable future — and at the heart of this journey lies the Singapore Green Plan 2030.

The Five Pillars of the Green Plan

Let's explore how these pillars are actively shaping our green future, and see what we can look forward to in 2030:

Pillar 1: City in Nature

Singapore’s vision to be a City in Nature integrates nature into our living spaces, creating an environment where people and biodiversity coexist harmoniously.

This pillar focuses on expanding green corridors, restoring natural habitats, and weaving nature into the heart of our city.
Examples	Expansion of Nature Parks and Park Connectors: More nature parks and connected green networks are being established across Singapore, ensuring that everyone can enjoy easy access to the outdoors. These linkages encourage walking, cycling, and recreation while enhancing ecological resilience. Skyrise Greenery: From rooftop gardens to vertical greenery, Singapore’s skyline is transforming into living architecture that helps cool the city naturally and supports urban biodiversity.
2030 Target(s)	Restore and expand green spaces: Plant one million more trees across the island, double our annual tree-planting rate (from 2020 levels), and increase the land area of nature parks by more than 50%. Every household will also be within a 10-minute walk from a park, ensuring that nature is accessible to all.

This pillar focuses on expanding green corridors, restoring natural habitats, and weaving nature into the heart of our city.

Examples

Expansion of Nature Parks and Park Connectors: More nature parks and connected green networks are being established across Singapore, ensuring that everyone can enjoy easy access to the outdoors. These linkages encourage walking, cycling, and recreation while enhancing ecological resilience.
Skyrise Greenery: From rooftop gardens to vertical greenery, Singapore’s skyline is transforming into living architecture that helps cool the city naturally and supports urban biodiversity.

2030 Target(s)

Restore and expand green spaces:
Plant one million more trees across the island, double our annual tree-planting rate (from 2020 levels), and increase the land area of nature parks by more than 50%. Every household will also be within a 10-minute walk from a park, ensuring that nature is accessible to all.

Pillar 2: Energy Reset

Energy Reset is about building a cleaner, more sustainable energy system.

This involves shifting from conventional fuel sources toward renewables, increasing efficiency, and supporting innovations that reduce emissions and enhance energy security.
Examples	Harnessing Solar Power: Solar panels are becoming a familiar feature across public housing, reservoirs, and industrial facilities, harnessing clean energy from the sun to power homes and communities. Cleaner Mobility: Singapore is moving decisively toward electric vehicles and expanding its charging infrastructure, setting the foundation for a low-emission transport network that supports a greener commute for all.
2030 Target(s)	Build a low-carbon energy future: Deploy at least 2 GWp of solar energy, capable of meeting around 3% of projected electricity demand — enough to power approximately 350,000 households annually. Singapore will continue to adopt best-in-class power generation technologies to meet strict emission standards and improve efficiency. Green our built environment: Ensure 80% of all buildings (by Gross Floor Area) are green by 2030, and that 80% of new developments meet Super Low Energy (SLE) standards. Existing buildings will undergo retrofitting to achieve an 80% improvement in energy efficiency (compared to 2005 levels), and HDB towns will reduce energy consumption by 15% through smarter systems and design.

This involves shifting from conventional fuel sources toward renewables, increasing efficiency, and supporting innovations that reduce emissions and enhance energy security.

Examples

Harnessing Solar Power: Solar panels are becoming a familiar feature across public housing, reservoirs, and industrial facilities, harnessing clean energy from the sun to power homes and communities.
Cleaner Mobility: Singapore is moving decisively toward electric vehicles and expanding its charging infrastructure, setting the foundation for a low-emission transport network that supports a greener commute for all.

2030 Target(s)

Build a low-carbon energy future:
Deploy at least 2 GWp of solar energy, capable of meeting around 3% of projected electricity demand — enough to power approximately 350,000 households annually. Singapore will continue to adopt best-in-class power generation technologies to meet strict emission standards and improve efficiency.
Green our built environment:
Ensure 80% of all buildings (by Gross Floor Area) are green by 2030, and that 80% of new developments meet Super Low Energy (SLE) standards. Existing buildings will undergo retrofitting to achieve an 80% improvement in energy efficiency (compared to 2005 levels), and HDB towns will reduce energy consumption by 15% through smarter systems and design.

Pillar 3: Green Economy

The Green Economy pillar focuses on advancing sustainability as a driver of growth.

It’s about encouraging innovation, supporting green businesses, and building a future-ready workforce equipped for the opportunities of a low-carbon world.
Examples	Driving Innovation and Enterprise: Research and development in sustainable urban solutions, renewable energy, and green technologies are paving the way for new ideas and industries to thrive. Enabling Green Finance: Singapore is fostering an environment where businesses can easily access funding for sustainable projects, accelerating the transition toward responsible, long-term growth.

Pillar 4: Sustainable Living

Sustainable Living focuses on cultivating everyday habits that protect the environment.

It encourages communities to conserve resources, reduce waste, and live in ways that support a healthier and more resilient Singapore.
Examples	Reducing Waste and Promoting Recycling: Initiatives across households and businesses are helping to minimise waste and promote recycling, with strong efforts to phase out single-use plastics and embrace circular practices. Championing Water and Energy Conservation: Through public education and smart infrastructure, Singapore continues to strengthen water security and reduce energy consumption — making sustainability part of daily life.
2030 Target(s)	Transform transport for cleaner mobility: Make public transport the preferred choice by achieving a 75% peak-period modal share through expanded rail and bus networks. The rail network will grow to 360km by the early 2030s, while the islandwide cycling path network will extend to about 1,300km. By 2030, electric buses will make up half of the public fleet, and all new car and taxi registrations will be of cleaner energy models. Singapore also plans to deploy 60,000 EV charging points nationwide and ensure that all new harbour craft operating in local waters are fully electric or compatible with net-zero fuels. Encourage sustainable consumption: Reduce household water consumption to 130 litres per person per day and cut waste to landfill by 30% per capita per day through circular economy practices and recycling. Singapore also aims to build a strong green economy, positioning itself as a regional hub for carbon services, sustainable finance, and sustainability innovation.

It encourages communities to conserve resources, reduce waste, and live in ways that support a healthier and more resilient Singapore.

Examples

Reducing Waste and Promoting Recycling: Initiatives across households and businesses are helping to minimise waste and promote recycling, with strong efforts to phase out single-use plastics and embrace circular practices.
Championing Water and Energy Conservation: Through public education and smart infrastructure, Singapore continues to strengthen water security and reduce energy consumption — making sustainability part of daily life.

2030 Target(s)

Transform transport for cleaner mobility:
Make public transport the preferred choice by achieving a 75% peak-period modal share through expanded rail and bus networks. The rail network will grow to 360km by the early 2030s, while the islandwide cycling path network will extend to about 1,300km.

By 2030, electric buses will make up half of the public fleet, and all new car and taxi registrations will be of cleaner energy models. Singapore also plans to deploy 60,000 EV charging points nationwide and ensure that all new harbour craft operating in local waters are fully electric or compatible with net-zero fuels.
Encourage sustainable consumption:
Reduce household water consumption to 130 litres per person per day and cut waste to landfill by 30% per capita per day through circular economy practices and recycling. Singapore also aims to build a strong green economy, positioning itself as a regional hub for carbon services, sustainable finance, and sustainability innovation.

Pillar 5: Resilient Future

Resilient Future focuses on safeguarding Singapore against the long-term effects of climate change while ensuring that our city remains livable and self-sufficient.

This includes protecting coastlines, strengthening food security, and building climate-ready infrastructure.
Examples	Protecting Our Coastlines: Comprehensive coastal protection and flood management plans are being developed to defend our shores and communities against rising sea levels. Building Food Resilience: Efforts to boost local food production through technology and innovation are helping Singapore reduce reliance on imports and secure essential nutrition sustainably.
2030 Target(s)	Safeguard our future resilience: Complete coastal protection plans for areas including the City–East Coast, North-West Coast, and strengthen local food security by producing 30% of Singapore's nutritional needs locally and sustainably through agri-tech and aquaculture innovation.

Source: Singapore Green Plan 2030

GovTech’s Role in Building a Greener Nation

At GovTech, our mission of “Engineering a Digital Government, Making Lives Better” plays a part in achieving The Singapore Green Plan’s goals. Our teams adopt sustainability as a core principle in our digitalisation business and professional way of life to reduce our digital carbon footprint and steer the public sector towards net-zero emissions.

Sustainable ICT – energy-efficient data centres

As part of our sustainability strategy, GovTech is transforming the way government ICT infrastructure is built and managed. Our Government Data Centres (GDCs) implemented the SS 697:2023 (Tropical Data Centre standard) in central government data centres. Early results suggest energy savings of up to 40% through temperature optimisation measures such as fan wall cooling systems and liquid cooling technologies. We also consolidated workloads from three legacy Data Centres into a next-gen Data Centre to slash carbon emissions and operational costs.

Open Digital Platform (ODP) – Smart Estates for Energy Optimisation

Jointly developed with JTC, the Open Digital Platform (ODP) connects multiple buildings and districts using data, sensors, and digital twins. The platform enables real-time energy monitoring and optimisation, helping facility managers reduce consumption and design more sustainable urban spaces.

Through collaboration with our partners, the Smart City Solutions optimises traffic, lighting, and waste management — enabling more efficient, responsive urban environments, ensuring that technology serves people and the planet with a focus on sustainable digital government.

A Collective Effort Toward a Sustainable Future

Building a truly sustainable Singapore isn't a task for just one entity; it's a powerful, collaborative effort that needs every individual, every business, and every part of the government playing its part.

The role of citizens

Everyone has a part to play in shaping Singapore’s green future. Simple actions — from reducing waste and saving water to choosing sustainable transport — make a collective impact. Citizens are also encouraged to join community initiatives that promote recycling and green living, fostering shared responsibility for a cleaner, more sustainable home.

The role of businesses

Businesses are key drivers of Singapore’s green transition. Many are integrating sustainability into their operations — adopting cleaner technologies, reducing waste, and developing eco-friendly products. By promoting environmental awareness among employees and customers, companies are helping build a culture where innovation and sustainability go hand in hand.

The Role of Government

The public sector leads by example through planning and innovation that drive greener buildings, cleaner transport, and renewable energy adoption. Together, these efforts strengthen Singapore’s resilience and support a more sustainable future.

Paving the Way Forward

The Singapore Green Plan 2030 charts a collective path toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient nation — one that relies on innovation, collaboration, and shared responsibility.

At GovTech, we remain committed to supporting this vision by adopting sustainability as a core principle in our digitalisation business of professional way of life. Through our green ICT initiatives and smart city platforms, we continue to power the nation’s progress — ensuring that technology and sustainability move forward together, shaping a Singapore that is smarter, greener, and made for all.