SUTD Secures First Green Loan From DBS to Finance Campus Land Cost

29 Mar 2022

• Green loan is in line with SUTD’s Sustainability Plan to integrate sustainability into its business and operations

• DBS appointed as green loan advisor for SUTD’s Green Loan Framework and sole financier of the green loan

The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has obtained a 20-year SGD 84 million green loan from DBS to finance the land costs in relation to its campus. This is the university’s first green loan. DBS is also the green loan advisor for SUTD’s Green Loan Framework, which outlines the criteria and guidelines to allocate and manage the proceeds raised from the green loan.

Ang Teck Wee, Head of Government-linked Corporations, DBS, said, “Supporting the transition of the education sector towards a low-carbon future is important as it forms the very foundation that shapes the way our children, youths and future generations view sustainability. Addressing climate change is an urgent imperative, and providing financing to support green structures such as SUTD’s campus forms one of several necessary steps needed to achieve a climate-aligned future together. Looking ahead, we look forward to partnering SUTD on its sustainability journey for the long term.”

Giselia Giam, Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer, SUTD, said, “SUTD is pleased to partner DBS for our first green loan to help realise SUTD’s multi-faceted Sustainability Plan – using design thinking and technology to build a more sustainable and happier world by design. Together, we have also developed a Green Loan Framework that will guide our efforts as we transform our campus into a living lab for new sustainable technologies, processes and products, making SUTD campus a green catalyst for Singapore.”

The green loan will be used to realise and finance SUTD’s Sustainability Plan launched in December 2021, which sets out to achieve the university’s mission of ‘A Better World by Design’. The SUTD state-of-the-art green campus won the SG Mark Gold award in 2016 and achieved the Green Mark (Platinum) certification from Singapore’s Building Construction Authority (BCA). The SUTD campus utilises natural ventilation principles alongside cooling techniques to counteract the conditions of Singapore’s tropical climate. With the incorporation of facade planters, green roof terraces, sky gardens and green pockets planted with native trees and flowering plants, the overall campus design responds to the natural landscape of Singapore. In addition, SUTD commits to meet or exceed Singapore Green Plan Goals for carbon emissions, energy, water and waste by initiating new green research, test-bedding new technologies and incorporating sustainability into education and culture.

The SUTD campus utilises natural ventilation principles alongside cooling techniques to counteract the conditions of Singapore’s tropical climate.​ (Photo credit: Hufton+Crow)

DBS’ sustainability efforts
The SUTD green loan aligns with collective efforts under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, which is a whole-of-nation movement to advance Singapore’s national agenda on sustainable development and to work towards a net-zero future. It is also in line with DBS’ broader efforts to provide sustainable financing to more corporates to support their transformations towards a low-carbon future. In testament to its efforts, DBS committed a total of SGD 20.5 billion in sustainable financing transactions in 2021, taking the bank’s cumulative efforts to SGD 39.4 billion – achieving almost 80% of the bank’s SGD 50 billion sustainability financing target by 2024.

The bank is also on track to achieve its goal of net-zero operational carbon emissions in Singapore by 2022. In July 2021, the bank announced that its four-storey office building in Newton will be transformed into a net-zero property with climate-friendly features – the first by a bank in Singapore.