Samwoh – Innovating for sustainability

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 40 per cent of annual global carbon emissions come from the built environment, with roughly a third attributed to infrastructure materials and construction.

For Samwoh, a Singapore-based engineering and construction company, its ambition for a greener built environment sector has led to the launch of its new headquarters, the Samwoh Smart Hub. Unveiled in late 2022, the facility is Singapore’s first positive-energy industrial building – constructed using 100 per cent recycled construction materials.

Positive-energy buildings produce more power than they consume. The Samwoh Smart Hub relies on smart building management systems to minimise energy consumption, including the use of sensors to optimise temperature and humidity within the facility.

On top of that, close to 2,600 solar panels generate enough energy to achieve a net energy surplus.

The building’s asphalt production plant is also 15 per cent more energy efficient than a conventional one. These measures contribute to the Smart Hub’s Green Mark Platinum Positive Energy certification from the BCA (Building and Construction Authority).

UOB was integral in supporting the construction of the Samwoh Smart Hub, providing tailored solutions and expertise through its Real Estate Sustainable Finance Framework as well as the U-Solar programme – both under the Bank’s suite of sustainable financing solutions.

As Samwoh’s long-term banking partner since the 1990s, UOB’s relationship with Samwoh has evolved into a shared commitment to drive sustainable efforts in the built environment industry.

With comprehensive solutions tailored to clients’ needs, UOB’s “One Bank” approach connects businesses to growth opportunities in the region, and beyond.

About this series

Building Asia is a collection of business stories on CNA that examines the financial forces driving Asia’s position as an economic powerhouse.

Samwoh – Innovating for sustainability was first aired on 13 February 2023 under the Building Asia with UOB series. The episode looks at how UOB supported Samwoh’s green initiatives, including the construction of a positive energy building as its headquarters, with a suite of sustainable financing solutions.

Transcript

Eric Soh (Chief Executive Officer, Samwoh Group):

Morning, Eric!

Eric Lian (Head, Group Commercial Banking, UOB):

Hey! Hi, good to see you. Thanks for coming. Finally, we are all done with this building.

Eric Soh:

This is our Samwoh Smart Hub, where we have built our first industrial building using 100 per cent recycled concrete. Through our ideas and innovation, we have built the first positive energy building in the industry.

Way back in February back in 2015/16, we started to draft the idea of building our new HQ, where we already started to engage UOB.

Eric Lian:

We really focused on the bank’s Sustainable Financing Framework for Real Estate to ensure that they comply with BCA’s Platinum Green Mark, which is a key feature of our financing framework. We wanted to make sure that we ticked all the boxes, at the same time, really around how do you then quantify the amount of carbon emissions that you can achieve. And this is how we have been working with Samwoh on positive energy as well as the amount of investment done in R&D.

Eric Soh:

As you know, the Samwoh Innovation Centre has made some breakthroughs in low carbon asphalt, low noise asphalt and even plastic waste, which we are using it in asphalt.

Eric Lian:

Since we started our relationship in 1999, we know of your challenges in terms of raw material, oil prices and aggregates. And this is also something that the bank has always been wanting to work with clients on, this sustainable financing agenda. I also noted that your asphalt plant is using the latest technology that reduces 15 per cent of the energy required. And I think that is equivalent to taking 265 cars off the road annually. This is really amazing!

Eric Soh:

As you can see Eric, over here, plus the building over there, we have about 2,600 solar panels that can power up to about 300 four-room HDB flats. And we consume less than what we produce.

Eric Lian:

In UOB, as part of our sustainable framework, we have many programmes. So, in addition to the real estate programme that we have worked with you, U-Solar is another that we have worked with you. I think this is something that we will continue to work on as you move into this sustainable journey.

What we really want to do is to make sustainability easy for a company like Samwoh. It's not just a simple financing, but it's also working together to achieve the sustainability agenda that the company has set out to do.

Eric Soh:

I think in our industry, financial support is definitely an important factor. But beyond financial support, we need a banker that understands us. We have been with UOB for about 30 years. They understand our pain point, where we want to go to, and we are glad that they really support our passion, our ideas.