SIWW Spotlight 2023 Post-Event Report Is Out & Available for Download

At SIWW Spotlight 2023, the industry plenaries shone the spotlight on how industry can provide access to knowledge, technology, innovation, and capital to support the transformation of water utilities and cities to become climate-resilient, smart and sustainable. Moderated by Dr Piers Clark, Chairman, Isle Group, the topics of – “Climate-Resilient Utility: The Way Forward” and “Smart Utility: Partnering Industry for Success” were presented and discussed. Access the key insights in the Post-Event Report now.

As a recap, Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) Spotlight 2023 was held from 4-6 June 2023 as a by-invitation Summit. The three-day event brought together 340 leaders from utilities, cities and industry to share experiences and solutions in tackling climate and water sustainability challenges. Key topics presented include climate mitigation and adaptation, net zero/ decarbonisation and digitalisation.

Themed “Urgent Climate Action for a Sustainable Water Future”, sessions at Spotlight 2023 featured a closed-door roundtable for utility CEOs, industry plenaries, networking and partner events, and technical site visits to drive impactful exchanges and build partnerships for collective action.

In the Opening Address delivered by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore (watch the Opening Address’ recording here), she discussed water as the most important issue in the climate crisis. In Singapore, there is an increasing focus on securing a sustainable water future – this includes both water security and coastal protection. She lends us these highlights:

• The need to implement innovative solutions, exchange ideas, foster collaborations, and to share and learn best practices;
• Water pricing that reflects its scarcity. Singapore ensures that the real cost of producing water is reflected in its pricing;
• Mandatory measures for intensive water users in industrial sector. Legislative requirements for water recycling for industries that are water intensive, in particular the biomedical and electronic industries;
• Water efficiency measures and PUB’s commitment to supporting businesses to be more water efficient; and
• The Government’s relentless journey to ensure sustainability in the water sector – the mission to replace, reduce and remove carbon emissions and capture carbon in its operations.

To ensure you don’t miss out on the case study presentations, panel discussions and rich learning points shared, the Spotlight post-event report is now out and available for free download via SIWW+, SIWW’s digital technology and innovation resource hub. Simply create a free account and start browsing away!

Once logged into SIWW+, you may wish to also catch up on these session recordings:

💧 Plenary 1: Climate-Resilient Utility – The Way Forward
Click here for plenary case studies and speakers’ line-up.

💧 Plenary 2: Smart Utility – Partnering Industry for Success
Click here for plenary case studies and speakers’ line-up.

Hear Global Leaders Speak on the Need for Urgent Climate Action

Against the onslaught of climate change and its impacts, advocating action to implement solutions to address water challenges for the urban water sector remains an unwavering task at hand. A space for candid discussions aimed at addressing climate change impacts, the return of the Water Leaders Interview Series at SIWW Spotlight 2023, also deep dives into and how and why the water industry should partner with utilities and cities to build a sustainable and resilient water future.

Done in conversation with CWR’s Business Engagement Lead, Dawn McGregor, she sits down with global leaders for their insights and perspectives – starting with the first 2 episodes with Karlene Maywald, Water Ambassador, Department for Environment and Water, Government of South Australia and Narendran Maniam, Chief Executive Officer, Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd.

Karlene Maywald on adaptability to deal with unpredicted water challenges Discover innovative approaches to building climate resilience in the water industry with Karlene, a seasoned expert who has overseen the Millenium Drought and experienced recent flooding in the Murray and Darling River systems. Karlene shares her personal experiences and insights on how utilities and cities can partner to build a sustainable and resilient water future.

Narendran Maniam on pushing the frontiers of operational success, financial stability, and environmental sustainability Learn from Indah Water, the "Distinction Award" winner at GWI's Global Water Awards 2023 in the category of Public Water Agency of the Year, and how this accolade has pushed the frontiers for the company. From implementing water recycling and waste-to-energy initiatives to challenges in providing universal sanitation in Peninsular Malaysia, Narendran shares his insights on the importance of stakeholder engagement. Learn about large-scale water reuse, carbon neutrality, and Indah Water's latest developments in the net zero space.

You can now watch these current episodes, along with the previous SIWW2022 episodes, via SIWW+. To do so, simply sign up for a free SIWW+ account or login with your existing credentials.

Do also follow SIWW on LinkedIn as new episodes from the SIWW Spotlight 2023 Water Leaders Interview Series are released monthly!

[By 1 October 2023] Last chance to submit your abstracts to SIWW2024 Water Convention!

Drive the collective advancement to a water-secure future by submitting your abstracts for the SIWW2024 Water Convention. Grab the perfect opportunity to showcase your expertise, gain visibility and network with a diverse audience of over 2,000 global leaders, experts, and practitioners. Share your technology, solution and case study in urban water, flood resilience and coastal protection innovation to address water and climate challenges facing cities and urban communities globally.

THEMES

1. Delivering Water from Source to Tap (Network)
2. Delivering Water from Source to Tap (Treatment)
3. Effective and Efficient Wastewater Management
1. Treatment
2. Conveyance
4. Cities of the Future and Coastal & Flood Resilience
5. Water Quality and One Health
6. Nexus and Circularity

Co-organised by PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency and the International Water Association, the Water Convention – a flagship programme of SIWW – focuses on spurring knowledge sharing, fruitful discussions, and engaging debates through high quality presentations. The Water Convention is a technical programme curated by a high-level committee of renowned global experts. View the message from the co-chairs or hear what our co-organiser and theme leaders say about the themes and sub-topics here.

Over 20 Country Pavilions Participating in SIWW2024 Water Expo!

In cooperation with IFAT and organised by Messe Munich, the SIWW Water Expo is the pre-eminent marketplace for the international water, coastal and flood community to converge and find opportunities in business. The Water Expo showcases the latest state-of-the-art solutions, technologies, products and services for cities, utilities and industry in Asia.

Over twenty country pavilions from Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Scotland, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States will showcase their latest innovations at SIWW2024 Water Expo. Marking its biggest iteration yet is the Singapore pavilion organised by the Singapore Water Association.

All in all, these international pavilions will provide an important focal point for national participation and enhance bilateral trade.

In addition, some of the featured exhibitors at SIWW2024 Water Expo, include:

• Toshiba Infrastructure System & Solutions Corporation
• AVK Singapore Pte Ltd
• Catalan Pavilion
• Korean Water Partnership
• Meiden Singapore Pte Ltd
• MetaWater Co Ltd
• Nijhuis Saur Industries
• In – Situ
• HACH
• National University of Singapore
• De Nora Water Technologies
• Toray Asia Pte Ltd
• Jacobs
• Sembcorp
• RSK Group
• Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NTU)
• SUEZ (Singapore) Services Pte. Ltd
• Excel Marco Industrial System Pte Ltd
• Pinnacle Infosys Pte Ltd

Leverage Singapore’s unique value proposition as a global hydrohub to scale and springboard your businesses to municipal and industrial water users in Asia today!

Space application is open until 30 December 2023. To exhibit, email Ms Wang Yan at yan.wang@mmiasia.com.sg or visit www.siww.com.sg/water-expo for more details.

IP World Water Week High-Level Panel on Follow up on the UN 2023 Water Conference

In maintaining the momentum from the UN 2023 Water Conference in March, and the High-level Political Forum 2023 in July, where SDG 6 was reviewed, a High-Level Panel on Follow up to the UN 2023 Water Conference was recently convened at the World Water Week 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden.

At the session, co-chairs of the five Interactive Dialogues and relevant non-state actors, discussed themes under the UN Water Conference, including 1) Water for Health, 2) Water for Development, 3) Water for Climate, Resilience and the Environment, 4) Water for Cooperation and 5) The Water Action Decade.

To support ongoing collective action on the Water Action Agenda, Singapore delivered Remarks by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (see excerpt here), and an intervention by Mr Bernard Koh, Assistant Chief Executive, PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency. Both underpin the need to leverage technology and innovation to achieve water sustainability at a time of unprecedented challenges. This includes technologies such as desalination and water recycling water which are climate-resilient water sources, putting in place policies to right-price water and manage water demand and collaborating with the research community, industry partners, and international companies to scale up implementation.

Read more >>

Singapore and Qatar Inks Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) for Water-Related Research

As small states facing similar challenges, Singapore and Qatar have inked five new MOUs to strengthen our bilateral cooperation and learn more from each other’s experiences.

One of the MOUs was signed between PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency and the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Council (QRDI) to exchange knowledge and explore joint research programmes. Under the MOU, the QRDI will organise delegations from Qatar to the Singapore International Water Week to foster knowledge sharing in the water community.

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Opening of Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute Singapore (CFI Singapore)

Coastal protection and flood resilience are critical for Singapore as we deal with challenges caused by climate change and rising sea-levels. Under PUB’s Coastal Protection and Flood Management Research Programme (CFRP), a new multi-institutional Centre of Excellence named Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute (CFI) Singapore was launched on 7 September 2023.

The CFI Singapore will hold the key to building up local capability and expertise in coastal protection as well as flood protection research. The research centre will be hosted by National University of Singapore (NUS), which will work with partner institutes Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), as well as industry partners to drive multi-disciplinary research, develop innovative multi-functional coastal protection and flood management solutions, and inspire future generations of leaders and professionals to contribute to coastal protection in Singapore.

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