ComfortDelGro Group announced today (March 16) that it is providing S $ 50 million in clean energy technology and research to enhance its overall sustainability efforts.
The company recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the National University of Singapore (NUS) in which it will invest approximately S $ 10 million in a mobility-oriented CDG-NUS laboratory for intelligent and sustainable mobility (CDG-NUS Living Lab) .
The CDG-NUS Living Lab is scheduled to be set up by September 2021 and will focus on energy sustainability, integrated urban mobility, and smart and intelligent mobility technologies.
It will research, test and analyze mobility technologies in order to gain insights
that could later be implemented in solutions for the mass market.
ComfortDelGro is also the first mobility operator in Asia and one of eight leading companies in Singapore to support the Science Based Targets (SBTi) initiative.
The SBTi encourages private sector companies to set science-based emission reduction targets in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
One of the goals is to limit global warming to well below 2 ° C above pre-industrial levels and to continue efforts to limit warming to 1.5 ° C.
The global pandemic that started in early 2020 gave us one
Opportunity to recalibrate and review our stores. One of the most important results was the strong awareness that we need to increase our commitment to “green” technologies and processes.
For us, sustainability is not just a catchphrase. It has become an important pillar of our foundation that we want to build on in the future. Working with NUS and our commitment to SBTi are just some of the new initiatives in this regard. We intend to continue investing in sustainable activities in the coming months and years and to continue to be committed to them.
Yang Ban Seng, Managing Director / Group CEO of ComfortDelGro
Provision of electric buses on the NUS campus
Current NUS campus bus / Photo credits: NUS
The ComfortDelGro group also plans to invest a further S $ 40 million to replace its fleet of diesel buses with electric buses.
According to a press release from the group, the buses can be used on the NUS Kent Ridge campus.
At the same time, ComfortDelGro Engineering will also try to investigate the introduction of the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in the campus parking lots.
In addition to charging electric vehicles, they will be used to study the effects of using electric vehicles to travel on and around campus.
The move to “electrify” Singapore's largest tertiary institute is part of the ComfortDelGro Group's plan to intensify its sustainability efforts.
NIS (Research and Technology) Vice President Professor Chen Tsuhan said the initiative brings together NIS research technologies and ComfortDelGro's ambition and commitment to developing sustainable services.
"It is also in line with the university's goal of becoming a smarter, safer and more sustainable campus," he said.
Selected image source: NUS / The Edge Singapore
