[Check out the updated Singapore Green Landscape 2020]

47 institutes and centres involved in environmental and sustainability research

Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre

The Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre (AEBC) is a joint venture between NEWRI (NTU) and the Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation (UNSW). It is a Centre of Excellence which aims to apply environmental biotechnology to address core issues and provide a biotechnology R&D platform for Singapore’s environmental and water technologies industry.

Advanced Materials Research Centre

The Advanced Materials Research Centre at NTU is an inter-school centre that research on the synthesis of advanced and innovative functional materials for applications ranging from clean energy, nanoelectronics to defence industries.

Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre

The Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) combines the challenging industrial requirements of cross sector global OEMs, the state-of-the-art industrial equipment and software makers with the best minds in R&D to accelerate that creation of industrial solutions for manufacturing and remanufacturing.

Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law

The Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL) was established by the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, in response to the need for capacity-building in environmental legal education and the need for promotion of awareness in environmental issues.

BCA Academy of the Built Environment

BCA Academy of the Built Environment is the education and research arm of Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA). BCA Academy provides quality training and research programmes for the advancement of the building industry and the development of an excellent built environment.

BCA Centre for Sustainable Buildings

The BCA Centre for Sustainable Buildings (BCA CSB) is a Centre Collaborating with UNEP, and is developing and delivering policy tools, approaches, undertaking advocacy work and providing coordinated support to countries for sustainable resource management in the building sector.

Centre for Climate Research Singapore

The Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) is a research centre and part of the Meteorological Service Singapore, with the mission to advance scientific understanding of tropical climate variability and change and its associated weather systems affecting Singapore and the wider Southeast Asia Region, so that the knowledge and expertise can benefit decision makers and the community.

Centre for Liveable Cities

The Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) has a mission to distil, create and share knowledge on liveable and sustainable cities. CLC distils key learning points from Singapore’s experiences over the last half-century, while creating knowledge to address emerging challenges. It also shares knowledge with, and learns from, other cities and experts.

Centre for Maritime Studies

The Centre for Maritime Studies is a National University of Singapore research centre specialising in maritime affairs. The Centre responds to the need to pool resources together to embark on forward-looking research, capitalising on global trade trends in Singapore and the world.

Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies

The Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre) conducts research and produces policy-relevant analyses aimed at furthering awareness and building capacity to address NTS issues and challenges in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. The centre addresses knowledge gaps, facilitates discussions and analyses, engages policymakers and contributes to building institutional capacity in the following areas: Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief; Food, Health and Energy Security; Climate Change, Environmental Resilience and Sustainable Development; and Peace, Human Security and Development.

Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities

The Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities (CSAC) serves as a platform to develop cutting-edge urban planning and design solutions as well as building technological innovations for high density environments that will be applicable to many cities in Asia and other developing countries.

Centre for Total Building Performance

The Centre for Total Building Performance (CTBP) is a joint research centre of the Building and Construction Authority and the National University of Singapore. CTBP focuses on building performance research with particular reference to tropical building design, construction, maintenance and management.

Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology

The Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE) is jointly established by the National Parks Board and the Workforce Development Agency. CUGE has a critical mass of knowledge to share and advance expertise on urban greenery and ecology. CUGE provides professional skills training programmes for all levels of professionals and is a national training institution of the Landscape Workforce Skills Qualifications.

Centre on Asia and Globalisation

The Centre on Asia and Globalisation (CAG), at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, focuses on producing quality academic research relevant to public policy. It is committed to ensuring its analysis informs policy and decision makers in and about Asia. This takes place through a combination of rigorous academic inquiry, expert collaboration, high level dialogue, public outreach, strategic networks and capacity building and training.

DHI-NTU Water & Environment Research Centre and Education Hub

The DHI-NTU Water & Environment Research Centre and Education Hub was jointly established by DHI Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University. It is an inter-disciplinary research and training centre for the water and environment industry in Singapore. The centre works towards development of environmentally friendly solutions, tools and technologies to support a sustainable ecology.

Earth Observatory of Singapore

The Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) conducts fundamental research on earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis and climate change in and around Southeast Asia, towards safer and more sustainable societies.

Energy Research Institute @ NTU

The Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) aims to be a centre‐of‐excellence for advanced research, development, and demonstration of innovative energy solutions with global impact. It will focus on the areas of sustainable energy, energy efficiency and infrastructure, and the socio-economic aspects of energy research.

Energy Studies Institute

The Energy Studies Institute (ESI) at NUS provides independent, quality and timely policy research and analysis of regional and global energy trends and issues in energy economics, security and the environment.

Environmental Chemistry and Materials Group

The Environmental Chemistry and Materials Group is formed within the NEWRI Ecosystem and comprises members with diverse expertise in science and engineering, and who have R&D backgrounds in the fields of environmental science, materials and chemistry. The team is engaged in activities to solving environmental and water problems with less chemical usage, energy consumption and waste stream generation.

Experimental Power Grid Centre

The Experimental Power Grid Centre (EPGC) aims to undertake research and development in core areas for intelligent and decentralised power distribution, interconnection and utilization; carry out collaborative R&D with industry, A*STAR research institutes, universities, and public agencies; and promote quick adoption and implementation of innovative technologies.

Green Transformation Lab

The Green Transformation Lab is a joint initiative by the Singapore Management University and DHL aimed at accelerating the evolution of sustainable logistics across Asia Pacific. It is focused on creating solutions that help companies transform their supply chains, becoming greener, more resource efficient and sustainable.

Institute of Catastrophe Risk Management

The Institute of Catastrophe Risk Management (ICRM) is the first multi-disciplinary risk management research institute of its kind in Asia. ICRM will focus on catastrophe triggered insurance and reinsurance risks, sovereign risk, societal risk and some non-traditional risks.

Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences

The Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) is a national research institute under A*STAR. Its mission is to support economic growth in Singapore through world class scientific research, developing novel technology and nurturing creative scientists and engineers.

Institute of Materials Research and Engineering

The Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) is a research institute of A*STAR and has built strong capabilities in materials analysis, characterisation, design and growth, patterning, fabrication, synthesis and integration.

Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) is dedicated to the study of social, political and economic trends in the region. Its aim is to nurture a community of scholars interested in the region and to engage in research within the fields of sociology, anthropology, political science, history and economics in order to understand the multi-faceted dimensions of socio-political and economic change.

Institute of Water Policy

The Institute of Water Policy (IWP) endeavours to enhance livelihoods in both developing and developed countries, by conducting research that identifies smarter policies and supports wiser investments and other interventions pertaining to water resources.

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) strives to be a leader in Southeast Asian biodiversity and conservation research, education, and outreach. LKCNHM inherited the natural history collection from its predecessor, the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR).

Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities

The Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities is a research centre in the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and focuses on the integrated use of technology and design to derive solutions for urban planning, design, development and management. The Centre will study the confluence of governance, social management frameworks and technology and design innovations.

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy aims to be a centre of excellence for academic study and research in the areas of public policy and public management.

Lien Centre for Social Innovation

The Lien Centre for Social Innovation is a partnership between the Lien Foundation and the Singapore Management University, to advance the thinking and capability of the social sector. Its mission is to catalyse innovative responses to social needs through applied research and capacity building in collaboration with the public, private and social sectors.

Maritime Research Centre

The Maritime Research Centre (MRC) initiates and undertakes research to development projects to develop maritime technologies and IT applications in port and maritime engineering, and also collaborates with local and international institutions and organizations in R&D, training and education of maritime professionals.

Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute

The Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) unifies NTU’s education, research, translation and applications in environmental science and engineering, through the NEWRI ecosystem of research groups and centres, and so provides a contiguous value chain linking research, education, industry and community.

National Biodiversity Centre

The National Biodiversity Centre (NBC) is established by the National Parks Board to serve as Singapore’s one-stop centre for biodiversity-related information and activities.

NTU-JTC Industrial Infrastructure Innovation Centre

The NTU-JTC Industrial Infrastructure Innovation (NTU-JTC I3) Centre is set out to expand Singapore’s research and development scope in diverse fields such as land reclamation and specialised marine infrastructure, energy and water recycling, underground infrastructure design and construction, and novel construction methods and systems.

NUS Environmental Research Institute

The NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI) aims to establish the National University of Singapore (NUS) as a leading global center of interdisciplinary research, education, and expertise in the environment field, particularly in issues affecting Singapore and Asia.

Residues and Resource Reclamation Centre

The Residues and Resource Reclamation Centre (R3C) is part of the NEWRI Ecosystem, and the aim is to act as a pre-eminent and industry preferred centre of competence for use-inspired residues and resource reclamation research and translation in Singapore and the Asia and Pacific region.

Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering

The Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) is an interdisciplinary Research Centre of Excellence that is linking new insights from the life sciences with expertise from the emerging technologies in engineering and natural sciences to understand, harness and control microbial biofilm communities.

Singapore Environment Institute

The Singapore Environment Institute (SEI) is the training and knowledge division in the National Environment Agency. It helps to promote Singapore as an environment hub that offers innovative solutions and provides thought leadership on environmental management for high-density, compact cities.

Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability

The Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability was established as a collaboration between the National Research Foundation of Singapore and ETH Zurich. It is an institution that frames a number of research programmes, the first of which is the Future Cities Laboratory, followed by the Future Resilient Systems. The centre strengthens the capacity of Singapore and Switzerland to research, understand and actively respond to the challenges of global environmental sustainability.

Singapore Institute of International Affairs

The Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) is an independent organisation dedicated to the research, analysis and discussion of regional and international issues. It aims to make Singapore a more cosmopolitan and global society through research, policy work and public education on international affairs.

Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology

The Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) develops high value manufacturing technology and human capital to enhance the competitiveness of Singapore’s manufacturing industry. It is a research institute of A*STAR.

Singapore Maritime Institute

The Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) is a joint effort by MPA, A*STAR and EDB in partnership with local Institutes of Higher Learning and reflects Singapore’s continued commitment to the maritime industry. The SMI aims to develop strategies and programmes related to the academic, policy and R&D aspects of the maritime industry.

Singapore Membrane Technology Centre

The Singapore Membrane Technology Centre (SMTC) was established to do fundamental and applied research in membrane technology. It has a mission to be a world class research centre in membranes for the environment and water technology industries.

Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore

The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) is Singapore’s national institute for applied solar energy research. It conducts research, development, testing and consulting in the fields of solar energy conversion and solar building technologies, to contribute towards a sustainable global energy supply and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainable Manufacturing Centre

The Sustainable Manufacturing Centre (SMC) is spearheaded by the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, a research institute of A*STAR. Its mission is to develop and implement innovative technologies that minimise emissions, wastes and toxicity in manufacturing, and strengthen the global competitiveness of Singapore’s manufacturing industry.

SUTD-JTC Industrial Infrastructure Innovation Centre

The SUTD-JTC Industrial Infrastructure Innovation (SUTD-JTC I3) Centre promotes the development of innovative and sustainable industrial infrastructure solutions in Singapore. It will spearhead collaborative research efforts in three research thrusts: Urban Innovation, Integrated Architecture and Engineering, and Design and Technology.

Tropical Marine Science Institute

The Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) is a centre of excellence for research, development and consultancy in tropical marine science as well as environmental science. With its multi-disciplinary research laboratories and active international links, it handles projects relevant to physical oceanography, acoustics, marine biology, marine mammals, biofuels, water resources and climate change.

Contents