Grundfos and NP will jointly explore and develop smart sustainable solutions for the region’s built environment, as well as drive initiatives focused on UN Sustainability Development Goals such as SDG6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG13 (sustainable consumption and production patterns) for climate action.
Under the three-year partnership, both parties will contribute complementary expertise, knowledge and talent to advance sustainability efforts for the commercial building industry. NP will facilitate the various touchpoints between academia and industry, while Grundfos will tap into its wide network and industry knowledge to provide staff and students with the necessary resources and industry opportunities to successfully co-develop innovative sustainable solutions. These solutions will be subsequently implemented across the NP campus as well as Grundfos’ facilities.
The partnership will focus on sustainability education and talent development, with Grundfos and NP looking to roll out a range of solution packages, projects, events, courses, and trainings to proactively promote smart sustainability to the industry, including webinar sharing sessions, seminars and conferences.
To build talent pipelines and foster talent development, Grundfos will also be working closely with NP across various programmes such as mentorships, book prizes, student projects and internships.
Kenth Hvid Nielsen, Grundfos’ regional managing director, APAC, Commercial Buildings, said: “The built environment and construction sector is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector of the economy. As Southeast Asia’s population grows and becomes increasingly urbanised, it is important to identify a sustainable way forward.”
Lim Kok Kiang, Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s principal and CEO, said: “We believe the built environment presents important opportunities for students to use design-thinking approach and smart technologies to better create and manage living and working spaces in a sustainable way. Working with Grundfos will empower both students and staff with the necessary resources and opportunities to innovate in the area of urban sustainability.”
As part of NP’s green campus initiatives, Grundfos has worked closely with NP’s Environmental & Water Technology Centre of Innovation (EWTCOI) to revisit the HVAC system design for one of the campus buildings (Block 22), and subsequently retrofitted the system with its distributed pumping solution. The new solution provided sustainable cooling for the building, pushing the existing Green Mark Platinum building to achieve greater energy efficiencies, while still maintaining a cool, comfortable environment throughout the building. The project also saw a 54% pump system kWh energy savings.
