What will it take to decarbonise Singapore’s Maritime industry?
International shipping releases 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air every year, which is about 3% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Despite being a small city-state, Singapore is the 27th highest carbon dioxide emissions emitter in the world and a global cargo and refuelling hub. What would we need to do to reduce emissions and take the lead in green shipping?
Launching the Coastal Sustainability Alliance
LivingWord Communications (LWC) was appointed by Kuok (Singapore) Limited (KSL) to lead the communications efforts for the Kuok Maritime Group (KMG), comprising PaxOcean Holdings Pte Ltd, Pacific Carriers Limited (PCL) and POSH (PACC Offshore Services Holdings) in the launch of the Coastal Sustainability Alliance (CSA) together with six partner organisations. They included Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), GenPlus, Jurong Port Singapore, Sea Forrest, Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore(TCOMS) and TES.
The Coastal Sustainability Alliance MOU Formalisation and Launch Ceremony was held on 14th March 2022 and graced by Dr Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry and attended by partners, industry players and the media.
With an investment of over S$20 million, the alliance aims to lead the acceleration in modularisation, electrification and advancement in energy-efficient logistics and engineering solutions. The first initiative is to redesign and build a series of PXO electric coastal vessels, with an initial 10 vessels deployed in 2025. The CSA will also develop a network of coastal and mobile electric charging points using upcycled EV car batteries modularised for maritime use. Additionally, the CSA targets for a 50% reduction in vessel carbon emissions and 20% less marine traffic by 2030.
Our approach was to communicate the CSA’s strategy and efforts through an integrated communications campaign encompassing media relations, events planning and management, content marketing, social media and multimedia assets in development with partners. These included photos, infographic and animated video. As an extension of the launch event, we organised a media event for the KSL and PaxOcean executives to share the CSA’s plans, answer questions and build deeper media relationships.
As a KMG-led initiative, the CSA provides a platform to elevate KSL’s innovation and leadership in maritime decarbonisation and transformation through a collaborative private-public partnership to foster innovation and technology R&D advancements to decarbonise, electrify, uplift SME supply chain capabilities and develop and attract talent into the maritime sector.
CSA’s Infographic outlining its vision for Singapore’s Coastal Sustainability Ecosystem
We worked with partners to co-create and conceptualise the infographic. The infographic served as a useful visual reference to show the comprehensiveness of the coastal ecosystem, the five components of the ecosystem, and the interconnectivity between each element. The concept ideation phase took a few months to unfold due to the complexity and interdependence of the components of the ecosystem.
Animated Video introducing the CSA
A video was commissioned to allow a representative from CSA member organisation to talk about their contribution and role in the alliance. The video was used as the launch reveal moment during the launch event. It also served as a useful media asset for the announcement and was used in CSA’s future marketing efforts.
Pre-event CSA Media Briefing
Before the CSA MOU Formalization and Launch Ceremony event, the pre-event media briefing and group interviews were held with PaxOcean and KSL/KMG spokespeople.
The session allowed journalists to engage with CSA’s spokespeople and build visibility of CSA and KMG’s efforts in transforming Singapore’s maritime industry.
CSA MOU Formalization and Launch Ceremony
To support CSA’s launch ceremony, we contributed to the programme conceptualisation, coordinated with the organisations involved, developed the emcee script and collaborated with an events agency partner to manage show calling. Following the launch event, guests had the opportunity to mingle at the networking area, where the infographic and a model of the battery to be used for e-vessel charging was displayed at the back of the ballroom.
The launch announcement resulted in extensive media pick-up across mainstream, broadcast, online and print and maritime news platforms. Our team also supported the CSA with social media content development during the Singapore Maritime Week 2022 on 4-9 April 2022, when DPM Heng Swee Keat included the CSA in his keynote address. In total, there were 98 pieces of coverage reaching an audience of 85.2 million people, and 454,000 estimated views across all channels.
Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract – sustainable development – and turn it into a reality for all the world’s people.