Launch of Go25 National Movement

Singapore, 16 May 2025 – The Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE), supported by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA), have officially launched Go 25 to encourage sustainable cooling, by setting indoor air-conditioning at (or above) 25°C. This was announced by Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Dr Amy Khor in her speech at the launch of Go Green SG 2025, our national sustainability movement. 

Tackling Overcooling 

2 Buildings account for over 20 percent of Singapore's carbon emissions, with air-conditioning being a key contributor to building energy consumption. Overcooling not only increases electricity usage but also accelerates climate change and exacerbates the urban heat island effect. This creates a vicious feedback cycle: hotter cities demand more cooling, which generates more emissions and heat, further raising ambient temperatures. This is not sustainable. 

Science-Backed Approach to Sustainable Cooling

3 A growing body of research affirms the benefits of setting air-conditioning temperatures optimally. A study in partnership with Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Centre for Environmental Sustainability (CfES) showed energy savings of up to 12 percent for each degree raised in air-conditioning temperature from 23°C to 25°C in offices, with no reported increase in occupant discomfort. Additional energy savings can be achieved when air-conditioning temperatures are set above 25°C. Hybrid cooling solutions – which set air-conditioning at a higher temperature complemented with secondary cooling measures such as fans – can bring even greater energy savings. 

4 Go 25 encourages a shift towards sustainable cooling, where higher air-conditioning temperature setpoints reduce air-conditioning energy loads without compromising thermal comfort, to maintain liveability in Singapore’s tropical climate in the long run. 

Key Initiatives under Go 25

5 As part of the Go 25 movement, there will be a series of initiatives and activities to raise awareness on sustainable cooling best practices, and to support businesses and building owners.

Go 25 Pledge

6 The Go 25 Pledge is a voluntary industry commitment to sustainable cooling. This initiative enables building owners, businesses, and organisations to commit to:

• Setting indoor temperatures at 25°C or higher, or as close to 25°C as possible if it cannot be achieved without compromising comfort due to infrastructural constraints.

• Adjusting temperature gradually to ease transition for occupants.

• Providing alternatives such as fans and encouraging relaxed dress codes.

• Displaying indoor temperatures and promoting the pledge publicly via a downloadable Go 25 Toolkit (includes poster templates, social media assets, and infosheets).

7 The Go 25 Pledge creates a platform to galvanise Singaporeans to commit to energy-efficient cooling practices. We welcome building owners, businesses, and organisations to pledge via https://go.gov.sg/go25.

Go 25 Industry Guide

8 A Go 25 Industry Guide will be published in the third quarter of 2025 to help facilities managers and building operators implement higher indoor temperatures on their premises. Developed by SGBC and BCA, the Guide will serve as a technical reference for the process and considerations needed when raising indoor ambient temperature, while maintaining occupant comfort. Refer to Annex for the Go 25 factsheet for more information.

Go 25 Indoor Comfort Quiz and Snapshot

9 The Go 25 Indoor Comfort Quiz is a fun, interactive online personality quiz that reveals a user’s ideal temperature profile and highlights the benefits of higher indoor temperatures. The insights gathered will be aggregated into a report – “Indoor Comfort Snapshot” – to showcase temperature preferences, basic energy savings potential and quick actions for businesses to reference along their journey to Go 25. The quiz can be accessed at https://go.gov.sg/go25.

10 “When we make our indoor spaces too cold with air conditioning, it is not just uncomfortable, but it takes up a lot of energy. Air conditioning makes up nearly a quarter and half of average household and building energy consumption respectively, which adds to our carbon emissions. Ironically, our unsustainable cooling habits contribute to a warmer climate and in turn, a greater need for air-conditioning,” said Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment.

11 "Overcooling our spaces is not just energy-inefficient; it actively undermines the climate resilience we’ve embedded into our green buildings through passive design, smart ventilation, and thermal comfort optimisation,” said Mr. Allen Ang, President of the SGBC. “Go 25 isn’t a compromise — it’s an opportunity. Each degree upwards saves energy, and reduces the urban heat island effect. For building owners, this means lower operational costs. For occupants, it means not compromising thermal comfort. And for Singapore, it’s a tangible step toward our climate ambitions.”