Tan Tock Seng Hospital Earth Day - Dr Janil Puthucheary

It is my pleasure to join you in commemorating Earth Day, as we reflect on our shared responsibility to better protect our planet, and in these days, on how climate change affects public health.

Climate change is very much here and now. It is not something in the future, it is not potential, it is not speculation. You can see around us, temperatures are rising, extreme weather is more common, rainfall patterns are changing, and ecosystems are being disrupted. These threats are not distant, and they are already affecting the health of our communities. Rising temperatures will increase the risk of heat stress and heat-related illnesses, particularly among population segments such as the elderly and young children. Rising temperatures will increase the risk of forest fires, worsening air pollution. Combined with changing ecosystems, all these climate impacts will also affect how vector-borne diseases spread.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2030, the direct costs of climate-related change to health systems could reach between US$2-4 billion dollars annually.

Protecting our environment is essential, for climate change, for reducing pollution, for safeguarding the health and wellbeing of current and future generations, as well as our resilience and our economic pursuits. As healthcare professionals, you play a critical role, not just as guardians of public health, but also as environmental stewards who can lead the drive for sustainability to protect our planet.

Globally, the healthcare industry generates about 4 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The industry consumes significant amounts of energy and water and generates significant waste. We need innovative and sustainable approaches to improve efficiency, to adopt greener practices and strengthen climate resilience across our public health institutions.

TTSH is taking the lead, and this is very heartening, driving sustainability and circularity through innovative and practical solutions, including exploring AI analytics for climate risk assessment. Your journey in TTSH driving sustainable healthcare over the past three years has made steady progress. In 2025, you achieved a 13.7% reduction in energy use, a 9.3% decrease in water consumption, and a 43.2% reduction in waste disposal compared to 2022. All of these efforts are captured in your inaugural Sustainability Report, alongside a roadmap that outlines future aspirations and priorities. I am pleased to launch both documents today which can be accessed on the hospital's website.

TTSH also received an Honourable Mention in the 2025 Geneva Sustainability Centre Excellence Award for Hospital Sustainability Acceleration, one of the prestigious International Hospital Federation Awards. Congratulations to TTSH.

Such a recognition is only possible because TTSH’s journey in sustainability is firmly anchored by its people, some of whom are here today. Senior Pharmacist Alicia Lin spearheaded a redesign of medication packaging that will make 66,000 boxes fully recyclable every month. Patients can recycle these boxes via the blue recycling bins. This initiative will be adopted across public healthcare institutions, potentially resulting in millions of boxes that can now be recycled instead of thrown away. This effort is estimated to result in an annual reduction of about 4,500 kg carbon dioxide equivalent of emissions.

I am also glad that significant efforts have been made to reduce the environmental impact of care at TTSH while maintaining good patient outcomes. This is always a matter of attention and issue for us in the healthcare space, making sure we are increasingly sustainable. Our care does not change; we maintain excellent outcomes. One example is the use of Desflurane. This is anaesthetic gas used for general anaesthesia. As a gas, it has a global warming potential that is 2,500 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. The anaesthetists at TTSH have a belief that you can provide safe care and sustainable care. They have worked to reduce desflurane usage by 66% from 2022 to 2023, followed by an additional 20% reduction in 2024, and replacing with an eco-friendlier alternative: sevoflurane.

TTSH staff have also reduced the prescription of metered dose inhalers. These are commonly used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive respiratory diseases. These small devices contain propellant gases which have a very high global warming potential exceeding 3,000 times that of carbon dioxide. The staff analysed medication dispensing data to identify patients with excessive inhaler usage patterns. They worked on raising awareness and educating these patients on appropriate inhaler usage. These efforts paid off, with TTSH achieving a 9% reduction in metered dose inhaler prescriptions between 2022 and 2024, cutting carbon emissions by an estimated 217 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.

The hospital also works closely with recycling partners to recycle plastic waste into packaging and even road paving, as well as for collecting and recycling of e-waste. This is the work of every corporate partner, every large institution and large entity, like TTSH, is doing its part. Thank you very much for doing so.

TTSH’s responsibility and commitment to sustainability has demonstrated how environmental responsibility can go hand in hand with high quality care, operational excellence, and innovation. Moving forward, I hope that other industry leaders can drive sustainability in their respective industries and at the same time, contribute meaningfully to Singapore's climate action.

Climate change will increasingly shape how we build, plan and deliver services across all industries, including healthcare. Alongside reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainability to mitigate the impact of climate change, we must strengthen our resilience and adapt to climate change. This is why Singapore has designated 2026 as the Year of Climate Adaptation, focusing on strengthening our resilience and adaptability to climate change impacts across key sectors.

We are currently developing our inaugural National Adaptation Plan. This National Adaptation Plan will be our long-term strategy to build a climate-ready nation. In the coming year, we will increase our engagement efforts across different sectors and different communities, working together to explore how we can better prepare Singapore for climate change. This will mean working closely with the public health sector to better understand the physiological effects of heat on population health and labour productivity.

We will also need to build capabilities to ensure that quality healthcare continues to be delivered for various population segments amidst the rising temperatures as well as other demographic and technological changes. In line with this, to strengthen heat resilience, the Government has also set up the Heat Resilience Policy Office in March this year. This office will oversee heat management efforts, and coordinate what we do across various sectors, including health and infrastructure.

We encourage Singaporeans, including all of you who are our key partners in healthcare, to share your concerns and ideas, share how our nation can better prepare for the effects of climate change. This is more than planning ahead; it is making a promise to future generations that we will not leave them to face these challenges. We will start planning today and we will do this for the future generations of Singaporeans.

Thank you all, and I wish all of you a meaningful and enjoyable Earth Day 2026.