5 Green Grants for Businesses in Singapore (and How to Apply)

If you are an aspiring entrepreneur or are already running a Singapore-registered startup, you may be interested in the various government grants that are available to help you start or support your business.

While government grants cover many aspects of commerce, one growing area is the green economy. There are many potential ways a business could have green applications or make green improvements, such as by retrofitting premises for greener energy consumption. To support these efforts, the government has committed itself to helping businesses transition to more sustainable practices through a diverse range of green grants under the Singapore Green Plan 2030.

The Singapore Green Plan 2030 was launched in 2021 as a national blueprint to achieve sustainability, resilience and livability goals for Singapore. Its targets are divided into 5 broad categories. Some examples of targets within each category include:

• Increasing the accessible nature park footprint in relation to residential areas.
• Reducing waste/landfill and increasing the use of public transport.
• Boosting the use and storage of green energy, as well as the ancillary technology for sustainable energy use.
• Assisting the growth of the Green Economy.
• Improving sustainable resilience, such as in agriculture.

Some of the above targets are being implemented by giving grants to various qualifying entities. These include businesses, as mentioned above, and especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

In this article, we will focus on and explore in greater detail 5 such grants for businesses:

1. For businesses generally: Enterprise Financing Scheme – Green
2. For businesses generally: Energy Efficiency Grant
3. For businesses issuing sustainable bonds: Sustainable Bond Grant Scheme
4. For businesses producing or processing waste: 3R Fund
5. For farms: Agri-Food Cluster Transformation Fund

1. For Businesses Generally: Enterprise Financing Scheme – Green

The Enterprise Financing Scheme – Green (“EFS-Green”) is one of several initiatives falling under the umbrella of the Enterprise Sustainability Programme – the latter is a broad suite of programmes aimed at helping SMEs (a) integrate sustainability into their business and (b) capture new opportunities in the green economy.

EFS-Green is a grant specifically targeted to support project developers, system integrators, green solution adopters, and technology & solution enablers who develop enabling technologies and solutions to reduce waste, resource use or greenhouse gas emissions. The latter category is focused on the sectors of clean energy, circular economy, green infrastructure, and clean transportation. It works by providing a 70% risk-share to encourage lending by participating Financial Institutions (FIs). The targeted loan types include development capital, fixed assets, venture debt loans and M&A loans. The objectives of these loans have to relate to the green economy, with loan limits and repayment timelines varying with the type of loan, as follows:

Eligibility criteria

Applicants must meet the following qualifying criteria:

• General Criteria:
  • Be operating in Singapore as an ACRA-registered Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Partnership or Company.
  • Have their loan approvals subject to the participating FI’s assessment.
  • Meet the criteria for EFS-Green’s Qualifying Green Sectors and Activities and Qualifying Borrower Types.

• Additional criteria for companies:
  • Have at least 30% local equity held directly or indirectly by Singaporean(s) and/or Singapore PR(s), as determined by the ultimate individual ownership.
  • Not exceed S$500 million in Group Annual Sales Turnover.

Application process

To apply, simply call any of the participating FIs, these being CIMB (Singapore), DBS, HSBC, Maybank Singapore, OCBC, Standard Chartered, and UOB.

2. For Businesses Generally: Energy Efficiency Grant

The Energy Efficiency Grant supports businesses by co-funding investment in energy-efficient (EE) equipment.

The benefits come in two tiers, called Base and Advanced. The Base tier comprises up to $30,000 per company for EE equipment on a pre-approved list. This is a long list covering a wide range of industries, e.g., electric excavators for the Construction sector, clothes dryers for Food Services, and onboard LED lighting for harbourcraft. The Advanced tier offers $350,000 per company for EE equipment that can demonstrate energy savings above 350 tonnes of lifetime carbon abatement.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, applicants must meet the criteria below:

• Applicant’s primary or secondary economic activities (as registered with ACRA) must fall under Construction, Food Services, Manufacturing (including Food Manufacturing), Maritime or Retail sectors, or the applicants must be users of data centres.
• Have a minimum of 30% local shareholding, with at least 1 local employee at the firm-level.
• Have a Group Annual Sales Turnover of no more than S$500 million.

Additionally, the equipment purchased must be used in Singapore, and the project must not have commenced at the time of application.

Application process

The application process is complex and has different procedures depending on the applicant’s manufacturing sector, so it is best to refer to the guidance in the Business Grants Portal.

The Energy Efficiency Grant also has specific applications within the maritime sector, as part of MPA’s Green Ship Programme (GSP).  This includes:

• Up to 70% co-funding support for the adoption of energy efficient electric forklift(s) by port sector companies (until 31 March 2026), and
• Up to 70% co-funding support for adopting pre-approved energy efficient LED lightings and air-conditioning systems under the EEG (base tier) for harbourcraft.

Applications for the GSP in respect of Singapore-registered ships should provide the documentary evidence relevant to each specific criterion and email them to marine@mpa.gov.sg:

3. For Businesses Issuing Sustainable Bonds: Sustainable Bond Grant Scheme

The MAS Sustainable Bond Grant Scheme offsets up to $125,000 for eligible green-related bonds. While the bonds can be of any currency, they have a minimum size of $200 million and a minimum tenure of 1 year. The eligible cost offsets mainly centre on external reviews that validate a bond’s adherence to internationally-accepted green, social or sustainability principles.

Eligibility criteria

The detailed grant criteria are:

Application process

Applicants should write directly to fsdf@mas.gov.sg to apply, and this should be done no later than 3 months from the issue date of the relevant bond.

4. For Businesses Producing or Processing Waste: NEA’s 3R Fund

The 3R Fund is a co-funding scheme designed to encourage organisations to reduce waste disposed of at NEA’s incineration plants and disposal facilities, through the implementation of waste minimisation and recycling projects.

While nearly all manner of organisations – incorporated or not – can take part, the eligibility criteria apply more to the projects in question. This scheme cofunds 80% of qualifying costs, subject to a cap of $1 million per project or per applicant. The scheme can co-fund multiple projects, although the percentage of qualifying costs co-funded decreases to a minimum of 50%.

Eligibility criteria

For eligibility, projects must either yield increased recycling of non-toxic and non-chemical waste, or reduced production of solid waste, to a minimum of 100 tonnes. Priority is given to projects with innovative processes, or which specifically target waste streams that historically have had low recycling rates (e.g., food, plastic and glass).

Projects must not have commenced at the time of application (i.e. issuing of purchase orders for equipment, conducting collection and recycling of recyclables, etc. (whichever is earliest).

Positive examples of qualifying projects include:

• Redesign of processes to reduce waste at the production stage, including redesign of packaging or products;
• Installation of new waste recycling infrastructure such as separate chutes, containers or receptacles for the collection of recyclables, as well as refurbishment work to provide additional storage space for recyclables;
• Installation of innovative waste sorting or recycling systems/equipment; and/or
• Upgrading, installation or implementation of a new operation/system to reduce waste or increase recycling.

Please note that on-site food waste treatment systems projects for premises that are under the ambit of the Resource Sustainability Act, are excluded from the 3R Fund.

Application process

The application procedure is multi-step and begins with emailing a short write-up to the 3R Fund Secretariat at WM_Fund@nea.gov.sg for assessment. Only after a favourable assessment will follow-up paperwork be administered.

5. For Farms: Agri-Food Cluster Transformation Fund (ACT)

The $60 million ACT Fund was introduced in April 2021 to support local farms in adopting technology and advanced farming systems along the farm-to-fork value chain. It is meant to create a vibrant agri-food ecosystem and improve Singapore’s food security.

Eligibility criteria

Eligibility is restricted to local farms holding a valid farm licence issued by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). New farms that have not obtained their licences must have an in-principle approval from SFA to operate a farm at the premises stated in their farm licence application.

Broadly speaking, the fund targets two areas for improvement:

1. Capability upgrading (e.g., for farming equipment, systems for small-scale productivity trials, and green certification or audit expenses); and
2. Technology upscaling (e.g., to set up a large commercial-scale high-tech farm that is more productive and resource-efficient, or defray infrastructure and building costs for installing system(s) at new farm sites).

Applicants can seek up to $6 million for farming technology or systems, and for farm-related infrastructure costs. These funds can be used for purposes such as:

• Purchasing large commercial-scale, automated and advanced farming technology solutions to be integrated with agri-input production, post-harvest and waste treatment technologies
• Defraying infrastructure and building costs to be incurred to install the farming system(s) for setting up new farm sites or retrofitting indoor spaces within ready industrial spaces for farming

Application process

The application processes are fragmented and vary depending on what specific type of funding is being applied for. Applicants are encouraged to visit the main ACT page to use its step-by-step guidance to determine the specific requirements for each type of application.

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The policy goals underpinning the government’s green grants are broad. Some grants target very specific processes, e.g., retrofitting harbourcraft or farms, while others target more general aspects of business, such as facilitating capital loans and bonds for businesses engaged in specific green projects. Business owners should consider the sheer range of options and availability, to determine which grants are worth pursuing, given the eligibility criteria, application procedures and various targeted green objectives. To that end, you may wish to seek professional advice.

Most of the grants discussed above require you to have already set up your business before you can start applying for them. If you haven’t, you can consider engaging a corporate services firm to incorporate your company on your behalf, or obtain in-principle approval for a farm (if you are going for the ACT grant). It is not easy to set up a new business, and often, there are many legal formalities in the initial stage which require appropriate attention and adherence to.

If you are interested in engaging a corporate services firm, you can find out more and get in touch with us.

Apart from a corporate services firm, you can also seek help from a corporate lawyer for advice on the potential legal issues related to existing regulations and the specific criteria tied to each grant scheme.

Here is a list of 7 top-rated corporate lawyers in Singapore to kickstart your search. Alternatively, you can get in touch with experienced corporate lawyers here.