DBS has launched the second edition of its DBS Regenerative Festival, an event aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore adopt sustainable business practices. More than 300 business owners and industry partners attended the half-day festival, which featured a fireside chat between Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Education, and Sustainability and the Environment, and Tan Su Shan, CEO of DBS. The discussion addressed Singapore’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, strategies for SMEs to reduce carbon emissions while managing costs, and the potential business benefits of regenerative practices.
Derrick Goh, Group Chief Operating Officer at DBS, announced the opening of a new alternate office at DBS Asia Gateway (DAG), located in Jurong. “We are pleased to announce our new alternate office at DBS Asia Gateway (DAG) which enhances our operational resiliency and ability to maintain high levels of reliability for our customers globally. Being in Jurong also allows us to better serve our customers in the western part of Singapore. Additionally, DAG has several innovations that allow us to further our sustainability objectives through the way we operate. As part of our support for the Singapore Green Plan 2030, we have been partnering SMEs on their sustainability journeys and have launched several initiatives to support businesses on this front. We are hosting the DBS Regenerative Festival at DAG today as a continuation of these efforts.”
The event provided SMEs with opportunities to connect with over 20 exhibitors presenting regenerative products and solutions. Among them were MYCL—producers of mycelium-based leather used in goods like book covers and bags—and AlterPacks, which upcycles spent wheat into compostable materials. Both companies are recipients of the DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant.
Karen Cheah, Founder & CEO of AlterPacks said: “DBS has been more than a bank. They’ve opened doors, amplified our story, and supported our growth as a company with impact at its core. Their partnership shows how financial institutions can empower businesses to turn waste into resources and make circular solutions mainstream. This support has enabled us to extend our innovation into new verticals of application.”
Adi R. Nugroho, CEO & Co-founder of MYCL added: “DBS and the DBS Foundation have been instrumental in our journey at MYCLfrom the very start, catalysing our growth by openingdoors tonew opportunitiesand strengtheningour commitment to sustainable innovation. With their support, we’ve been able to scaleour mushroom-based material solutions while staying true to our mission of helping people transition to circular economy by providing sustainable and high performance biomaterial. DBS’ belief in our vision shows that innovative businesses can help solve complex environmental challenges.”
The festival is one initiative among several that DBS has introduced recently for SMEs focused on sustainability:
– In April 2024, DBS partnered with Enterprise Singapore on the ESG Ready Programme aimed at building SME capabilities in sustainability.
– That same month saw collaboration with the National Sustainable Procurement Roundtable (NSPR) on a guide for sustainable procurement.
– In May 2025, together with partners including Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), they launched Singapore’s first decarbonisation playbook for manufacturers.
Jerald Tew from Spin Fans commented: “Sustainability is a foundational pillar of Spin’s business. We were already exploring ways to be more sustainable and joining the ESG Ready Programme last year helped supercharge this effort by accelerating how we translate ideas into action. By tapping DBS’ expertise and support under the programme, we mapped out an achievable carbon pathway, identified practical solutions, and built a plan that fits our business. The DBS Regenerative Festival today has opened doors for us to connect with other SMEs and vendors in the sustainability ecosystem, as well as share best practices and knowledge on our respective sustainability journeys.”
As part of its business continuity strategy—and reflecting its environmental commitments—DBS officially opened its new DAG office within Perennial Business City (PBC). The site serves as a live parallel location supporting global operations resilience while enabling service expansion in western Singapore.
Perennial Business City is recognized as Jurong Lake District’s first BCA Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy Business Park—a standard reflecting advanced energy efficiency features across buildings in Singapore https://www1.bca.gov.sg/buildsg/sustainability/green-mark-certification-scheme/green-mark-buildings-overview . At DAG’s fit-out stage within PBC facilities:
– Over 800 tabletops were crafted from reclaimed wood; bamboo was used for meeting tables;
– Recycled materials such as wooden crates or coffee bean bags found use throughout;
– Office cooling systems combine active chilled beams with passive displacement cooling using smart sensors—achieving energy performance surpassing top national benchmarks by 20%.
Guests toured DAG during the festival for practical insights into implementing regenerative design principles.
About 1,000 employees from DBS’ Operations Group work from this new location.
The first edition of this festival took place in 2024 alongside members from NSPR—including founding members Mandai Wildlife Group https://www.mandai.com/en/home.html , Singtel https://www.singtel.com/ , StarHub https://www.starhub.com/ , besides DBS—to promote awareness around regenerative procurement practices.
