Committee of Supply Debate 2010: Environmental Policies under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources
March 9, 2010 by Eugene
Filed under Business and Organisations, Climate Change, Energy and Transportation, Government and Policies, People and Lifestyle, Singapore, Waste and Materials, Water, Air and Land
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, and Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, gave their speeches during the Committee of Supply Debate under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) yesterday. The speeches address various environmental policies, including:
- Sustainable Development – Overall Approach to Resource Efficiency and Mitigating Climate Change
- Improving Energy Efficiency
- Singapore’s Vulnerability to Climate Change
- Managing Our Water Resources
- Recycling and Waste Minimisation
- Building Up R&D and Manpower Capabilities in Clean Environment and Water Sectors
- Dengue
- Sustaining Public Cleanliness
- Licensing Elderly Tissue Paper Peddlers
- Noise
- Enhancements to Food Hygiene Regime
- ABC Waters Programme
Here are some key points that they raised: Read more
Do Environmental NGOs Have KPIs?
January 21, 2010 by Eugene
Filed under Business and Organisations, Singapore
We were wondering whether local environmental NGOs and groups have Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and track these indicators. KPIs are
commonly used to help an organization define and evaluate how successful it is, typically in terms of making progress towards its long-term organizational goals. – Wikipedia
We think it’s important for NGOs to have KPIs to keep track of their work and outreach. Here are some suggested KPIs:
1) Number of or % reduction/improvement of environmental problem/opportunity (depends on mission) due to organisation’s efforts (services, projects, campaigns, events, outreach, etc)
2) Number of volunteers and turnover rate (over 1, 3, 5, 10 years), and “followers” (Facebook, Twitter, RSS feed and newsletter subscribers, etc)
3) Number and frequency of media coverage (newspapers, radio, magazines, blogs, Facebook links, Twitter tweets and retweets, etc), and website traffic
4) Number of participants/visitors/partners for campaigns and events (for recurring and one-off events)
5) Amount and % of financial income from sponsors, regular and one-off donations, sales from products and services, etc
Are you aware of environmental NGOs that have KPIs? Share the information with us, thanks.
Singapore Green Landscape 2010
December 30, 2009 by Eugene
Filed under Business and Organisations, Education and Environmentalism, Features, Government and Policies, Publications, Singapore
Singapore Green Landscape 2010 gives an overview of the various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), green groups, business associations and groups, green websites, government agencies, and institutes and centres in Singapore, which are related to the environment.
We hope that the publication is useful for everyone who wishes to find and connect with the environmental organisations in Singapore, and explore personal and business opportunities.
The publication is free for download here. Feel free to share this.
Singapore Green Landscape
December 23, 2009 by Eugene
Filed under Business and Organisations, Education and Environmentalism, Government and Policies, People and Lifestyle, Singapore
(Singapore Green Landscape 2010 is now available for download here)
The Singapore Green Landscape shows an overview of the various NGOs, groups, websites, government agencies, business associations, institutes and centers related to the environment in Singapore.
This is not a complete list and is subjected to further updates and corrections. To help us show a better picture of the green landscape in Singapore, do let us know if we missed anything or if there are any errors. Thanks!
Green Future Solutions Launches Bookchanging – Singapore’s First Website for Green Books
December 21, 2009 by Eugene
Filed under Business and Organisations, Education and Environmentalism, Singapore
Green Future Solutions launched its latest website, Bookchanging, on 17 December 2009. This new website is the sixth in Green Future Solutions’ network of websites, which includes AsiaIsGreen, Green Business Times, Zero Waste Singapore, Low Carbon Singapore, and TEDxGreen.
Bookchanging is an online community for book readers to find, enjoy, share, discuss and buy green books. You can read environmental books to gain more knowledge, work towards a sustainable future and change the world.
Under the New Books category, you can find the latest books on the environment, including Al Gore’s Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, and Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man: Saving the Planet One Family at a Time.
Under the Recommended Books category, you can check out our book recommendations, which includes Alex Steffen’s Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century, and Janine M. Benyus’s Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.
You can also choose to buy the book in Singapore from Bookchanging or buy the book overseas from Amazon. Visit http://www.bookchanging.com to check out our books.
Images
Download the Bookchanging logo:
Download the Bookchanging badges here.
Contacts
Eugene Tay
Founder of Bookchanging
Email: eugene@greenfuture.sg
Social Media: LinkedIn | Facebook
About Green Future Solutions
Green Future Solutions is a Singapore-based business that promotes environmental awareness and action for a green future, through its network of green websites, events, presentations, publications and consultancy. For more information, visit http://www.greenfuture.sg.
The Brightest Building at Night Competition
October 15, 2009 by Eugene
Filed under Business and Organisations, Climate Change, Design and Buildings, Energy and Transportation, Singapore
The Brightest Building at Night Competition (BBN) is the first competition in Singapore to select the best buildings with the brightest outdoor and facade lighting at night from 1am to 6am.
Phase 1 of the competition will focus on the commercial buildings in the Central Business District. The organiser of the competition welcomes interested photographers to take photographs of the brightest buildings at night from 1am to 6am, and submit the entries for the competition.
Judges will vote for the brightest building based on the entries and the top 10 buildings will receive recognition. The winning building management will receive a commendation prize for their persistent efforts in lighting up the Singapore night sky even when there is no one around to look at the lights.
The photographers of the winning entries will each receive a special prize. Details on the competition start date and registration will be announced soon.
Image credit: olimohd
Corporate Social Responsibility in Singapore: Awareness and Implementation
October 2, 2009 by Eugene
Filed under Business and Organisations, Singapore
The awareness and implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Singapore has been increasing over the past four years since the formation of the Singapore Compact, a national society promoting CSR in Singapore.
What is CSR? Some companies associate CSR with charity and philanthropy, but CSR actually goes beyond that. According to Singapore Compact:
Corporate Social Responsibility is essentially about businesses doing well and doing good at the same time. CSR is about the long term strategy of aligning business strategy and operations with universal values to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes for customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities, other stakeholders and as well as the environment.
Through the implementation of CSR, companies can reap benefits and improve profits. Mr Koh Juan Kiat, Vice-President of Singapore Compact and Executive Director of Singapore National Employers’ Federation explains:
Adopting CSR brings intangible benefits such as a good reputation for the company, high morale among employees and improved performance and attracts investors. Employees will also take greater pride in their company and this will affect productivity.
In 2008, survey findings by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) show that out of the 507 Singapore-based enterprises surveyed, 40% of the respondents were aware of the term CSR. Of the CSR-aware respondents, two-thirds have implemented CSR activities.
To date, 240 organisations have joined Singapore Compact and are implementing CSR practices. These organisations include large corporations, SMEs, co-operatives, unions, federations and NGOs. In addition, 70 companies have signed up as signatories to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) network in Singapore.
Despite the growing awareness and implementation, CSR in Singapore is still in its infant stage and more needs to be done. As such, Singapore Compact will hold an inaugural International Singapore Compact CSR Summit from 6 to 7 October at Orchard Hotel. The conference will cover topics such as:
- CSR and the Community: The Role of Corporate Foundations
- CSR Global Trends
- CSR: Strategy for Sustainability and Success
- Investor’s Perspectives on CSR
- CSR and Sustainable Development – The Environment and Beyond
- CSR – what can be done?
This is a good and timely opportunity for your company to understand more about CSR and how to implement CSR in your organisation. Visit http://csrsummit.csrsingapore.org/ for details and registration.
Interview with Thomas Thomas, Executive Director, Singapore Compact for CSR
September 25, 2009 by Eugene
Filed under Business and Organisations, Singapore
This interview with Thomas Thomas, Executive Director, Singapore Compact for CSR, is submitted by the organisers of the International Singapore Compact CSR Summit.
1. What are your hopes for International Singapore Compact CSR Summit that will be taking place from 6-7 October 2009 at Orchard Hotel?
I hope that there will be a surge in CSR awareness and implementation in Singapore and this will in turn act as an impetus for the region. The ideas and discussions leading from the Summit will motivate and ingrain the values and principles of CSR. It will result in better managed companies that take into account the interest of stakeholders and a better world for all. Read more
Empowering Leaders Across Cultures – The AIESEC Way
September 22, 2009 by Eugene
Filed under Business and Organisations, Education and Environmentalism
This article is contributed by Jovin Hurry.
Empowering Leaders Across Cultures – The AIESEC Way
It is not common to see some 600 youth leaders flying in from 107 countries to meet to discuss world issues, leadership and management. Yet, this is what AIESEC’s top leaders did at the Palace of Golden Horses in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from August 21 to 31, 2009 for the AIESEC International Congress (IC). This event is AIESEC’s largest annual leadership congress, the biggest and most important event for AIESEC globally. As if it was not big enough, nearly 700 additional members attended the Opening Plenary online on ‘IC Live’. The theme for the 61st AIESEC International Congress ‘Empowering Leaders Across Cultures’ aimed to connect youth leaders across different cultures, beliefs and values to make our world better.
AIESEC is a global, non-political, independent, not-for-profit organization run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education. It is present in 1700 universities across 107 countries and territories. Its international platform is meant to enable young people to explore and develop their leadership potential for them to have a positive impact in society. AIESEC is currently the world’s largest student-run organization. It partners with business and higher education and has been developing high-potential students into globally minded responsible leaders for the last six decades. Read more
International Singapore Compact CSR Summit
September 9, 2009 by Eugene
Filed under Business and Organisations, Events, Singapore
| October 6, 2009 | to | October 7, 2009 |
Held at Orchard Hotel, Singapore from 6-7 October, the inaugural International Singapore Compact CSR Summit is the region’s premier educational and networking platform for leading professionals in raising the awareness and understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for sustainability and success in their organisation.
With the theme “Strategy for Sustainability and Success”, the event will explore on learning how to plan measure and implement Corporate Social Responsibility strategies in your organisation and discover best practices, sustainable development and excellence.
This timely conference brings together experts from various sectors to address regional and international trends in CSR, and also provide an opportunity for participants to network amongst professionals and thought leaders, and benchmark against proven best practices.
Who Should Attend:
- Business leaders
- Decision and policy makers
- Directors/managers
- CSR and HSE professionals
- Senior management executives
- Management consultants
- Union leaders
- Co-operative leaders
- Academics/researchers who are interested in elements of CSR and relevant international standards: corporate governance, environment, labour, supply chain, community investment, health and safety and many more
For more information, please visit http://csrsummit.csrsingapore.org.
Singapore Compact
10 Hoe Chiang Road
#22-01 Keppel Towers
Singapore 089315
Tel: +65-6827-6825
Fax: +65-6827-6802
Email: summit@csrsingapore.org
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