Thoughts on the NCCS Public Perception Survey on Climate Change in Singapore

From Oct to Dec last year, the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) commissioned a survey among 1,010 Singaporeans aged 15 and above, to find out the current level of public awareness, attitudes and behaviours towards climate change in Singapore.

Here’s some of the survey results and our thoughts:

Gap Between Awareness and Action

These survey results show that most Singaporeans are concerned about climate change and its effect on Singapore, and feel that they play a part in taking action. The results are not surprising, as it is similar to responses from previous NEA and Gallup surveys, which show similar positive responses from Singaporeans on environmental and climate change issues.

We think that Singaporeans know about climate change as we are being exposed to local and international environmental news through the printed and online media, but we tend to stop at awareness and not translate that into action. The survey results show a concern about climate change and a desire to take action, but does not describe actual actions. We feel that there is still a big gap to be bridged between awareness and action in Singapore. Read more

A Guide to the Eco Labels in Singapore by Green Business Times

Eco labels and certifications for products, services and facilities provide a certified green trustmark for consumers and businesses who wish to choose more environmentally-friendly alternatives and make the right choice.

There are hundreds of eco labels in the global market. In Singapore, we have about 10 different eco or green labels:

1. Eco-Office Label
2. Eco-Foodcourt Certification
3. Eco-Hotel Certification
4. Energy Label
5. Fuel Economy Label
6. Green Label
7. Green Mark
8. Singapore Green Building Product Certification
9. Sustainable Manufacturing Label
10. Water Efficiency Label

Here’s a guide to the eco labels in Singapore by Green Business Times:

Read more

How Asians Can Encourage Facebook to Unfriend Coal by Earth Day

Greenpeace is campaigning to get Facebook to unfriend coal by Earth Day, April 22, and Asians can help to encourage Facebook too.

Greenpeace’s Unfriend Coal campaign wants Facebook to:

• Increase the use of clean energy to make Facebook coal free
• Develop a plan to make Facebook coal free by 2021
• Educate users about how Facebook powers its services and its carbon footprint
• Advocate for clean energy at a local, national and international level

Facebook announced last year that it is building a new energy efficient data centre to serve the hundreds of millions of its users, but the company plans to run it on electricity from burning coal, which is the most carbon intensive fossil fuel and also very pollutive. Greenpeace believes that Facebook can move away from coal and switch to clean energy, and influence the rest of the IT sector to do likewise. Read more

Singapore Green Landscape 2011

The Singapore Green Landscape 2010 published last year by Green Future Solutions was well-received and was downloaded 970 times over the past year.

This year, the Singapore Green Landscape 2011 provides a review of 80 key environmental news in Singapore last year, and gives an overview of 160 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 (50 more than last year).

Green Future Solutions hopes that this publication is useful for everyone who wishes to know more about the state of the environment in Singapore, find and connect with the environmental organisations in Singapore, or explore personal and business opportunities.

This publication is free for download. Feel free to share this. To download the publication, just fill in your contacts in this link.

Waste is not Waste Provides Online Waste Exchange for Businesses and Organisations in Singapore and Malaysia

Waste generation in Asia has been increasing rapidly due to urbanisation and industrialisation, and poor waste management in several countries has caused negative impacts on the environment and the health of the people. According to The Global Development Research Center, the waste in Asia is disposed of by 51% open dumping, 31% landfilling, 9% recycling, 5% incineration and 2% open burning. It is clear that more work has to be done to reduce, reuse and recycle waste in Asia.

We believe that waste is not waste, but a potential resource for someone to use again. To tackle the waste problem, we wish to contribute by focusing on ending industrial and commercial waste from businesses and organisations in Asia, starting from Singapore and Malaysia.

There is much scope for businesses and organisations in Asia to reduce and recycle their waste. Waste is usually the last thing on their mind and is something to be thrown away without much thought. With increasing awareness on environmental issues, businesses and organisations are facing pressure from their customers and along the supply chain. They are starting to look at the waste they generate and trying to recycle as much as possible.

By reducing their waste, businesses and organisations also hope to cut costs and be more efficient. However there are some barriers such as lack of time and information to find out the types of waste that can be recycled, and to search for suitable collectors and recycling companies.

Our new initiative, Waste is not Waste, hopes to remove the barriers by providing an online waste exchange that is easy and convenient for businesses and organisations to use, and which helps them reduce, reuse and recycle waste. We connect businesses and organisations that generate waste materials with those who want the materials, thus helping both parties save time and money while helping the environment.

Visit our new beta version of Waste is not Waste to learn more about us, the benefits and how it works. Remember that waste is not waste, but potential resources to be used again.

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