Nippon Paint’s Continuous Sustainability and Innovation Commitment

At the inaugural 2011 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Green Excellence Awards, Nippon Paint was awarded with the product innovation award in decorative paints for its odour-less AirCare, an eco-friendly paint that absorbs harmful indoor air pollutant and results in clean fresh air. This award reaffirms Nippon Paint’s commitment to ecological sustainability and technological innovation.

To understand more about Nippon Paint’s sustainability and innovation commitment, Green Business Times recently met up with Mr Wee Siew Kim, the Group CEO of NIPSEA Group of Companies.

Continuous Sustainability and Innovation Commitment

Mr Wee shared that Nippon Paint has always been mindful of the context in which they make money through paint, and it is important to take into consideration their responsibility on the environmental, social, and economic aspects. The various aspects are all linked and is a continuous process in the company. Through leadership in being green, it helps to push the brand forward and makes business sense.

The award by Frost & Sullivan is a recognition of this continuous process, which is the result of long-term thinking and actions over many years. The continual commitment to research and innovation, and understanding what customers need, has helped the company introduce new innovative green products to the market. Read more

Green buildings make value propositions [News]

By Mindy Tan, The Business Times, 29 Nov 2011.

Retrofitting commercial buildings can lead to an increase in their value.

Companies can not only expect average savings in operating expenses of 10 per cent, but commercial buildings can also potentially see an increase in capital value of about 2 per cent.

Specifically, it was found that retrofitting to achieve the standard BCA Green Mark certification can result in significant reduction in energy consumption; average savings from the 23 buildings (comprising office, retail, hotel, and mixed-used developments) sampled earlier this year after retrofitting was about 17 per cent of the total building’s energy consumption, compared to before retrofitting.

These were some of the key findings of a joint study conducted earlier this year, by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the department of real estate at the National University of Singapore, in collaboration with six real estate consultancy firms. Read more

Horizon Fuel Cells – Reviving the Hydrogen Dream

Fuel cells cannot be called the next big thing. They have been around for a long time and was part of the hype around the possibility of using hydrogen to power everything from cars to phones. Fuel cells work by oxidizing hydrogen and emitting only water as a by-product with zero carbon emissions. However, when faced with the many challenges of large-scale hydrogen production and use, many researchers and businesses failed to overcome them to achieve commercialization and the focus has since shifted to electric vehicles and improving conventional battery technology. What used to be seen as an integral part of our sustainability goals became nothing more than a failed technology, destined to never realize its game-changing potential. One company, Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, saw the potential and was determined to overcome the challenges. Read more

Latest Green Jobs in Singapore [21 - 27 Nov 2011]

1. Assistant Manager / Manager (Corporate Social Responsibility & ISO 26000), Wisenet Asia Pte Ltd
2. Senior Manager / Divisional Director, Environmental & Engineering Services, International Enterprise Singapore
3. Environment Engineer, Integrated Resource Management (IRM)
4. Marketing Executive (Full Time & Internship), Green Investments Forum.com
5. (EHS) Engineer / Officer, Renaissance Management Services Pte Ltd
6. Account Manager (Water Treatment), JAC Singapore Pte Ltd
7. QHSE Officer / HSE Coordinators, De-Factors Consultants Pte Ltd
8. South Asia EHS Manager, Smart Recruitment
9. Senior Environmental System Engineer, Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd
10. Senior / Process Engineer (Water / Wastewater), Envipure Pte Ltd
11. Environmental Engineer, EnviroDynamics Solutions Pte Ltd
12. Engineer, EHS, REC Modules Pte Ltd
13. EHS / Sustainability IT Project Manager, Environmental Resources Management (S) Pte Ltd
14. EHS / Sustainability IT Consultant, Environmental Resources Management (S) Pte Ltd
15. EHS Officer – Waste Plant, Gough Recruitment (Singapore) Pte Ltd
16. Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Professional, CH2M HILL Singapore Pte Ltd
17. Sales & Marketing Manager (Water), Hays Specialist Recruitment Pte Ltd
18. Architect (Projects), Urban Redevelopment Authority
19. Water Project Manager, Hays Specialist Recruitment Pte Ltd
20. PhD Student, Siemens Pte Ltd
21. Green Mark Professional, The Blue Barrel Pte Ltd
22. Technical Support Officer, National Environment Agency
23. Charge Engineer (Operations), National Environment Agency
24. Engineer, National Environment Agency
25. Assistant Executive (3P Network), Ministry of The Environment and Water Resources
26. Lecturer – Clean Energy & Energy Management, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
27. Commercial Project Manager Wind Power Asia-Pacific, Siemens
28. Senior Analyst / Analyst (Industry Development), Energy Market Authority

If your company would like to post a green job opening on our site (free), send us the job description and details through our contact form.

Hyflux in talks over Tuaspring power plant [News]

By Ronnie Lim, The Business Times, 26 Nov 2011.

Hyflux, which is developing Singapore’s second and largest desalination plant, ‘is now in advanced discussions with reputable contractors’ to develop the core power portion of the project.

But a Hyflux spokesman yesterday declined to comment on when the EPC deal for the S$890 million project is expected to be sealed, though earlier sources had indicated construction would begin in Q4.

The Tuaspring facility, which is slated to start operations in 2013, will produce 70 million gallons of desalinated water per day, to be supplied to the PUB under a 25-year agreement. The 411-megawatt cogeneration plant marks the company’s first foray into power. Read more

Delaying renewable energy will make it costlier eventually [News]

By Dennis Posadas, The Business Times, 26 Nov 2011.

Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its 134-page report on the state of energy in the world. In the World Energy Outlook 2011 report, it said the growth of renewable energy is underpinned by subsidies that will rise from US$64 billion in 2010 to an estimated US$250 billion in 2035 – a lifeline that cannot be taken for granted in this time of fiscal austerity.

According to IEA chief economist Fatih Birol, ‘delaying action is a false economy. For every US$1 of investment in cleaner technology that is avoided in the power sector before 2020, an additional US$4.30 would need to be spent after 2020 to compensate for the increased emissions.’

This means that if we wait nine years more to act, costs to shift to clean energy can multiply by as much as four times what it is now.

However, the Singapore and Philippine governments do not take subsidies as a means to encourage renewable energy sources. Read more

LOHAS Asia Forum 2012 Set to Land in Singapore [Press Releases]

Singapore, 16 Nov 2011 – LOHAS Asia, an organisation dedicated to lifestyles of health and sustainability, will host an exciting three-day networking and marketing forum in Singapore from 28 February to 1 March 2012.

More than 400 Asia-Pacific LOHAS businesses and individuals are expected to participate in this first-of-its-kind event.

“We are incredibly excited for this opportunity to bring together hundreds of Asia-Pacific’s most committed LOHAS individuals and businesses,” said Adam Horler, president of LOHAS Asia. “The three-day LOHAS Asia Forum promises a number of world-class speakers, creative discussions and unparalleled networking opportunities.” Read more

Coca-Cola’s “green” strategy working for its business [News]

By Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia, 24 Nov 2011.

While governments worldwide are moving to combat global warming, businesses like Coca-Cola Singapore are also pushing towards being green.

Coca-Cola Singapore has pledged to live positively by implementing sustainable initiatives across its business – a move which has helped the company cut costs among other things.

While the company did not disclose how much savings it receives from such initiatives, it added that the strategy is good for business.

Antonio Del Rosario, general manager of Coca-Cola Singapore, said: “For example, (at) our manufacturing plant we continue to light weight our cans so that we use less raw material. Read more

Going from green technologies to smarter ones [News]

By The Business Times, 24 Nov 2011.

While greentech and cleantech will remain popular subjects, smart is likely to replace green come 2020, says Kee Wai Fun

In recent history, human activities have significantly added to global greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2). Current carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere are reaching concentrations of 393 parts per million (ppm), the highest it has been in the last 800,000 years.

Unfortunately, most laymen are not able to understand or relate to what 393 ppm means. To explain briefly, most adults will probably remember from science classes that the atmosphere consists of 78 per cent nitrogen and 21 per cent oxygen, with carbon dioxide contributing 0.03 per cent. However, at 393 ppm, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are now closer to 0.04 per cent, which means a 25 per cent increase in overall levels. Read more

Don’t expect breakthrough in Durban climate talks: Dr Balakrishnan [News]

By Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia, 23 Nov 2011.

Singapore Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Vivian Balakrishnan, is not expecting a breakthrough in climate talks in Durban next month.

He said that given the current global financial crisis and political problems in many developed countries, negotiations will be difficult.

Negotiators from nearly 200 countries will head to the South African city for two weeks to discuss implementing measures to combat climate change.

Disagreements between developed and developing nations over who should take responsibility for carbon emissions are threatening to paralyse climate change talks. Read more

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