Green Business Times Top 10 Most Read Posts of 2011

Green Business Times would like to thank all our readers for this great year, as our traffic grew 130% over last year. Thank you for staying on and helping us grow!

We will continue to bring you the latest environmental news in Singapore, highlight new sustainable business practices and case studies, showcase innovative companies and business leaders, and explore the tools and strategies to help your business navigate the green business revolution.

For a recap of the popular posts this year, here’s the Green Business Times Top 10 Most Read Posts of 2011:

1. Introducing ISO 26000 – Guidance on Social Responsibility
2. How IKEA Embraces Sustainability Globally and in Singapore
3. A Guide to the Eco Labels in Singapore
4. The Green Business Times Guide to Singapore Government Funding and Incentives for the Environment
5. Green Business Ideas in Top 15 of the ideas.inc. Business Challenge 2011
6. Green Manufacturing Technologies and Products at the Sustainable Manufacturing Centre in Singapore
7. IDC’s LCA Calculator Makes It Easy to Conduct Life Cycle Assessment of Products
8. How a shopping mall in Singapore goes green
9. Remote Energy Monitoring Web Service Launched at Schneider Electric Inspiration 2011
10. Exploring New Green Consumption Trends – LOHAS and Collaborative Consumption

We wish you success in your work and have a wonderful 2012!

Image: Twenty Eleven by ba1969 via stock.xchng

Highlights of S’pore climate issues in 2011 [News]

By Evelyn Choo, Channel NewsAsia, 28 Dec 2011.

More agencies are communicating environment-related messages to the public via social media and engaging in public consultations this year.

In some cases, public consultation has proven to be productive.

For instance, consumers often do not pay attention to labels on electrical appliances, which tell consumers how much energy they would use.

But after a recent public consultation exercise by the National Climate Change Secretariat, a suggestion — to pitch in terms of dollars and cents so that people will see the real savings and buy the idea — was made.

This was was among about a thousand ideas floated by participants at the exercise. Read more

Students pin hopes on a concrete breakthrough with algae [News]

By Esther Ng, Today, 28 Dec 2011.

Concrete road kerbs and drains could be made with algae instead of sand, if a group of Singapore Polytechnic students’ final year project becomes commercially viable.

The School of Architecture and the Built Environment students found that a mix of algae and cement is strong enough for non-load bearing structures such as precast concrete drain sections, wheel stoppers in car parks and wall partitions.

And the students’ finding might potentially be the construction industry’s silver bullet, given recent bans on sand exports by neighbouring countries and the emphasis on sustainable construction methods.

Compared to sand, algae is freely available from water catchment areas here and is more environmentally-friendly. “The alkaline chemical in cement affects the skin and breathing in too much of cement particles makes your lung harden. Wet algae reduces these harmful effects,” said team member Athirah Rusli, 19. Read more

Green business practices a new fad? [News]

By Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia, 27 Dec 2011.

Green business practices could become the new black for the corporate world in 2012.

But going green these days means a lot more than just recycling and reducing carbon emissions.

Since July, Maersk Line has switched to low sulphur fuel in Singapore, helping to reduce air pollution.

The company estimates it will spend US$600,000 annually on the more environmentally-friendly fuel, even after offsetting Maritime Port Authority of Singapore’s 15 per cent discount on port dues, as part of the S$100 million Maritime Singapore Green Initiative for using low-sulphur fuel. Read more

Hino to launch diesel-electric hybrid truck [News]

By Samuel Ee, The Business Times, 28 Dec 2011.

Singapore’s first hybrid truck will go on sale in February, aimed at eco-minded multi-national companies.

The Hino 300 Series light duty truck (LDT) will have a novel diesel-electric hybrid system. Until now, the hybrid systems available here have all been of the petrol-electric variety.

Hino is majority owned by auto giant Toyota, which is a leader in petrol-electric hybrid technology. The Toyota Prius was the first mass-produced hybrid when it was launched in 1997 and this month, authorised distributor Borneo Motors Singapore (BMS) introduced the smaller and more affordable Prius C. BMS also sells Lexus luxury hybrids such as the GS450h, RX450h and LS600h. Lexus is the luxury division of Toyota. Read more

Turning food waste into water [News]

By Yasmine Yahya, The Straits Times, 28 Dec 2011.

Green technology was the last thing on the mind of semi-retired marketing professional Renee Mison, but the arrival of a Korean-made machine that turned food waste into sludge water changed all that.

Mrs Mison, 48, was impressed, and also saw that it had a lot of potential.

It led her to buy the intellectual property rights to the food waste decomposer and the company’s Singapore units, and eventually set up Eco-Wiz last year.

Eco-Wiz has since spent more than $500,000 on research and development (R&D) to improve the functions of the decomposer, which is also named The Eco-Wiz.

The company has almost 40 staff, including engineers, researchers, production staff, marketing professionals and salespeople.

The progress is evident in the decomposer, which can now turn the sludge water into dry compost or cleaner water. Read more

Not your usual plastic bag [News]

By Tam Yu Ling, The Business Times, 27 Dec 2011.

A world without plastic bags would be quite unimaginable for many consumers long used to having these items to hold their purchases. This is why despite being in the green business, Alan Yeap, chief executive officer of green technology solutions company New Quantum Holdings, decided to incorporate rather than eliminate plastics from his company’s product line.

Still, mindful of the fact that plastic bags are not at all kind to the environment, New Quantum decided to manufacture eco-friendly bags which both look and feel like ordinary plastic bags but can degrade within two years, unlike conventional plastic bags which take more than 1,000 years to disintegrate. Read more

Managing Singapore’s LNG import model [News]

By The Business Times, 27 Dec 2011.

It is worth noting that even as Singapore’s piped gas importers and their foreign gasfield suppliers are working out a swap arrangement proposed by Indonesia – aimed at diverting some Singapore-destined supplies to meet urgent domestic needs there – the Republic is starting to look at how it wants to procure future LNG supplies.

The writing is on the wall: piped gas supplies from neighbouring countries – whose own gas needs are increasing just as their domestic gas production is slowing – will dry up sooner rather than later, perhaps even before Singapore’s long-term gas supply agreements (GSAs) with Indonesia and Malaysia expire. Read more

Latest Green Jobs in Singapore [19 - 25 Dec 2011]

1. Senior Manager / Manager / Assistant Manager (International Relations – Environment Unit), Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
2. Environmental Management System Auditor, Certification International (Singapore) Pte Ltd
3. Assistant Director (Industry Promotion), National Environment Agency
4. Environmental Health Officer (Hygiene), National Environment Agency
5. Environmental Health Officer (Special Squad), National Environment Agency
6. Adjunct Manager / Senior Associate, Ministry of National Development
7. Officer (Conservation / Central Nature Reserve), National Parks Board
8. QHSE Officer / HSE Coordinators, De-Factors Consultants Pte Ltd
9. Health, Safety, Environment Officer, Renaissance Management Services Pte Ltd
10. Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Professional, CH2M HILL Singapore Pte Ltd
11. Recycling Ambassador, Veolia ES Singapore Pte Ltd
12. EHS Engineer, Baxter Healthcare SA
13. Operations Manager, DHI Water & Environment (S) Pte Ltd
14. EHS Manager, RecruitPlus Consulting Pte Ltd
15. Process Engineer – Ion Exchange Membranes, GE Energy
16. Engineer / Technologist, GE Energy
17. Lead Process Design Engineer (Thermal), Hays Specialist Recruitment Pte Ltd
18. Water Project Manager, Hays Specialist Recruitment Pte Ltd
19. Environmental Specialist, Cadmus Resources
20. Diploma Positions, PUB, The National Water Agency
21. Graduate Positions, PUB, The National Water Agency

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.

Green products on the rise [News]

By Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia, 22 Dec 2011.

Kia Motor has unveiled South Korea’s first electric vehicle, in line with the push seen across the globe towards sustainable alternatives.

Kia is set to manufacture 2,500 units of the new Kia Ray EV — a zero-emissions city car.

And it is not alone — during this festive season, retailers appear to be tapping into consumer demand for eco products.

In a recent study by Frost and Sullivan, 86 per cent of respondents surveyed in Singapore cited “energy labels” on electrical goods as a primary guide when selecting a home appliance.

While such gadgets may yield energy savings, eco-retail, fashion, food and beverage are also on the rise, even if slowly. Read more

Next Page »