Nexus-beyond offsetting offers a fair and transparent approach to carbon offsetting

Is your company looking for a fair and transparent way to offset your carbon emissions or support clean development projects in developing countries? If you wish to see your money spent on carbon offsetting going mostly to help the communities and the environment directly, the Nexus-beyond offsetting initiative could be what you are looking for.

Nexus-Carbon for Development

Nexus-Carbon for Development is an alliance of pro-poor project developers who tackle both climate change and poverty in a fair and transparent way. Registered as a non-profit organisation in Singapore since 2008, Nexus acts as a peer-to-peer services platform, creating synergies between its alliance members and providing awareness raising, capacity building, carbon project documentation, and carbon asset management. Read more

Guidebook for Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility by the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

As part of its efforts to promote business sustainability, the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (FCCS) recently launched a new publication, Guidebook for Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, which is tailored for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore.

The guidebook aims to inspire SMEs to engage in sustainability and to provide them with practical guidance and tips.

You can read online or download the free Guidebook for Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility at the FCCS website.

Introduction

The guidebook begins by explaining the rise of social and environmental expectations in Asia and Singapore, and introduces the concept of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR), including the new ISO 26000.

Next, the guidebook shares some of the drivers and benefits for SMEs that embrace sustainability and CSR, such as: Read more

6 Steps to Minimise Waste and Start a Recycling Programme in Your Company

Is your company interested to reduce waste and implement a recycling programme? Are you looking for tips to start recycling in your company? This article will show you 6 steps to minimise waste and start recycling at your workplace.

First, you would need to form a team and get commitment from your top management and colleagues. Conduct a waste audit and find ways to minimise waste through reduce and reuse. Next, start a recycling programme and educate your staff on how to recycle. Finally, remember to gather feedback, review and improve your recycling programme. Read more

Employee volunteering – for the inner and outer bottom lines

This article is contributed by Tania Ellis, author of The New Pioneers.

In a day and age where most of us dedicate a major part of our time to our jobs, we are beginning to look for more than financial compensation. As citizens and employees many of us are on the hunt for a greater purpose with our daily efforts. It’s a quest for meaning – and a quest for a meaningful work-life.

Everywhere there are signs of this quest, which coexists with a growing collective interest in handing over a better world to new generations.

Privately, some citizens follow in the footsteps of philanthro-celebs like Bono, Angelina Jolie and Bill Gates and engage actively in good causes and charitable organizations. Others donate money through websites such as DonorsChoose, GlobalGiving or SmallCanBeBig, which enable direct, personal and specific donations. And yet others volunteer their time – some even volunteer their holidays. Read more

Tap on QUEST Funding to Implement Standards for Energy Management or Greenhouse Gas Accounting

If your company is interested to implement standards for energy management or greenhouse gas accounting, you can tap on government funding from SPRING Singapore under the QUEST programme.

SPRING Singapore is the national standards body in Singapore, and has introduced the Quality for Enterprises through Standards (QUEST) programme last year.

QUEST provides grants for companies to implement standards in emerging areas, and encourages companies to use standards to enhance their productivity and competitiveness. Read more

3 Key Lessons on CSR from Swedish Companies

One of the reasons for the success of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Sweden is that big Swedish companies are taking responsibility, because they understand that they have to build trust among stakeholders if they wish to continue doing business in the long run, and they also see CSR as a business opportunity.

What can Singapore companies learn from the businesses in Sweden? The following 4 Swedish companies – Swedbank, ICA, Scania and SEK, provide some lessons on embracing and implementing CSR, including 3 key lessons:

1. Understanding that CSR is a journey and not a destination
2. CSR must be integrated into the business
3. Follow international guidelines on CSR principles and reporting Read more

Urban Transport Challenges and Solutions

During one of the plenary sessions on Sustainable Mobility at the recent Clean Energy Expo Asia 2011 Conference, Mr Vivek Vaidya, Vice President, Automotive Practice Asia Pacific, Frost & Sullivan, shared his findings on the challenges and constraints faced in tackling the urban transport conundrum. His recommended solutions involve a mix of better public transport, new and innovative mobility solutions and most importantly, a shift in mindset.

People typically prefer private transport to public alternatives, and the reason for this is the difference in perceived comfort levels, says a consumer research study conducted by Mr Vaidya. In his study, consumers were asked to compare public and private transport in four areas – value, speed, comfort and overall impression. The results for value and speed were very close but there was a stark difference in comfort, leading to a higher overall impression for private transport. Read more

How a shopping mall in Singapore goes green

Singapore is well-known for its food and shopping experience, and this potent mix can be found at the ubiquitous shopping malls located at all major town centers in Singapore. In recent years, shopping malls are starting to look almost alike, with the major international and local brands infiltrating the malls and offering similar sales.

Are all shopping malls the same? To differentiate itself from other shopping malls, some malls are trying to target different groups of consumers, while others are starting to brand itself on a particular theme. One recent shopping mall, City Square Mall, developed and managed by City Developments Limited (CDL), decided to focus on the green theme and prides itself as the first eco-mall in Singapore. So how green is this shopping mall?

Green Business Times recently visited the mall for a site tour and to understand more about this unique shopping destination from the mall’s Environmental Officer. City Square Mall is located at the junction of Serangoon Road and Kitchener Road, and is opened since September 2009. Read more

Keppel Land wins the 2011 Singapore Awards for Sustainability Reporting

Keppel Land Limited emerged as the winner of the 2011 Singapore Awards for Sustainability Reporting (SASR), at the awards ceremony organised by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and attended by more than 100 business leaders. The annual awards is to identify and reward companies for their excellence in sustainability reporting, and also serves to encourage more companies to begin sustainability reporting.

The other 9 finalists for the SASR Awards include: ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited; CapitaLand Limited; Cerebos Pacific Limited; Keppel Corporation Limited; Swire Pacific Offshore Pte Ltd; The China Navigation Co Pte Ltd; Origin Exterminators (S) Pte Ltd; SMRT Corporation Limited; and Wilmar International Limited.

ACCA chose Keppel Land as the winner because its Sustainability Report 2010 was comprehensive, concise and credible. The report clearly articulated the company’s sustainability strategies and practices in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 Level B+ guidelines, and highlighted the economic, environmental, and social aspects of the company’s activities and developments across its properties in Singapore and overseas. Read more

3R Packaging Awards recognise companies for their efforts to reduce packaging waste

The Singapore Packaging Agreement signatories received the 3R Packaging Awards this morning at the Third Meeting of the Regional 3R Forum in Asia, held at Sheraton Towers Singapore for their efforts to reduce packaging waste.

The Singapore Packaging Agreement (SPA) is a voluntary programme by the industry, the National Environment Agency (NEA), and NGOs to reduce the amount of waste from product packaging through improvements in product packaging design and packaging processes. The annual 3R Packaging Awards have been presented by NEA since 2008 to recognise the signatories of SPA for their efforts.

For this year’s 3R Packaging Awards, 6 companies received the Distinction Award and 15 companies received the Merit Awards from Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources. Read more

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