Driving innovation with strategic sustainability [News]

By Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia, 27 Oct 2011.

Environmental sustainability may be the next mega trend for businesses when it comes to keeping one step ahead of the competition.

But one report said top level executives should not confuse Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting with strategic sustainability.

CSR reports may highlight things like the amount of paper a company has saved by recycling, fair employment policies, or even the training its security team has received, but what many do not include is how much the company may have saved or made through sustainable initiatives.

Dr David A. Lubin, Chairman of Esty Sustainability Network, said: “The research that we have done suggests that most companies are in what we would call a defensive position – they are trying to reduce their risks and reduce their cost of waste. And the minority is in an offensive situation – really using sustainability as a driver of innovation. And an even smaller percentage are using it as a defining concept of their brand.” Read more

NTUC FairPrice leads with more strategic approach through measured goals and indicators to track CSR contributions [Press Releases]

Singapore, 17 October 2011 – NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice) today held its second Partners Convention where over 300 supply partners attended. Themed “CSR – The new norm for retail”, the half day convention focused on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and included new data from a consumer survey in Singapore. FairPrice also became the first supermarket and hypermarket chain in Singapore to declare its CSR measurable goals and targets as well as outline its strategic pillars.

FairPrice was established by the Labour Movement in 1973 to ensure that essential items were available to all Singaporeans at affordable prices during a time of economic and social turbulence. Through the years, FairPrice has remained true to its social mission through various initiatives to moderate the cost of living. While this social mission has remained its fundamental focus, it also recognises that there are other important aspects of CSR that it can contribute towards. Read more

Using Social Media to Transform Capitalism

In his book, We First: how brands and consumers use social media to build a better world, author Simon Mainwaring proposes the transition from Me First capitalism, the traditional free market and profit driven capitalism, to We First capitalism, where businesses and consumers use capitalism as a driver of prosperity for the greater good.

We First is about corporations creating value and building a better world, and consumers accepting a higher level of responsibility for creating the world they want. The transition to We First is realistic and possible today with the rise in social media, which gives consumers more leverage to persuade businesses to accept greater social responsibility for their behaviours, and offers businesses more opportunities to have real-time dialogues with their customers.

Simon argues that while some companies are embracing elements of corporate social responsibility and triple bottom line accounting, the overall progress of integrating sustainability into the fundamental principles of free market capitalism has been irresponsibly slow and not deep enough. To put business on the We First path, he proposes seven values: Sustainability; Fairness of Reward; Fiscal Responsibility; Accountability; Purposefulness; Engagement; and Global Citizenry. Read more

George Yeo to Chinese Businessmen: Be more socially responsible [News]

By Elgin Toh, The Straits Times, 6 Oct 2011.

Former foreign minister George Yeo yesterday called on successful Chinese businessmen from around the world to be more socially responsible.

‘Wherever we do business, we must have a keen sense of our social responsibility to others and make sure that the benefits of growth are evenly spread,’ he told 4,000 Chinese entrepreneurs from 33 countries attending a conference here.

The need to do so is particularly important as the prospects for Chinese businessmen brighten along with the prospects for Asia, he added.

‘Asia will lead the world economy, and ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs will have to bear heavier responsibilities. We must rise to this challenge,’ he said.

Mr Yeo was delivering the welcome address on the first day of the 11th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention. The three-day conference is at Resorts World Sentosa, with the meetings today and tomorrow taking place at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Read more

Green at the heart of business [News]

By Mindy Tan, The Business Times, 4 Oct 2011.

WHILE some companies tag on green initiatives as part of their corporate social responsibility spiel, Rigel Technology, a green restroom provider, not only bases its business model on it, the company says that its model is viable, and indeed profitable.

The company, which opened its doors in 1991, is the brain child of Christopher Ng, managing director at Rigel Technology.

He says: ‘I lived in a kampung in Malaysia when I was young, so I have always been close to nature. As I came of age and started to develop a business, I understood the importance of fulfilling our corporate social responsibility to the environment that has nurtured our growth.’ Read more

MyGreenOffice Exhibition and Roadshow

MyGreenOffice is an eco initiative by Positive Events that brings climate change activism to the workplace. Conceptualised in consultation with the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), it features a mobile exhibition and interactive roadshow highlighting easy-to-follow tips and best practices for the office worker to reduce their carbon footprint while at work.

Objectives

• To help transform companies into sustainable and environmentally–friendly businesses and becoming socially-responsible corporate citizens
• To empower employees with simple green solutions while at work in the office that will result in big changes for the environment
• To help offices achieve cost savings through optimal resource management, energy efficiency and waste minimization Read more

More companies taking up CSR [News]

By Hetty Musfirah, Channel NewsAsia, 5 Sep 2011.

More companies in Singapore are taking up Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Singapore Compact, which is the national organisation promoting CSR, says it now has 60 per cent more members compared to two years ago, with 366 members.

In his address at the start of the third International Singapore Compact CSR Summit, Minister in the Prime Minister’s office S Iswaran, urged more companies to embrace CSR, given its huge benefits.

Mr Iswaran said CSR initiatives will take on added significance as the footprint of operation of Singapore-based companies grows regionally, while small and medium enterprises too can reap benefits. Read more

International Singapore Compact CSR Summit 2011 takes off [Press Releases]

Focus on youth, launch of CDL-Singapore Compact Young CSR Leaders Award

Singapore, 5 Sep 2011 – Mr S Iswaran, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, launches the International Singapore Compact CSR Summit 2011 today, against a backdrop of CSR gaining momentum in Singapore.

Singapore Compact for CSR, the national organisation charged with promoting CSR, has reported a 60% increase in the number of members over the past two years, with 160 new members since May 2009. This is the fastest growth experienced since the body was set up in 2005, reflecting an increase in CSR awareness. Its membership now stands at 366.

The spurt in growth is directly attributable to the greater awareness and the intensified efforts by Singapore Compact to push the CSR message island-wide. This will be further impetus for the body to increase its resources and strengthen its services and training programmes. Read more

Companies stake out greener pastures [News]

By Cheah Ui-Hoon, The Business Times, 26 Aug 2011.

Han Yu, 54, remembers a green landscape when he was growing up in Wafang, an area near the Horqin desert in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. ‘That was when I was six or seven years old… the trees were tall then – poplar, elm, pine and willow,’ he recalls.

In his 20s, a population boom meant that more trees had to be cut down to build houses. Farmers also began to rear more cattle, sheep and horses, increasing the grazing pressure on the grasslands. ‘The situation just got worse every year until it became a desert,’ shares Han, a farmer with dark, bronzed skin and deep creases in his face, a result of living on the edge of a desert with its harsh summers and bitter winters.

By the 1980s, Horqin – which was once lush, thriving grassland – had turned into a desert, and the cause of yellow sandstorms that sweep across the Chinese mainland and other East Asian countries like Japan and Korea every year. Read more

CSR movement turning to young people [News]

By Michelle Yeo, The Business Times, 25 Aug 2011.

Young people are becoming the focus for promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) as the time comes to build a new generation of CSR-oriented business leaders.

Singapore Compact for CSR, the national organisation responsible for pushing the CSR movement, is redirecting its focus to the nation’s youth. The highlight of this redirection is the launch of the inaugural Young CSR Leaders Award together with City Developments Limited (CDL) earlier this March.

Open to tertiary students between the ages of 17 and 30, this year’s competition saw a total of 27 teams working with 10 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from a range of different industries to help analyse and implement CSR programmes for these businesses. Read more

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