Singapore Sustainability Awards 2011: Singapore businesses ride the megatrend of sustainability
- Nine private and public sector organisations honoured for innovative sustainable business practices
- Launch of Sustainability Case Studies Handbook on eco-friendly best practices
- Official launch of Singapore Sustainability Alliance to facilitate Singapore in tapping into the international cleantech network
Singapore, Monday, 11 July 2011 - Nine companies out of 68 entrants will be lauded tonight for their contributions to the green cause at the 2011 Singapore Sustainability Awards, an initiative of the Singapore Business Federation. These companies were judged on their innovative initiatives, corporate social responsibility, commercial potential, sustainable business growth, and environmental health and safety (EHS) and production process management, by an independent panel of judges drawn from industry verticals and technology partners.
The Singapore Sustainability Awards which comprise the Sustainable Business Awards (SBA) and the Green IT Awards (GIT), saw DHL, Sembcorp Industries and JTC Corporation emerge as the winning companies in the Enterprise Sustainable Business category, whilst Greenpac, Rigel Technology, and Siloso Beach Resort triumphed in the SME Sustainable Business category of the SSA. The National Library Board, Tak System Integration, and eBUS Media Networks topped the GIT.
Held at the Grand Hyatt Singapore, and graced by Minister Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, these innovative companies were complimented by Mr. Teo for taking "an important step in the right direction, which also serve as a competitive advantage that enables our companies to capture regional and global projects". "With concerted efforts of our sustainability community, there is much potential for Singapore to become a leading hub for sustainable development practices and innovative green business solutions", he added.
In his opening remarks, SBF Chairman Mr. Tony Chew noted that "Sustainable development and green growth are now important challenges requiring commitment and responsibility from all segments of society. From the business perspective, it is critical to develop long-term strategies which take into account the shared values of stakeholders for sustainable growth."
The Singapore Sustainability Awards is one of several initiatives the Singapore Business Federation has undertaken to galvanise the business community on the primacy of sustainable and responsible business practices, he added.
The many stakeholders involved in the issue of sustainability led SBF to establish the Singapore Sustainability Alliance (SSA Alliance). Launched at the awards ceremony tonight, alliance will serve as a broad-based platform providing for the convergence of business, government and academic interests to address green issues holistically. Being plugged into the International Cleantech Network (ICN), the SSA Alliance will be able to facilitate Singapore's cleantech and green community in looking for business expertise, collaboration and partnership, investment as well as technologies, R&D collaboration, and other opportunities across the international cleantech and sustainability clusters.
As a strong proponent of sustainability, SBF has also produced a sustainability handbook titled 'Riding the Megatrend of Sustainability' in collaboration with the National University of Singapore. This handbook provides insights on the motivations and experiences of sustainable businesses, and is intended to act as a source of reference, and further spur youths and businesses to follow in the footsteps of the green pioneers.
Quotes from Award Recipients
Social - Rigel Technology Group
Mr Christopher Ng, Managing Director
"For a company that lists sustainability as one of our brand values, Rigel''s achievement of the Sustainable Business Award is certainly a booster for us to strive for more watershed innovations in green sanitation and realise our vision of creating a sustainable future driven by efficient water management. In fact, this concept of resource efficiency will benefit all companies in the green economy. Intelligent buildings best reflect how resource optimisation can make everyday operations more streamlined and cost-efficient. With more and more buildings going green, it is time to enhance sustainability by greening up the most understated social enclave - the restroom."
Economic - Sembcorp Industries Ltd
Mr Tang Kin Fei, Group President & CEO
"Sustainability at Sembcorp is about striving for excellence and continuous improvement in identifying, understanding and responding to evolving environmental, social and governance challenges facing our businesses today. In line with this, our sustainable or "green" business lines have become a growing part of our business, delivering an additional competitive edge for Sembcorp and at the same time, creating mutual benefit for our customers, suppliers, partners and the communities wherever we operate. This award is an encouragement for us to maintain our high standards of responsibility and to continue to excel and innovate."
Environmental - ST Electronics
Mr Lee Fook Sun, President of ST Electronics
"Being Green is a differentiator for ST Electronics. One of our business thrust is to offer eco-enabling ICT solutions that help our customers reduce their carbon footprints. In parallel, in our operations, we believe in being a responsible corporate citizen and a keen Green practitioner. The alignment of the two efforts allows for a consistent commitment and message to our customers and staff. This Award thus distinguishes and strengthens our commitment towards sustainable development and conservation of the environment. As the world moves toward a new green economy, adopting low-carbon solutions and practices requires investment and commitment, which could be a challenge to businesses and communities. Singapore is a living showcase of urban solutions that make our city-state Clean, Efficient and Safe. With our proven international track record and contributions to Singapore's development, companies such as ST Electronics can convincingly advocate integrated ICT solutions that effectively deliver both business and sustainability benefits. This Award will certainly help advance Singapore companies' advocacy of green solutions and practices."
Quotes from Strategic Partners
IBM
Ms Janet Ang, Managing Director, IBM Singapore
"IBM is privileged to be a part of this collaboration among businesses, the government and academia to recognise and encourage organisations in Singapore to adopt holistic green IT solutions which meet the needs of business, ecology and society. It is part of our overall vision to partner the wider ecosystem in making Singapore a global Asia-hub for innovation, skills, productivity and sustainable growth."
Frost & Sullivan
Mr Nitin Bhat, Partner, Frost & Sullivan
"Frost & Sullivan is proud to be the knowledge partner and an active participant of the judging process of the Green IT Awards and the Green IT Adoption Index. The award is an excellent platform for companies to showcase their level of adoption, innovation in Green IT practices and will also help companies to develop sustainable business models. Green IT will be an important element for business decisions in the near future and we are very excited to be part of this initiative!"
KPMG
Mr Sharad Somani, Partner and Head, Climate Change & Sustainability Services, KPMG in Singapore
"KPMG in Singapore is proud to be the knowledge partner for the Singapore Sustainability Awards. The awards recognise and celebrate companies which have strongly embraced sustainability and are passionate about not only being more responsible but also innovative in our resource scarce environment. These companies do not see it as a cost but more as an investment for competitive positioning and growth for the company. A sustainable future is not solely the responsibility of the government, but also of business organisations. Only when companies recognise their social responsibility and accountability, and act on it, can the world be assured of sustainable growth and development for the future."
ANNEX -Singapore Sustainability Awards 2011 (Please click here)
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