On June 5, staff and students at Orchard Park Secondary school doubled down on their efforts to set all electronic equipment to energy-saving mode, use their own mugs and containers for takeaway food, and avoid switching on lights in areas were natural light was available. This was to fulfil a pledge that the school had made as part of Eco Action Day 2014, an environmental awareness campaign organised by Ricoh Asia Pacific, the Singapore-based arm of the Japanese electronics multinational.
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Throughout the year, the school also demonstrated their commitment to the environment by conducting a wide range of activities including green talks for students, handicraft workshops at libraries and homes for the elderly, and a school-wide newspaper collection drive. This commitment to promoting environmental values within the school and to the general public won Orchid Park Secondary School the ‘Most Effort Eco Award’ at Ricoh’s Eco Action Awards 2014.
Five other organisations from the education, construction and real estate sectors were also given Eco Action Awards in a ceremony held at the ParkRoyal on Pickering hotel on Thursday. The event, which attracted a 100-strong audience, was part of Ricoh’s annual Eco Action Day campaign.
The campaign - Singapore’s largest business-led environmental awareness effort - is held with the UNEP’s World Environment Day on June 5 and aims to rally organisations and individuals to take steps in the workplace and home to reduce energy and resource consumption.
A record of more than 180 organisations and 280 individuals pledged a variety of actions to reduce their environmental impact. These pledges achieved an estimated 185,380 kg of carbon emission savings, said Ricoh.
Organisations which went the extra mile were recognised through the Eco Action Awards. After two rounds of judging involving the campaign team and Ricoh’s senior management, companies were selected for their creativity and effort in carrying out the pledged actions.
Construction consulting firm BuildVision Consulting clinched the Most Creative Eco Award for their awareness campaign, ‘Saving our planet is as easy as 0-1-2-3’. The campaign uses the catchy slogan to encourage stakeholders to strive for zero waste by segregating and recycling items in the workplace, increasing air conditioning temperatures by 1, and reducing the amount of paper consumption by printing fewer e-mails and documents.
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Eco Action Day is not just about one organisation or one person’s effort, and it is definitely not just about Ricoh. Let us continue to spread the message across to more organisations and people.
Nobuaki Majima, managing director, Ricoh Asia Pacific
The Global Indian International School’s Queenstown campus won the Most Inspiring Eco Award for their committed efforts to engage students in environmental sustainability. The school took steps such as conducting environmental carnivals and online learning courses on waste management to promote environmental values and knowledge amongst the students. The school’s academic review process also involved assessing students on environmental projects.
CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace won the ‘Most Fun Eco Award’ for having organised an ‘Eco Puppets’ event in conjunction with Eco Action Day. Students wrote down their individual pledges to use less energy on toe socks, and then turned them into puppets.
Tan-Lim Kim Gek, the primary school’s principal said: “We truly believe in providing opportunities for our pupils to lead and champion environmental conservation. Besides promoting sustainable development through our science and environment education programme, we have also collaborated with strategic partners and stakeholders so that our pupils are engaged in fun and meaningful green activities”.
‘Most Effort Eco Award’ winner Orchid Park Secondary School’s principal Shawal bin Hassan echoed the need to encourage environmental conservation and ownership amongst students.
“The school emphasises the message of being responsible to society and the environment through school-wide projects. This includes communicating the importance of caring for the environment and implementing good practices in environmental conservation”, he said.
A ‘Best Eco Practices’ award was also given out for strong corporate commitment to sustainability. Real estate firm Keppel Land Limited won this category for incorporating sustainability into their business practices, employee culture and outreach efforts.
Keppel Land chief executive Ang Wee Gee said: “For sustainability to work, we need to actively engage and involve all our stakeholders from our employees to contractors, homeowners and office tenants. Through our ongoing ‘Go Green with Keppel Land’ outreach efforts, we hope to influence and change mindsets, and ultimately, achieve sustainable outcomes for all our stakeholders”.
The Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) clinched a merit award for the ‘Best Eco Practices’ category as well. The private education institute was recognised for its campus-wide efforts to save energy by rationing the use of air conditioning and installing solar panels on the roof of their hostel premises. Starting July 4, they would also be turning off all lights and electronic equipment in staff offices for two hours every Friday.
MDIS Assistant Secretary General Chua Chen How shared that these sustainability efforts were inspired by the increasingly visible evidence of the impacts of climate change.
“All the natural disasters happening around the world made us realise it was high time that we were good corporate citizens and took proactive steps to reduce our carbon footprint. This led us to install eco-friendly features on campus”, Chua told Eco-Business. “We have reaped tremendous financial and social benefits from our sustainability efforts”, he added.
Ricoh Asia Pacific’s managing director, Nobuaki Majima, shared that the unprecedented participation in the Eco Action Day campaign and awards was indication of a broader shift towards sustainability.
“The record participation shows that more organisations are becoming more conscious that their actions will eventually impact the environment”, noted Majima.
“Eco Action Day is not just about one organisation or one person’s effort, and it is definitely not just about Ricoh. Let us continue to spread the message across to more organisations and people”, he said.
