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  Straits Times 5 Jun 07
15 organisations to cut energy use for a day
By Michelle Neo & Arti Mulchand

Today Online 5 Jun 07
The long green mile
Only 30 firms sign up for first nation-wide eco company plan
Sheralyn Tay

Today Online 5 Jun 07
30 SMEs take eco-action to save the environment
Interview with DMX Asia
Sheralyn Tay

Today Online 18 May 07
A way for companies to do their bit for the planet
Letter from Masayo Hada Assistant Manager, Regional Environment Management Group Ricoh Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

Straits Times 12 May 07
Green message - turn off appliances earlier

STOPPING work three hours earlier is not just good for worker morale, it helps the environment as well.

Photocopier vendor Ricoh Asia Pacific saves more than 100 kilowatt-hours a month - enough to power an HDB flat for about one month - by turning off its lights and electrical appliances three hours earlier than usual once a month.

'It (the energy saved) is not a lot, but if many companies do it, then we can make a difference,' said Ms Masayo Hada, assistant manager of Ricoh's regional environmental management group.

Now they are trying to spread the message to other companies with the Ricoh Eco Action programme, jointly organised with the Singapore Environment Council.

By early June, Ricoh hopes at least 100 companies - big and small - will do their part for the environment.

The goal is to raise awareness of World Environment Day, which falls on June 5. Participating companies simply need to pledge to turn off electrical appliances of their choice - including computer monitors, fans and even air-conditioners - after official office hours on that day.

For employees, this will, of course, mean no overtime.

'People love it because they get to go home earlier,' Ms Masayo joked.

To register for Eco Action e-mail: info@ecooffice.com.sg. The closing date is May 28.

Today Online 18 May 07
A way for companies to do their bit for the planet
Letter from Masayo Hada Assistant Manager, Regional Environment Management Group Ricoh Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

WORLD Environment Day, commemorated on June 5, is one of the main events through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness for the environment.

Together with the Singapore Environment Council, Ricoh is promoting "Eco Action 2007".

Our objective is to showcase June 5 as an event to improve awareness of energy conservation and climate change among people in Singapore.

A tangible goal for this special event is for all the participating organisations to minimise energy consumption on June 5.

We strongly believe in Eco Action as a vehicle for the fulfilment of corporate social responsibility.

We would like to take this opportunity to invite as many companies or organisations as possible for the June 5 event. The combined efforts of all participants will make a meaningful difference.

Please visit www.sec.org.sg/eco- action/ecoaction.html for more information and to register. The closing date for registration is May 28, 2007.

Today Online 5 Jun 07
The long green mile
Only 30 firms sign up for first nation-wide eco company plan
Sheralyn Tay sheralyn@mediacorp.com.sg

It takes as little as turning off the lights and air-conditioner during lunch hour — but this tiny effort to go green seems monumental for most Singapore companies.

The first nation-wide initiative to get companies to practise energy-saving measures for one day only — it's World Environment Day today — has received poor response. Only 30 firms agreed to take part in the Eco Action programme, far short of the target of 100.

And the reasons given? Companies do not want to disrupt their workflow and fear a loss of productivity, noted the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), which is supporting the event.

The initial interest in the programme had been encouraging, said Ms Masayo Hada, assistant manager at Ricoh Asia Pacific's Regional Environment Management Group.

Almost 50 companies attended the briefing sessions on Eco Action, but this did not translate into action.

The sign-up rate appears to echo Singapore's poor showing in a survey released last month by Grant Thornton International, which indicated that Singapore firms had little interest in managing their energy costs.

Just 25 per cent of Singaporean businesses, compared to a global average of 37 per cent, felt energy costs had a major impact on their cost pressures. And in terms of what companies have done to be more energy efficient, Singapore scored last in a list of 32 countries.

But Ms Hada put the cool response down to first-time jitters: "My feeling is that they are keen ... But maybe they are uncomfortable because they don't know exactly what to do. Next year, we will inform them in advance and, hopefully, numbers will be better."

Nevertheless, she noted, this year's range of participants is encouraging. They include the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, the Infocomm Development Authority, Alexandra Hospital, seven multinationals and four small and medium-sized enterprises.

Also, Eco Action's low take-up rate among companies, said SEC executive director Howard Shaw, does not mean there are no "internal initiatives" being taken.

Around the world today, rallies, seminars, exhibitions, tree planting and citywide clean-ups are being held to mark World Environment Day.

In Singapore, Eco Action — registered as an official event with the United Nations Environmental Programme — asks companies to pledge to reduce energy consumption by describing ways to tackle carbon emissions, and acting on them for just one day. Each company is required to submit a post-activity report.

For photocopier vendor Ricoh Asia Pacific, a co-organiser of the programme, all 60 or so staffmembers will leave work three hours earlier today, when all office lights and electrical appliances will be turned off. This will save about 100 kilowatt-hours, the average amount of energy in a month consumed by a one-room HDB flat.

According to Ms Hada, each Ricoh office worldwide practises an energy-saving programme once a month. Initiatives such as turning off the lights daily at lunchtime and using both sides of the paper have achieved huge savings — with energy consumption falling by 20 per cent and paper consumption by 39 per cent since 2003.

Today Online 5 Jun 07
30 SMEs take eco-action to save the environment
Interview with DMX Asia

Who says small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can't play their part in saving the environment? Today being World Environment Day, DMX Asia — a lock and construction firm — will do their bit to show their commitment to Mother Earth by closing its office an hour early for the day, thereby reducing its energy consumption.

It is one of about 30 companies, large and small, taking part nationwide in Eco Action, an initiative first started in Singapore by Ricoh Asia Pacific and enacted on a larger scale for the first time today.

DMX Asia's assistant sales manager Winston Lim shares with Sheralyn Tay ( sheralyn@mediacorp.com.sg) his thoughts on the little things SMEs can do to go green, and the "straightforward" reasons for doing so.

How did you find out about Eco Action and why were you interested to find out more and take that extra step to participate?

I attended the Eco Carnival at the HDB Hub earlier this year, where I met Ricoh's Ms Masayo Hada, who introduced us to Eco Action. When I went to check out the information online later, I saw many ways we could use to save energy and in the long run, save money for the company.

My boss was very keen to be part of Eco Action as she has always emphasised energy conservation and insists on turning off the lights and computers when we leave the office. It is a routine for us to turn off all the lights when we go out for lunch.

What will your company do today and what do you think the impact of your action will be?

Apart from our normal routine, on World Environment Day we will leave the office an hour earlier at 5pm and turn off all the lights and electrical appliances. This is a small act, but it is a step towards not contributing to the total energy consumption for that particular day.

What benefits us most directly is that we save money. But apart from that, we hope other small companies can become aware of this initiative. We hope to get more companies to come on board next year to spread the message.

What were some challenges you — or other companies — faced when deciding to take part in Eco Action?

We are lucky to have received plenty of support from colleagues as well as my boss who has always been keen on energy conservation. But other companies have said that it is hard to convince their colleagues or upper management to commit to it.

There is also the need to have greater willingness from all staff, and not just because of an order coming from a director or a manager. If so, it will become very regimented. People need to be more involved out of their own free will.

The response to Eco Action has been quite poor, with only 30 companies taking part. It's not a very disruptive initiative because it is only for a day. What do you think is holding companies back?

Apart from a lack of awareness, some companies — especially larger ones — may be hampered by their size and are thus unable to coordinate the participation of hundreds of workers. It could be that these mechanics or logistic issues put companies off as well.

I think Singaporeans are quite willing to follow trends, so we really have to create awareness to convince them that Eco Action is a good thing. It would help if we could engage more people to spread the word either through mouth or get mobile service providers to pass on the message via a messaging campaign.

Everyone is aware of climate change and that the icecaps are melting, because we see or read the news every day. Eco Action is a very good chance for people and companies to link their own actions to climate change. But this must be done step by step.

The theme for Eco Action is "Energy, money and you". It's a straightforward message that everyone can understand. We have to get people involved by speaking to them personally and showing them results, such as energy and cost savings. That would be more convincing.

Straits Times 5 Jun 07
15 organisations to cut energy use for a day
By Michelle Neo & Arti Mulchand

FIFTEEN organisations here will mark World Environment Day today with measures aimed at cutting down on the use of energy. Their efforts are part of an inaugural event called 'Eco Action 2007', spearheaded by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and photocopier vendor Ricoh Asia Pacific.

Eco Action 2007 aims to encourage local companies and other organisations to take steps to curb their energy usage on World Environment Day. At Alexandra Hospital for instance, air-conditioners will whir to a stop 15 minutes earlier than usual in its offices.

The joint initiative drew inspiration from Ricoh Asia Pacific's own monthly routine - implemented since September last year - of turning off its electrical appliances about three hours earlier than usual once a month.

World Environment Day is commemorated on June 5 every year, and is one of the main ways by which the United Nations promotes global awareness of environmental issues.

The SEC approached 200 organisations, hoping for at least 50 to get involved. However, only 15 adopted measures designed to curb energy usage for the day.

Still, the executive director of the SEC, Mr Howard Shaw, said he was not discouraged by the failure to meet the target. 'It's only our first attempt. Also, the purpose of the exercise is to make people more aware of resource use in the office; to help people realise the need for energy conservation,' he said.

Caring about the environment should not be a one-day affair, he added.

Collectively, the efforts taken by the 15 organisations to cut down on energy use today is estimated to save nearly 8,000 kwh - or about $1,500.

The main obstacle in trying to rope companies and agencies into the effort was the perceived inconveniences that would arise, said an SEC spokesman.

Other World Environment Day events include the removal of individual rubbish bins from staff at HSBC Singapore. Bins will instead be placed at common areas to encourage staff to cut down on paper waste.

Temasek Polytechnic students will also demonstrate how they have devised a way to produce soap with recycled cooking oil. Discussions on issues on climate change will be held between children here and in New Zealand via a video conference.

This year's World Environment Day's theme - 'Melting Ice - A Hot Topic?' - focuses on polar ecosystems, and the effects of climate change that are already being felt. This is mainly because those effects will trickle down to the rest of the world, said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon.

Sea-level rises, for instance, would affect low- lying islands and coastal cities, such as Singapore.

UN Environment Programme executive director Achim Steiner also used the occasion to call for 'collective and decisive political will', which he described as the 'final and still missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle'.

Action, he said, was needed on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

It was also important to follow cleaner and more efficient development paths. It also made sense economically - it could cost as little as 1 per cent of global GDP each year - and for energy security, he added.
links
Eco-Action page on the SEC website.

Switched off on energy drain
S'pore last in global survey on managing energy costs
Derrick A Paulo Today Online 28 May 07

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