Category Archives: Singapore

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Singapore Sustainability Awards

According to its official website, The Singapore Sustainability Awards (SSA), consisting The Sustainable Business Awards and the Green IT Awards, “recognize and showcase the most innovative and impactful sustainable business practices and green solutions amongst Corporate Singapore.”

With categories for large enterprises, as well as small and medium enterprises, the awards help to promote excellence in sustainability the sharing of best practices amongst organisations in Singapore. Judging criteria include Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainable Business Growth, etc. The About page for SSA has more details on the judging criteria for the different categories and awards.

Who are the winners of the inaugural Singapore Sustainability Awards 2010? Click here for list of winners.

You can also read more about this event on the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) News Room page.

Nominations for SSA 2011 is now accepted. Read the news release from SBF News Room.

Sustainable Reporting – SGX

Singapore Issues Reporting Guidelines. (2010). Business & the Environment with ISO 14000 Updates, 21(10), 6-7.

This short write up reports that Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX) has started sustainability reporting for listing companies on August 28, 2010, the first securities exchange in Asia to do so.

Click here to read the full text.

Click here for the Proposed Policy Statement and Guide to Sustainability Reporting for Listed Companies by SGX.

Integrating environmental issues into strategic planning

Hesan A. Quazi. (2001). Sustainable development: integrating environmental issues into strategic planning. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 101(2), 64-70.

Abstract from author
As we begin the twenty-first century it appears that for a growing number of industries environmental issues are emerging with increasing frequency as strategic problems. If human economic activity is to be sustainable, then strategic behavior of companies must take account of the structural elements. Researchers in the western societies are trying to understand how the companies integrate the sustainability issues into their strategies. No such study has been reported on companies operating in the ASEAN countries. This paper reports the findings of a case study research on this issue which was conducted on seven global companies operating in Singapore. Two frameworks were applied to analyze the nature and extent of integration of environmental management practices into the organizational strategic planning process. The study reveals that the majority of the sample companies have well-developed environmental management systems in place which satisfies the requirements of the strategic planning criterion of the (Singapore) business excellence framework. These companies are also found to be actively engaged in at least four of the five best practices of environmental leadership framework suggested by Dechant and Altman.

Click here to read full article.

Achieving A Sustainable Advantage

Why is Singapore Airlines still a great way to fly, despite the fierce competition from regional airlines and low-cost carriers offering rock-bottom prices? How is it able to achieve its sustainable advantage amidst a competitive airline industry?

The authors of the following article explore the nature of the airline’s human resource management practices that allows it achieve consistent service excellence and maintain a competitive edge.

Heracleous, L., & Wirtz, J. (2009). Strategy and organization at Singapore Airlines: Achieving sustainable advantage through dual strategy. [doi:DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2008.11.011]. Journal of Air Transport Management, 15(6), 274-279.

Click here to read full article.

CSR for sustainability and success : corporate social responsibility in Singapore

In Singapore, NTUC is almost synonymous to supermarket. Most heartlanders fulfil their groceries needs at NTUC FairPrice supermarkets littered across the island. And with the introduction of FairPrice Finest in more upmarket locations, even expatriates are doing so as imported products, which used to be only available in specialist supermarket in town, are now readily available there.

Do you know that NTUC Fairprice is a co-operative*? At the core of its mission as a social enterprise is the moderation of the cost of living while at the same time maintaining success as a business (Frohman, 2009).
What are the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Vision and Mission of NTUC FairPrice? What are some measures it has taken to become the “Best Corporate Citizen”? What are some challenges and opportunities it faces?

Read more about the FairPrice CSR story in CSR For Sustainability and Business. Other companies highlighted in the book include

Title: CSR for Sustainability and Success
Edited by: Wong, Evelyn S.
Publisher : Marshall Cavendish Editions, c2009
Call No.: HD60.5.S55C958

Click here for more titles on the same topic.

* A co-operative, in essence, is a form of organisation in which customers share in the profits in relation to purchases. In other words, members of the co-op enjoy not only the “benefits of good-quality products at fair prices but also a share of the profits (a dividend) based on the amount of each member’s purchases” (A Dictionary of Business and Management, Oxford University Press, 2009).

Frohman, N. (2009). Best Place to Shop, Best Place to Work, Best Corporate Citizen. In Evelyn Wong, CSR for Sustainability and Success.