RCE Singapore (Unabridged)

Environmental Challenge Organization (Singapore)
RCE - Singapore
Known as ECO Singapore
Our Youth. Our Future.

Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
Charity Reg. No: 1739
Regional Centre of Expertise

Singapore
ECOSPHERE, 87 Beach Road, Chye Sing Building #06-01 Singapore 189695

http://www.eco-singapore.org I Tel: (65) 6333 5543 I Fax: (65) 6333 5537
Registered Address: 10 Anson Road, International Plaza, #15-14 Singapore 079903
RCE - Singapore Environmental Challenge Organization (Singapore)

CONTENTS
1 Contact Details 4
2 Introduction 5
2.1 About this report 5
2.2 RCE Singapore 6
3 ECO Singapore 6
3.1 Background Information 6
3.2 Vision, Mission 6
4 Geographical Scope 7
4.1 Location Map of Singapore 7
4.2 Major characteristics of Singapore 7
5 Regional Challenges 11
5.1 Background of past challenges 11
5.2 Regional Challenges Identified 14
6 Process of RCE Development 19
7 RCE - Singapore Development 21
7.1 RCE Vision 21
7.2 RCE Goals 21
7.3 RCE Objectives 21
7.4 RCE Strategies 22
7.5 Indication of success 22
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8 RCE – Singapore Management Structure 23 Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
9 Collaboration among stakeholders 24
9.1 Commitments and resources 24
10 Planned Activities 25
10.1 Previous and ongoing activities 25
10.2 Planned Activities for RCE Singapore 31
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1. Contact Details
Main Contact
Mr. Wilson Ang
Founder and President
+65 – 9147 4541 / +65 – 9750 8928
wilson.ang@eco-singapore.org
Mailing Address
ECOSPHERE
Environmental Challenge Organisation (Singapore)
Chye Sing Building
87 Beach Road
#06 – 01 Singapore 189695
Office Contacts
Phone: (65) 6333 5543
Fax: (65) 6333 5537
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2. Introduction Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
2.1 About this report
This report is a delivery of Singapore situation currently on the education for

sustainable development and how Environmental Challenge Organisation
(Singapore) or known as ECO Singapore will be taking on this role in creating
Singapore to be the centre of expertise.
It will also be an indication of RCE – Singapore with its collaboration with various
schools, and other various organisations as part of its stakeholders. Additional with
the synthesis of the activites that will go in line with this application.
This report will be submitted to the United Nations University, for its consideration
and official acknowledge of RCE – Singapore
2.2 RCE Singapore

RCE Singapore will be focusing mainly with Singapore schools and working with
various organisation that ECO Singapore had divided according to
1. Water
2. Shelter
3. Biodiversity
4. Energy
5. Food
6. Waste
7. Government
8. Education
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3. ECO Singapore Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
3.1 Background Information

ECO Singapore is the leading youth-led Non-Governmental Social Enterprise on
sustainable lifestyle.
Founded in 2003, ECO Singapore aims to challenge youth of age 17-35 to adopt
a sustainable lifestyle and embrace environmental issues holistically. ECO
Singapore actively drives and supports local and global environmental initiatives
involving other environmental stakeholders - the National Youth Council supports
ECO Singapore‟s activities and programs, and we also work closely with the
Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, National Environment Agency,
Public Utilities Board, local environmental groups and international environmental
groups.
The organization is mainly run and managed by volunteers. The volunteer pool
stands at 120 and growing. The organization does its empowering and engaging
outreach through its 5 departments. Each department consists of five to six core
committed volunteers that steers their respective departmental
projects/initiatives.
3.2 Vision, Mission

Vision
To be the leading environmental body advocating sustainable lifestyle for youth
Mission
1. To challenge youth of age 17-35 to adopt a sustainable lifestyle and embrace
environmental issues holistically*.
2. To drive local and global environmental initiatives.
3. To support environmental activities/initiatives as a resource platform involving
other environmental stakeholders.
*Holistic – In ECO Singapore, we categories global environment issues into seven

areas. They are Agriculture, Biodiversity, Energy, Climate Change, Health &
Water Sanitation, Pollution, Population and Poverty.
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4. Geographical Scope Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
4.1 Location Map of RCE Singapore
Singapore is a dynamic country with an approximate population of 4.84

million people and an area of 682.7 km2. That land area only describes
Singapore mainland, not including the 63 islands that Singapore owns.
Among its population, there are three main ethnic groups namely the
Chinese, Malays, Indians with the other minorities. Singapore is located
between Malaysia and Indonesia, in Southeast Asia region. Its strategic
geographical location made Singapore grow into a major centre for
communication, trade and tourism.
4.2 Major Characteristics of Singapore
Despite having few natural resources and very limited land area,
Singapore had been able to transform from a fishing village to an
urbanised city over only forty years‟ time. With the implementation of
Singapore‟s government long-sighted policies and human capital as only
resources, Singapore becomes a prospering nation over the
decades. There are several major characteristics of Singapore.
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Economy Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
Singapore is a very developed and successfully open free-market
economy that is progressing at a rapid rate. Singapore has very high GDP
per capita income of US$48 900 compared to the other Southeast Asian
nations (CIA Factbook 2008). Its economy is greatly dependent on export
activities with high-tech products as the primary export goods. Singapore
has recently diversified its investments in various industry sectors such as
tourism, education, pharmaceutical and others to boast its economy
further. This growing economy has been enhanced and supported by a
corruption-free and politically- stable environment, educated and
motivated workforce, and well-established legal and financial business
framework. With over 7000 multinational companies and an extensive
technology infrastructure providing 99 percent broadband coverage of
Singapore and one million square feet of advanced data centre space,
Singapore is indeed a global technology and commercial hub.
Geography
Since Singapore‟s independence in 1965, its strategic geographical
location has been utilised as the prime transportation hub, serving the
Southeast Asia region and the world with aviation, maritime and land
connections. Currently Singapore has 2 causeway bridges linked to
Malaysia, and one can reach the islands of Indonesia by short ferry trips.
With the reputation as one of the best airports and 80 airlines serving more
than 180 cities in over 50 countries, Changi Airport has established itself as
a major aviation hub in the Asia Pacific region since its birth in 1981. On
top of those, Singapore has a very efficient public transport system with
the integrated network of taxis, buses and the modern Mass Rapid Transit
(MRT) rail system, which makes travelling within Singapore a breeze.
Education
Education in Singapore has always received great emphasis and
consideration from its government and citizens since Singapore
government often perceives its population as its only natural
resources. Thus, Singapore government strives to maximise the potential in
every citizen and equip them with the necessary skills and tools so that
they can contribute to Singapore society and economy's
competitiveness. The key to Singapore‟s success in providing quality
education for its multiracial citizens is the introduction of bilingual policy in
1966 and its lack of preferential treatments for special ethnicity groups in
school enrollment. The basic structure of Singapore education follows a
modified British education system with six years of primary education, four
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years of secondary education and two years of junior Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
college. In terms of higher education, Singapore is an educational hub
with 5 polytechnics, Institute of Technical Education, National Institute of
Education and 4 universities for public sector. Private higher educational
institutes also have been established in Singapore to provide a range of
educational opportunities.
Research & Development (R & D)
In the last ten or more years, Singapore has grown quickly from large
manufacturing base for multinational companies to a reputable
innovation hub which supports high-tech manufacturing and research
and development (R & D). Currently there are 2 centres for R & D -
Singapore's Science Park built in 1980 for creating the initial infrastructure
and focus for R & D and industrial research, and the new Singapore
Biopolis devoted for biomedical research. There are 11 research institutes
which offer postgraduate research programs in collaboration with
National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.
 Bioinformatics Institute (BII)*

 Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) *
 Data Storage Institute (DSI)
 Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) *
 Institute for Infocomm Research (I 2R)
 Institute of Bioengineering & Nanotechnology (IBN)*
 Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC)
 Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE)
 Institute of Microelectronics (IME)
 Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB)*
 Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech)
*Housed in Biopolis at OneNorth, Singapore
Social
The social fabric of Singapore consists of Chinese, Malays, Indians and
other minorities. Although the population is not homogeneous, these
different ethnicity groups are living among one another quite
harmoniously for decades. This harmonious living among citizens is partly
encouraged by Singapore housing policy which specifies a quota for
each ethnicity group to occupy each HDB flat. In addition, Singapore
schools adopt the bilingual policy and are open to receive students of
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any ethnicity which create the non-threatening Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
environment for them to interact and learn together. The concept of
racial harmony is very important in Singapore so the legal system is quite
tough on any actions that threaten the racial harmony as seen in Sedition
Act to avoid the recurrence of racial riots happened in 1964. Schools
reinforce the racial harmony by educating students on the various
cultures' customs to encourage greater racial tolerance and openness.
Diplomacy Ties
With the establishment of Ministry of Foreign Affairs upon Singapore's

independence in 1965, Singapore has been building bilateral ties and
gaining membership in international organisations to cooperate with other
countries. Singapore is a member of United Nations (UN), Commonwealth,
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a number of other
international organisations.
Possessing a multiracial society, state-of-the-art infrastructures for

establishing various regional hubs, and building and maintaining strategic
alliances with other countries, Singapore serves as a gateway to
Southeast Asia and thus, is an important part of the Regional Centre of
Expertise (RCE).
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5. Regional Challenges Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
5.1 Background of past environmental challenges
Since Singapore has limited natural resources, the environmental issues

that Singapore faced are the pollution arising from urbanisation and
industrialisation and the conservation of nature areas. Since the post-
independence of Singapore in 1960s, Singapore faced major
environmental challenges in terms of land space, pollution, etc.
Land Scarcity
Given that Singapore has very limited space of only 581.5km2 and its
population was increasing at a rapid rate, there was growing demand for
more land. Different parts of Singapore thus have been undergoing
large-scale land reclamation, such that its total land area has
increased to 682.7km2. The increase in land area allows for the building of
more houses in private and public housing estates, more recreational
facilities for people's use as well as more infrastructures such as Mass Rapid
Transit system. Although the efforts to reclaim more land are still continuing
and Singapore's land area is estimated to increase by another 100 km 2 in
2030, there is still a limit to which how much land Singapore can reclaim
without incurring greater costs and compromising its limited sea space.
Few Nature Areas
Furthermore, for the land-scarce Singapore with very dense population,

there remain very few nature areas. There are only 3% of nature areas in
Singapore that have legal protection under National Park Acts but there is
no legal protection for the marine areas. Much of the greenery seen
around Singapore are planted and maintained by government employed
workers.
Water Pollution
Singapore has experienced water shortage and water pollution issues in its
rivers, whereby uncontrolled wastes were discharged into Singapore River
and Kallang Basin during 1960s and 1970s as a result of rapid urbanisation
and expansion of trading. With the numerous measures implemented by
the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources* (MEWR) such as
removing pig farms, Singapore rivers are finally cleaner. However water
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still can be polluted by domestic waste water, sewage, Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
and industrial effluent, thus there remains an ongoing objective to keep
Singapore waters clean. MEWR and NEA Singapore faced a shortage of
water because it did not have enough land to collect water.
Water Shortage
In order to provide sufficient supply of water for Singapore residents,

Singapore has to pay high prices to get water from neighbouring
countries such as Malaysia and the agreement with Malaysia is expiring in
2011. In order to reduce reliance on external parties and better manage
water supply, Singapore government uses a holistic approach which
consists of managing water supply, demand for water and education.
Currently there are 15 reservoirs in Singapore, with Marina Barrage as the
latest one. Not only do these reservoirs collect water, but Public Utilities
Board* (PUB) also has recently opened some of the reservoirs for water-
based activities such as kayaking. PUB plans to increase the catchment
area from half to two-thirds of Singapore with Marina Barrage and two
future reservoirs. In addition, to combat the water shortage problem, the
reservoirs are one of the four National Taps implemented by the
government. The other 3 National Taps are Newater (recycling waste
water into drinkable and usable water), desalinated water and imported
water. With regards to managing demand for water, National
Environmental Agency* (NEA) and PUB have started educational
programmes to educate the public about water conservation since 2004.
Air Pollution
Besides water pollution, Singapore also faces air pollution. The main
sources of air pollution are from the burning of fossils fuels for energy
generation in industries, power stations and in the transportation sector.
With Singapore's close proximity to countries such as Indonesia, it is also
vulnerable to smoke hazes that usually result from forest fires in these
countries, contributing to air pollution in Singapore and the region. MEWR
and NEA have several policies in place such as locating pollutive industrial
areas away from population centres and promoting cleaner energy use
to improve air quality in Singapore. In addition, most public premises are
required by law to ban smoking indoor or have designated smoking areas.
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Land Pollution Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
Even though cleanliness of the environment is one of the top priorities for
Singapore and anti-littering laws with fines as well as Keep Singapore
Clean campaigns are in place which lead to a cleaner environment, but
the problem of littering is never totally eradicated. In 1992, the anti-littering
laws were amended to include Corrective Work Order (CWO) for those
aged above 16 years old, are repeat offenders and / or have committed
serious littering offences. These offenders will be tasked with cleaning up
public places such as parks, beaches and even residential estates.
Despite these public punishments for litterbugs, incidences of littering still
prevail in most places. Even beaches, drainage canals and rivers are not
spared from litters. In year 2002, the National Environment Agency (NEA)
took a new approach in tackling the littering problem in Singapore. For
that anti-littering initiative - The 'Singapore, Litter-Free J' campaign, NEA
collaborates with event organisers and owners of premises and land
(including parks, schools and petrol kiosks) to engage the community to
take ownership and responsibility of their rubbish. However there is
another type of littering going on for a while - high rise littering whereby
the offenders throw their rubbish out of the windows of their high-rise flats.
From January to June last year, NEA research reported 12% increase of
high-rise littering in Singapore as compared to the same period in 2007
despite the education efforts. Littering still exists as an ongoing challenge
for Singapore to tackle.
Governmental agencies
*Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) started in 1972 to

achieve the goal of keeping Singapore clean and green during the time
where Singapore faced much pollution. With that goal being met, MEWR,
along with its two statutory boards National Environmental Agency (NEA)
and PUB, national water agency, now seek to attain environmental
sustainability through innovation and partnerships with stakeholders from
the 3P sectors - people, public and private. Several initiatives have
emerged from MEWR in the recent years such as Singapore Green Plan
2012, Sustainable Singapore, and National Climate Change Strategy etc.
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*National Environmental Agency (NEA) was formed to Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
assist MEWR on implementation of environmental policies with regards to
issues such as pollution, land management, resource efficiency, energy
conservation etc. Under NEA, the divisions of Environmental Protection,
Environmental Public Health, and Meteorological Services work together
to ensure a quality environment for Singaporeans, for now and for the
future.
*Public Utilities Board (PUB) is the national water agency managing

Singapore‟s water supply, water catchment and used water in an
integrated way. It not only ensures sufficient water supply for all but also
educate them about water conservation and help them to appreciate
water by creating recreational activities on reservoirs and rivers.
5.2 Regional challenges identified by RCE Singapore

stakeholders
Although Singapore has come a long way from being polluted and dirty
to a clean country commonly known as "Garden City", it still faces
numerous challenges to ensure a sustainable future for all. The various
stakeholders of RCE Singapore have identified the major regional
challenges faced by Singapore region are listed below:
1. There is a sense of apathy among people towards Sustainable

Development.
o Many people especially youths have misconceptions of

sustainable development. When speaking of sustainable
development, most of them only consider green issues such as
keeping the environment clean and the 3Rs.
o For instance, National University of Singapore (NUS) has started

their Masters of Science degree (Environmental Management)
since 2001, but the admission intake is still very small. The
candidates include not only Singaporeans but also international
students from India, Malaysia etc. Majority of the Singaporean
and international candidates come from private and public
sectors geared towards environmental conservation such as
environmental agencies or forest ranger. Few members of the
public know of this programme.
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o They also do not have a sense of ownership or responsibility to

the public environment or Earth. As Singapore government is
very stringent about cleanliness especially in eating places, there
are usually cleaners to clear away the used utensils and clean
up after the users. Although school canteens, army camps and
some workplaces require users to return their used trays and
utensils, users in the public eating places such as fast food
restaurants and hawker centres leave their dirty trays on the
tables for the cleaners to remove. Singapore government has
demonstrated its efficiency in addressing environmental issues
through enforcement and education, so most people are quite
confident in leaving the task of protecting the environment to
the government's capability.
o Parents and immediate families are often the main caregivers

and role models for their children. When parents and immediate
families set the wrong tone and model behaviours such as
leaving behind litters or dirty trays after using those in public
places, their children will not consider such behaviours as
wrong/undesirable and follow those actions. It is essential to start
inculcating the desirable behaviours and values in young
children as they are more receptive to changes rather than
adults.
2. A lack of support from governmental, corporate and community

sectors in providing financial and infrastructure/facility resources.
o Governmental (Financial resources):
While the Singapore government is benevolent with strong interest in

environmental sustainability issues, supported by MEWR and its
statutory boards' efforts to maximise its resources and minimise
damage to environment, the Singapore government still has
economic and defence considerations as its top priorities.
Given these priorities, the policies and initiatives to support

environmental conservation and sustainability need to be not only
viable but also economically advantageous for Singapore to
undertake. For instance, building the Newater plants may be
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expensive but in the long term, Singapore will be less Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
reliant on neighbouring countries, making full use of the sewage and
recycling it into Newater for industrial and consumption uses.
Whereas for Integrated Resorts, the potential damage to Singapore
not only in terms of environment but also socio-economically is great.
Still due to its creation of new jobs and improvement of economy,
Singapore government proposed mitigation measures to minimise the
damage while building and running the resorts.
Thus for grass-root organisations or NGOs interested in developing

sustainable activities, they face the challenge of having their projects
either being given low budget/priority or being rejected.
o Governmental (infrastructure resources):
As mentioned in 5.1, Singapore government is concerned about

sustaining our resources especially issue of water management.
It has set up various research facilities to carry out research and

development (R & D) in a variety of areas. One of the major projects is
the water reclamation plant to make Newater for industrial and
consumption use.
Despite the government's efforts for sustaining Singapore, they have

not taken the lead to enable companies, community and other key
stakeholders are capable of using sustainable measures in their
operations.
o Corporate sector:
The sustainable practices in corporate sector, also known as

"Corporate Social Responsibility" (CSR) is not that widely incorporated
in Singapore companies. Unlike multinationals or corporate giants such
as Brother Singapore and SingTel Mobile which usually have a CSR
department, many Singapore companies especially the SMEs (Small
and Medium-sized Enterprises) neither have such department nor
understand the concept of CSR. Even for those Singapore companies
that are aware of CSR, some of them perceive CSR as irrelevant to
their business strategies or may lack the necessary budget, time or the
knowledge to implement these CSR practices.
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Although Singapore Compact for Corporate Social Charity Reg. No: 1739
Responsibility (CSR) was set up in 2005 to take a multi-stakeholders
approach on educating the stakeholders (including companies) about
CSR, only its members have the opportunity to network, exchange
ideas and gain skills to use CSR. Though Singapore Compact for CSR is
still growing, not many of its members are serving as champions and
spread the word to their peers or other key stakeholders who are non-
members either through effective communications and disclosure or
through business to business supply chain relationships.
In terms of finances, SMEs are usually hard up to set aside a sufficient

budget for CSR purposes while for facility-wise, companies may not
have the resources to improve those.
o Community sector:
The schools in Singapore do not have sufficient support and resources to

be more sustainable or enable students to do sustainable
actions/activities.
Education subcommittee targets school children, but with focus on

primary schools regarding education for sustainable development.
NGOs or voluntary work organisations also face the challenge of not

having adequate resources, both financial and others, to carry out their
projects/programmes geared towards sustainable development with key
stakeholders. Given that their staffs are working for little or no pay, it is
difficult for them to achieve long term objectives without financial
backing since many strategies for achieving these objectives require
funds to run.
In addition, while government agencies work well at national level, the

NGOs often have the reach to engage Singaporeans at the grass-roots
level hence NGOs can support the governments' initiatives if they are
given the necessary resources.
3. The culture among the consumers is generally of strong capitalism

inclination/consumption.
o Success is usually defined as acquisition of material goods such
as cars, condominiums, credit cards and branded goods.
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o People's perceptions of using second-hand or Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
hand-me-down goods as undesirable and unhygienic especially
for apparels.
o The consumers are not as environmentally or sustainability

conscious as their counterparts in Western countries.
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6. Process of RCE Development Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
The process of establishing RCE Singapore is led by Environmental

Challenge Organisation (ECO) Singapore, a non-governmental
organisation (NGO). Major stakeholders, such as universities, polytechnics,
corporate companies, governmental agencies, research institutes and
non governmental organisations have been invited and are committed to
collaborate in establishing RCE Singapore.
The first RCE Seminar was held on 8th April 2009, Mr. Wilson Ang, founder of
ECO Singapore, introduced RCEs and started the process of the
establishment of RCE Singapore. The representatives from the NGOs,
research institutes, schools, governmental agencies, corporate
companies and Universities discussed the existing Education for
sustainable development (ESD) activities by each stakeholder, the current
regional challenges faced, and their expectations of RCE Singapore. On
22 June 2009, the Second RCE discussion was held virtually to discuss the
directions and structure of RCE Singapore and participants made
decisions on the governance structure of RCE Singapore and planned the
future activities for RCE Singapore.
Key RCE Stakeholder Members identified
The key stakeholder members of RCE Singapore include 3 educational

institutions, 2 governmental agencies, 3 corporate companies and 3
NGOs. These educational institutions are chosen based on the facilities
and programmes they have for sustainable development such as the
Environmental Technology Development Centre (ENV-TDC) and the
Diploma in Environmental Science course in RP, while the governmental
agencies are selected because they can provide governmental funding
and resources. These identified companies have been quite active in CSR
both in Singapore and internationally so they are the assets in strategising
methods/ways to motivate other companies to be involved in CSR. Finally,
the 3 key NGOs are very active in implementing ESD-related activities and
have been building up resources for such initiatives. These stakeholders will
form the core group of RCE Singapore.
Educational Institutions:
•Republic Polytechnic (RP)
•National University of Singapore (NUS)
•Singapore Polytechnic (SP)
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•Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
•Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP)
Corporate companies:
• Keppel Land International Limited
• Timberland
•British Council
•Banyan Tree Holdings Limited
• World-Wide Funds for Nature (WWF)
Governmental Organisations:
•Public Utilities Board (PUB)
•National Environment Agency (NEA)
•Building and Construction Authority (BCA)
NGOs:
• United Nations (UN) Youth Association of Singapore
• Vegetarian Society Singapore (VSS)
• Nature Trekker Singapore
• Waterways Watch
• Nature Society Singapore (NSS)
• Lien Aid
• Scholastic Environment Fund (SEF)
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7. RCE – Singapore Development Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
7.1 RCE Vision
RCE -Singapore aims to be the regional network for members to research,

collaborate, educate, advise, and develop ESD-related activities that
advocate Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) as a Lifestyle.
To prevent further damages to our Earth, it is essential for all of us,
individually or collectively, to be educated with the skills and knowledge
for consuming and/or producing products sustainably. It is time for us to
start instilling the culture of valuing and maximising our resources to
improve our quality of life.
7.2.1 RCE Goals
• Establish Global SCP Hub in Singapore to create a platform for

exchange of information on ESD and good practices in the region.
• Serve as feedback channel to the Singapore government for
educational institutions, corporate companies and NGOs.
• Model Framework on education for SCP to complement and enhance
existing public education.
• Increase the capacity of all Singapore citizens/residents to participate in
Sustainable Development
• Establish Common Fund and facilities for SCP to support SCP activities,
projects and programmes.
7.2.2 RCE Short term Objectives
• Establish Global SCP Hub in Singapore.

– Recognize Degree/Diploma on Sustainable Development
–Engage corporate companies, governmental agencies, NGOs,
schools and individuals in SCP activities
–Exchange good SCP practices and expertise with other organizations
working on SCP/ESD in other countries
• Framework on education for SCP
–ESD programmes for students of all educational levels: primary,
secondary, college, and tertiary.
–ESD programmes for teachers and staffs through workshops
• Common Fund and facilities for SCP
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7.3 RCE Strategies Charity Reg. No: 1739
1. Complimentary School Programmes:

•Primary & Secondary School talks and workshop
2. Establish a recognized Diploma or Degree for Sustainable Development.
3. Run public seminars and workshops for both public and corporate staffs.
4. Public Campaigns: With existing NGOs activities to raise the awareness.
5. Set a consultancy committee within RCE Singapore to act as consultant
to other organisations
6. Hold regular meetings with all stakeholders to exchange information
and expertise to enhance collaboration among all.
7. Use New Social Media and traditional media as tools to expand RCE
Singapore‟s reach beyond the existing network.
7.4 Indication of success with timeline
First Year (2009 - 2010):
• One regional conference/seminar/workshop yearly

• Two national level public seminars
• Confirm the content of the complimentary education programme for
school talks:
1. Education talks to 30% of local public and private schools
2. Quarterly meeting on update of framework for SCP.
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8. RCE Singapore Management Structure Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
Management structure of RCE Singapore:

•For the first year, ECO Singapore will be able to function as a secretariat
or facilitator.
•Subsequently, the stakeholders will vote yearly for a new secretariat
organisation.
•Secretariat conducts the quarterly meeting and update and reports to
the UNU on activities and progress.
The decision-making mechanism:

•Any decision or direction of the RCE and its programmes will be a
collective agreement of no less than 75% of the stakeholders at the
quarterly meeting.
- Criteria of the voter: the voter must also show a creditable track
record of what they have done for the year.
- Rationale: This will prevent those who have not shown or done real
contribution to have more say than those who do just because they
are able to be present for such meetings. Those who do the
most relevant work in line with our mission and goals must be given
the proper right of say/vote.
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9. Collaboration among stakeholders Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
The core organization of RCE Singapore is Environmental Challenge

Organisation, Singapore. The other stakeholders include:
Educational Institutions:
•Republic Polytechnic (RP)
•National University of Singapore (NUS)
•Singapore Polytechnic (SP)
•Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP)
•Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP)
Corporate companies:
• Keppel Land International Limited
• Timberland
•British Council
•Banyan Tree Holdings Limited
• World-Wide Funds for Nature (WWF)
Governmental Organisations:
•Public Utilities Board (PUB)
•Building and Construction Authority (BCA)
• National Environment Agency (NEA)
NGOs:
• United Nations (UN) Youth Association of Singapore
• Vegetarian Society Singapore (VSS)
• Nature Trekker Singapore
• Waterways Watch
• Nature Society Singapore (NSS)
• Lien Aid
• Scholastic Environment Fund (SEF)
9.1 Commitment and resources

Youth Coalition for Sustainable Development will have one representative
to attend the meetings and offer insights and comments on the behalf of
his/her coalition. Vegetarian Society of Singapore has exhibitions, food
demonstrations, talks and consultancy on students‟ projects related to
sustainability food issues, which RCE Singapore may tap into as well. ECO-
Singapore has offered to be the Secretariat for RCE Singapore during the
first year of RCE Singapore establishment.
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10. Planned activities
10.1 Previous and ongoing activities of specific organisations:
Educational Institutions
Singapore Polytechnic:
•Incorporate sustainable design into curriculum for diploma in
architecture, landscape architecture.
•Collaboration with industrial partners – Ascendas Research and
Development on Green Initiatives
•Promote sustainable development building – Rain Garden within
Singapore Polytechnic
Republic Polytechnic:
• Broadly based on the concept of sustainable development in the area
of recycled materials, conservation and use of natural environment,
management of energy etc.
• Offers the diploma of environmental science course.
• Environmental Technology Development Centre within RP to carry out
R&D on renewable energies.
Nanyang Polytechnic:
• The NYP-HP Green ICT Solutions Centre:
- drive the development of new innovations in infocomm technologies
that will enable businesses to achieve sustainable business growth by
being energy-efficient and reducing carbon footprint.
- Training students and industry professionals in Green ICT technologies
and best practices.
• Launch of new diploma course: Chemical & Green Technology
National University of Singapore:

•The following modules and programs aim directly or indirectly issues
relating to sustainable development
1. Masters in Environmental Management
2. Freshman seminars on Sustainable Development
3. Project Management
4. Sustainable Building Design
25

•Academic Staff members are engaged in research Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
projects with sustainable development, environmental management and
climate change mitigation and adaptation
Nanyang Technological University:

• Offers the Bachelor and Master degrees of environmental engineering
• Have research institutes on environmental/sustainable development
such as Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering (IESE), Energy
Research Institute at NTU (ERIAN).
Corporate Companies
Keppel Land Corporation:

•Supported various Community Development Councils (CDCs) on
environment program through sponsorships of recyclables bags and
porcelain mugs
Timberland:
• Earthkeepers™ is a line of premium Timberland® footwear and apparel
product since 2008, Timberland® product with the Earthkeepers™ label
must meet design criteria around recycled, organic and renewable
material content, solvent-free adhesives and reduced climate impact.
• In spring 2007, Timberland introduced the “Green Index” – a measure of
the environmental impact of their products.
• Starting in 2008, Timberland will be reporting on key CSR performance
indicators on a quarterly basis.
• Release 2008 new CSR strategy with 4 goals in 2008: become carbon
neutral by 2010, design recyclable products, having fair, safe and non
discriminatory workplace, and 2-year service campaign to make
community greener.
British Council Singapore:

• organised the Digital Art Competition on Climate Change along with
Singapore Science Centre and Scholastic Environmental Fund
• have partnerships with many companies, governmental bodies etc in UK
• as a platform for others to exchange ideas, information and even
activities to achieve CSR goals.
Banyan Tree Holdings Limited

• Greening communities initiative:
- Over the next 10 years, the Group is targeting to plant 2,000 trees per
26

year within each of the local communities of Banyan Tree Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
Hotels and Resorts located in Phuket, Bangkok, Lijiang, Ringha, Bintan,
Seychelles and Maldives.
- strives to offset a significant amount of carbon emissions created by
the company‟s operations, while promoting awareness of climate change
in the community.
• Seedlings, the Group‟s tri-phase community programme aims to offer

opportunity and support to children considered at risk of societal exclusion.
This group-wide initiative is broken into three stages of mentorship,
scholarship, and internship to provide children with the motivation and
means to complete their education and successfully enter the labour
force as adults.
• Participated in Earth Day campaign since 2006
• In July 2007, Banyan Tree‟s Singapore office embarked upon an
awareness raising campaign to reduce the office‟s electrical
consumption.
NGOs
UN Youth Association of Singapore:

•Ongoing Global Classroom Camp
•YDP network group with World Bank Group Singapore and expedition to
Laos/Thailand
•National Youth Service Program – Aug‟09
•Speak your mind Campaign – Asian Youth Day Aug‟09
•Singapore Ambassador –ongoing
Vegetarian Society of Singapore:

• Offer vouchers for vegetarian restaurants
• Offer talks, workshops, food demos and consulting on student projects
related to:
a. the link between diet and environment

b. the link between diet and world hunger
c. how to eat sustainably
d. How to eat in a way that considers the needs of our non-human
fellow Earthlings.
Scholastic Environmental Fund:

• Supported various environmental initiatives such as Million Trees project,
27

Digital Art Competition on Climate Change, The Giving Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
Tree @ North East 2005 (exhibitions and volunteering talks).
Lien Aid:
•Developmental project NGO focusing in water and sanitations
•Country of Activities – China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia
•Incorporating appropriate technologies to our developmental project
•Share technical expertise (developmental work) to the regional
•Portal to share lesson learned (developmental work) to region
Nature Trekker Singapore:

•Promoting appreciation, education, and conservation of biodiversity
and ecosystems in Singapore
•Education, sub-committee targets school children focused on primary
school currently
•Publications and talks including engaging media
Nature Society of Singapore:
 dedicated to the appreciation, conservation, study and enjoyment of

the natural heritage in Singapore, Malaysia and the surrounding
region.
 Organise nature appreciation activities like guided nature walks, bird
and butterfly watching, slide talks and overseas eco-trips.
 Conduct conservation projects and surveys.
 Collaborate with schools and community groups to promote nature
appreciation and education.
 Campaign for the protection of natural habitats.
Waterways Watch:
•Education programmes for all e.g. Camp Envo-Awareness is organised 4
times a year during school holidays, CSR program for corporate
companies
•Developing champions of Environment
•Sustainable program of interest in environment
•Working with agencies & schools to cast the net wider (marketing & new
partnerships)
28

WWF Singapore: Charity Reg. No: 1739
• Organised Earth Hour 2009 on March 28 in Singapore
• Educational talks on marine, wildlife, energy conservation
Environmental Challenge Organisation Singapore:
 ECO Training Programmes

o ENRICH!
o School Talks
 ECO Shop
 ECO Events
 ECO Publications: EXPRESS!
 Organised Earth Hour 2009 on March 28 and Relive 2009 on 5 – 7
June
 Youth-Speak-Up-DunkIt-NDP programme: anti-littering campaign
held on National Day Parade (9 August) with participation of
secondary school students and volunteers aged 17 -35 years. This
has been going on yearly since 2005.
 Participated in various forums both national and international such
as National Youth Environmental Forum, UN Commission on
Sustainable Development, United Nations Conference on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties 14 (COP14).
 Organised the inaugural World Leadership Conference on 15 -19
June 2009.
 Organising the inaugural National Youth Assembly on 1st and 2nd
August.
Youth Coalition on Sustainable development
 Comprises youth leaders and environmental award winners of the

various environmental groups in NUS, NTU, SMU and observers from
various polytechnics.
 Primary focus on tertiary institutions (mainly universities) and
consolidate their expertise in this area.
 The coalition's earliest work is the Singapore Youth Declaration on
Sustainable Development.
 The coalition is a collective platform for youth action towards
sustainable development, aiming to: a) be the leading youth
council on sustainable development in Singapore. b) Develop
competencies in youths to effect systemic changes in educational
institutions towards sustainable development. c) Deliver action and
29

change to improve environmental performance in Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
educational institutions.
 The coalition will achieve the above objectives through: a) Sharing
and consolidating youth perspectives on key sustainability issues.
b) Discussing and improving current sustainability practices across
educational institutions.
c) Collaborative projects to achieve more efficient and effective
use of resources.
Governmental Agencies
Public Utilities Board (PUB)

 Singapore‟s national water agency which manages its water supply,
water catchment areas and used water in an integrated way.
 It not only ensures sufficient water supply for all but also educate
them about water conservation and help them to appreciate
water by creating recreational activities on reservoirs and rivers.
 Offers programmes, incentives and challenges such as 10-Litre
challenge to conserve, value and enjoy water
Building and Construction Authority (BCA)

 Develop and regulate the construction industry in Singapore with
the focus on safe, high quality, sustainable and friendly built
environment
 Offers Green Mark Award since 2005 to promote sustainability in the
built environment and raise environmental awareness among
developers, designers and builders when they start project
conceptualisation and design, as well as during construction.
National Environment Agency (NEA)

 Assists Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) on
implementation of environmental policies with regards to issues
such as pollution, land management, resource efficiency, energy
conservation etc.
 Under NEA, the divisions of Environmental Protection, Environmental
Public Health, and Meteorological Services work together to ensure
a quality environment for Singaporeans, for now and for the future.
 Run campaigns such as recycling day, events and programmes
such as Hawker Centre Upgrading.
30

10.2 Planned Activities for RCE- Singapore Society Reg. No: ROS326/2002
The first step to set up the global hub for SCP is to have a good
communication platform and channel for all the stakeholders in RCE
Singapore. Thus, the decision of having regular meetings with the
Secretariat organisation being the coordinator is made.
Research and Development:

• More research on identification of approaches, evaluation of the
various approaches to reach out and engage more of the different
sectors (corporate, governmental and community) to be aware and
participate in ESD activities.
•Customising the approaches to the different sectors and build on the
capacity of organizations in each sector to implement the customised
approaches.
• Conduct surveys to get feedbacks and improvements for ESD activities
as a method to collate information and also as an evaluation.
Transformative Education:
•Develop materials and curricula for the primary and secondary school
programmes.
•Empower and train teachers to spread the message of SCP to their
fellow teachers and subsequently their students.
•Ignite the interest among youths with fun and interesting campaigns
organized by NGOs.
Collaborative activities:
1)With Youth Coalition for Sustainable Development:
–Develop a „blueprint‟ for environmental stewardship and programme for
empowering youths with necessary skills to effect change in the
organisations they belong to.
–Establish systematic links between daily consumption, production to
environment (e.g. where do we get our paper from?)
2) Collaborate with other RCEs on international programs and broadcast
the experiences through New Social media
3) Maintain close links with governmental agencies and other
organisations related to ESD/SCP.
31

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Environmental Challenge Organization (Singapore)

Our Youth. Our Future.

Regional Centre of Expertise

ECOSPHERE, 87 Beach Road, Chye Sing Building #06-01 Singapore 189695

Our Youth. Our Future.

2.1 About this report 5

2.2 RCE Singapore 6

3.1 Background Information 6

3.2 Vision, Mission 6

4.1 Location Map of Singapore 7

4.2 Major characteristics of Singapore 7

5.1 Background of past challenges 11

5.2 Regional Challenges Identified 14

6 Process of RCE Development 19

7 RCE - Singapore Development 21

7.1 RCE Vision 21

7.2 RCE Goals 21

7.3 RCE Objectives 21

7.4 RCE Strategies 22

7.5 Indication of success 22

Our Youth. Our Future.

9 Collaboration among stakeholders 24

9.1 Commitments and resources 24

10.1 Previous and ongoing activities 25

10.2 Planned Activities for RCE Singapore 31

Our Youth. Our Future.

Our Youth. Our Future.

2.1 About this report

This report is a delivery of Singapore situation currently on the education for

2.2 RCE Singapore

Our Youth. Our Future.

3.1 Background Information

3.2 Vision, Mission

*Holistic – In ECO Singapore, we categories global environment issues into seven

Our Youth. Our Future.

4.1 Location Map of RCE Singapore

Singapore is a dynamic country with an approximate population of 4.84

4.2 Major Characteristics of Singapore

Our Youth. Our Future.

Our Youth. Our Future.

Research & Development (R & D)

 Bioinformatics Institute (BII)*

*Housed in Biopolis at OneNorth, Singapore

Our Youth. Our Future.

With the establishment of Ministry of Foreign Affairs upon Singapore's

Possessing a multiracial society, state-of-the-art infrastructures for

Our Youth. Our Future.

5.1 Background of past environmental challenges

Since Singapore has limited natural resources, the environmental issues

Few Nature Areas

Furthermore, for the land-scarce Singapore with very dense population,

Our Youth. Our Future.

In order to provide sufficient supply of water for Singapore residents,

Our Youth. Our Future.

*Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) started in 1972 to

Our Youth. Our Future.

*Public Utilities Board (PUB) is the national water agency managing

5.2 Regional challenges identified by RCE Singapore

1. There is a sense of apathy among people towards Sustainable

o Many people especially youths have misconceptions of

o For instance, National University of Singapore (NUS) has started

Our Youth. Our Future.

o They also do not have a sense of ownership or responsibility to

o Parents and immediate families are often the main caregivers