For Immediate Release
Singapore's largest business-led initiative to drive sustainability on Eco Action Day
From now till World Environment Day on 5 June, the nationwide initiative will mobilize individuals and
organizations to pledge positive actions to promote sustainable consumption and production in Singapore
Singapore, 8 April 2015 - Singapore’s largest and longest running business-led environmental awareness
initiative, Eco Action Day, launches today and calls on individuals and organizations to take positive actions
for the environment in the run up to World Environment Day on 5 June.
Featuring the slogan “Green the Red Dot, Join the Movement”, the initiative aims to mobilize and inspire
individuals and organizations in Singapore, widely known as the “little red dot”, to pledge eco-actions. It
hopes that by encouraging simple acts such as conserving energy, reducing waste and raising
environmental awareness, it will help the wider public ingrain these actions into daily life.
This year’s Eco Action Day has a particular emphasis on sustainable consumption and production, and is
aligned with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Environment Day message: Seven
Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.
Evidence has shown that the world is consuming far more natural resources than what the planet can
sustainably provide. Many ecosystems across the world – driven by burgeoning population growth and
economic development - are reaching critical tipping points of depletion or irreversible change.
By 2050, if current consumption and production patterns remain the same and with a rising population
expected to reach 9.6 billion, we will need three planets to sustain our ways of living and consumption, says
the UNEP.
This is why it is important to spread the message that living sustainably is about doing more and better with
less, and that economic growth does not need to come at the expense of relentless resource use and
environmental degradation.
Eco Action Day is also timely given Singapore’s push to become a more sustainable city. The Sustainable
Singapore Blueprint 2015, launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong late last year, outlines a $1.5 billion
effort for Singapore to become a smart, eco-friendly city with a ‘zero-waste’ culture and a flourishing green
economy by 2030.
Eco Action Day complements Singapore’s sustainable development strategy to increase the use of public
transport and recycling rates, reduce energy and water use, and to change public behaviour, among others.
In its ninth year, the initiative is organized by Japanese multinational Ricoh Asia Pacific and various
government and private sector partners.
To celebrate Eco Action Day and World Environment Day on 5 June, Ricoh Asia Pacific and Eco-Business will
be convening a panel discussion - “Driving sustainability for our future” - featuring senior business,
government and civic society leaders discussing this year’s theme on sustainable consumption and
production. Eco-Business is Asia Pacific’s leading media company on responsible business and sustainable
development.
Following the discussion, the Eco Action Awards will be held. This year, pledges made by any organization
will automatically qualify for the awards, which seek to recognize the most impactful and creative pledges.
For the first time, the initiative has also been extended to schools to raise awareness among a key segment
of society: the youth. Schools can join the public and organizations to pledge their environmental actions
online on the campaign site, ecoaction.sg.
More details on the event and a media invite will be issued in May.
Eco Action Day partners for 2015 include the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), National
Environment Agency (NEA), Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Energy Market Authority (EMA),
Singapore Environment Council (SEC), Singapore Compact for CSR, Singapore Business Federation, Keppel
Land, Keppel Reit, Mapletree Business City, Comfort DelGro, Rice Communications and Eco-Business.
Ms Masayo Hada, Manager of Ricoh Asia Pacific’s regional environmental management group, said:
“‘Driving sustainability for our future’ is Ricoh’s new slogan for promoting corporate social responsibility
(CSR) and environmental activities. Eco Action Day is an initiative that demonstrates the company’s
commitment to tackling climate change and raising environmental awareness.”
Mr Tan Wee Hock, Director of the National Environment Agency’s 3P Network Division, noted that “in
recent years, more corporations have placed higher priority on corporate environmental sustainability by
integrating environmentally friendly practices in their operations and promoting CSR in the wider
community.”
“We hope to see more corporations like Ricoh supporting these sustainability outcomes outlined in our
Singapore Sustainability Blueprint 2015,” he added.
Mr Yuen Sai Kuan, Director, Corporate Affairs Division, National Climate Change Secretariat, observed that
“the choices that we make every day have a direct impact on our climate. There is an urgent need for the
world to reduce its carbon footprint and we can all contribute by conserving energy, minimizing wastage
and recycling where possible. We hope that this year’s Eco Action Day will encourage more people in
Singapore to cultivate such climate-friendly habits.”
Commenting on the initiative’s outreach to schools this year, Ms Isabella Loh, Chairman of the Singapore
Environment Council, said: “SEC is pleased to be a supporting partner of Eco Action Day and will encourage
students and corporate partners from our various programmes to make a stand and pledge their support
for the environment. We hope that they will commit to act on and support environmental sustainability
throughout the year, and remember that each individual is responsible for protecting the environment we
share.”
Keppel Land is among the organizations that will be making significant pledges for Eco Action Day. Ms
Serena Toh, Keppel Land, General Manager, Investor Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility, added:
“Through our ongoing 'Go Green with Keppel Land' environmental education and outreach programme,
regular activities and events are organised to actively engage our stakeholders, from our employees to
contractors to homeowners and office tenants, to join us in our journey towards a sustainable future.”
Eco Action Day is a carbon neutral initiative. All carbon emissions generated by the event and its activities
will be offset through CarbonStory, a Singapore crowd-funding platform for climate change mitigation
projects around the world.
The campaign will engage the public through several platforms such as bus advertisements, posters at
commercial buildings, online advertising, roadshows and social media.
From now till 5 June, organizations, schools and individuals can register their pledges at ecoaction.sg, which
also offers tips and ideas on green activities.
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For media enquiries, please contact:
Mansi Maheshwari
Rice Communications
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +65 3157 5687 / +65 9337 0705
About Eco Action Day
Eco Action Day is a national public awareness campaign organized by Ricoh since 2007, in partnership with
key NGO, government and private sector partners in Singapore. It is held on 5 June every year, to
commemorate the United Nations Environment Programme’s World Environment Day, which seeks to raise
global awareness on the need to take positive action for the environment.
Every year, Ricoh, along with various supporting partners, engages its employees, customers, corporate
neighbours and government organizations and the wider public to take steps to reduce their impact on the
environment.
To date, more than 500 organizations, including multinational corporations, government agencies, private
companies and tertiary institutions have participated in Eco Action Day.
For further information, please visit www.ecoaction.sg
About Ricoh
Ricoh is a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print
solutions, document management systems and IT services. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group
operates in about 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2014, Ricoh Group had
worldwide sales of 2,195 billion yen based on the IFRS accounting standard (approx. 21.3 billion USD).
The majority of the company's revenue comes from products, solutions and services that improve the
interaction between people and information. Ricoh also produces award-winning digital cameras and
specialized industrial products. It is known for the quality of its technology, the exceptional standard of
its customer service and sustainability initiatives.
Under its corporate tagline, imagine. change. Ricoh helps companies transform the way they work and
harness the collective imagination of their employees. For further information, please visit
www.ricoh.com/about/
About WED
World Environment Day (WED) is the biggest, most globally celebrated day for positive environmental
action.
The celebration of WED began in 1972 and has grown to become one of the main vehicles through which
the United Nations encourages positive action for the environment. Through WED, the UNEP enables
everyone to realize not only the responsibility to care for the Earth, but also reminds one and all of their
individual power to become agents of change. Every action counts, and when multiplied by a global chorus,
becomes exponential in its impact.
WED is a big celebration, engaging millions across the globe through events on the ground in over 70
countries. Every year, participants, young and old, organize clean up campaigns, art exhibits, tree-planting
drives, concerts, dance recitals, recycling drives, social media campaigns and different contests themed
around caring for the planet.