CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good

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CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good
CELEBRATING
 CATALYSTS
 OF CHANGE
 Towards a   Organised by   Supported by   Championing
CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good
02          CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020

INTRODUCTION                                                       ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 C                                 The Champions of
         ovid-19 is an unpre-                                      We would like to extend our gratitude to:
         cedented crisis that                                       Mr Heng Swee Keat: Deputy Prime Minister,
         brought the global        Good programme                   Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies
economy to a grinding halt.                recognises               and Minister for Finance, for his continued
    Businesses reached a na-
dir, as the pandemic threw         organisations that               support and special message to our
                                                                    Champions of Good 2020;
a spanner in the works for          are exemplary in                Ministry of Culture, Community and
many of them. However,
despite the obstacles, com-          doing good and                 Youth for their support in the Champions
                                                                    of Good programme;
panies that have been do-             have also been                Our Judging and Final Review Panel for
ing good and contributing
to communities before the
                                       a multiplier by              meticulously selecting our Champions of Good;
downturn continued to give            engaging their                The Business Times for the citation book
back. These Champions
rolled with the punches,
                                         partners and              And everyone who has helped make
innovated, and continued             stakeholders on               this edition of Champions of Good a success!
to lead by example, inspir-           a collaborative
ing fellow businesses to do
good. They epitomised the                     journey.             We would like to extend our gratitude to the
dictum “there is strength in                                       following trade associations and chambers of
numbers”, as they chose to                                         commerce for their assistance during our
                                                                   marketing outreach:
be a part of a community of       About Company of Good
like-minded businesses and        Company of Good connects            Action Community for Entrepreneurship
teamed up to help those at        organisations to do good            American Chamber of Commerce
risk in society.                  strategically, sustainably and      British Chamber of Commerce Singapore
    This can be seen from         impactfully. Through its ini-       Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore
the various projects that         tiatives, like-minded organ-        Enterprise 50
the Champions spearhead-          isations can learn, network         French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore
ed. For example, Com-             and collaborate for good.
pany of Good launched a                                               Law Society Pro Bono Services
                                     Company of Good is a part
programme called Eat for          of the National Volunteer &         Orchard Road Business Association
Good, and together with           Philanthropy Centre (NVPC),         SG Tech
its    members       Maybank      which is the steward of the         Singapore Business Federation Foundation
Singapore, Samsui Supplies        City of Good vision for Sin-        Singapore Hotel Association
& Services and Tripadvisor,       gapore. The City of Good is         Singapore International Chamber of Commerce
it roped in The Food Bank         a vision of Singapore where         Singapore National Employers Federation
Singapore’s “Feed the City”       People, Organisations, and
project.                                                              Singapore Contractors Association Limited
                                  Leaders come together to
    The programme distribut-      give their best for others.
ed a total of 1,000 meals a day
to beneficiaries such as All      About Champions of Good
Saints Home, Covenant Fam-        Champions of Good was
ily Service Centre and Man        launched in 2017 as a na-
Fut Tong Welfare Society.         tional recognition framework
    Looking ahead, the Cham-      under the Company of Good.
pions will seek opportunities     It recognises organisations
to amplify their efforts in do-   that are exemplary in doing
ing good by working togeth-       good and have also been a
er and tapping each other’s       multiplier by engaging their
strengths. They will contin-      partners and stakeholders on
ue to embody the spirit that      a collaborative journey.
true champions make time             With the success of
for good.                         Champions of Good to date
                                  in 2020, we have conferred       SUPPLEMENT EDITOR: Vivien Ang
                                  a total of 97 unique             ART DIRECTOR: Tan Lin Kuan
                                                                   SUB-EDITORS: Chan Wai Peng, Chiang Yin Pheng, Kelvin Lee,
                                  Champions of Good and we         Melissa Lee Suppiah, Naveen Verghese, Adeline Woon
                                  aspire to grow the communi-      MARKETING CONTACT: Shirley Chua (9620 1339),
                                  ty of Champions.                 Patricia Tan (9620 1348)
CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good
CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020                 03

FOREWORD

                                  MILDRED TAN
                                  CHAIRMAN, NVPC

                                  “
                                          2020 has proven to be a challenging
                                          year for everyone as we tackle a
                                  global pandemic, an economic slowdown
                                  and the attendant societal impact.
                                      In these unprecedented times–which
                                  necessitated the roll-out of the Fortitude,
                                  Resilience, Solidarity and Unity Budgets
                                  to help Singapore tide through the crisis–
                                  it is more important than ever for leaders
                                  and organisations to step forward to pivot
                                  their organisations to the new normal so
                                  that no one is left behind.
                                      Despite these immense and dynamic
                                  challenges, I believe we have the
                                  opportunity to build a stronger and better
                                  Singapore where our resilience will uplift
                                  us as a City of Good.
                                      It speaks volumes that a record
                                  74 Champions of Good have been
                                  recognised by NVPC this year, an increase
                                  of over 20 per cent from the previous
                                  iteration. These are truly exemplary
                                  organisations that have made doing good
                                  an integral part of their business and

     With the Champions of        organisational values.
                                      By looking beyond conventional

      Good leading the way,       business goals, these Champions of Good
                                  have displayed resilience and adaptability

      I am confident that we      in their fight to overcome the economic
                                  downturn and are setting the precedent

    will build a City of Good–    in robust corporate citizenship for other
                                  stakeholders and industry peers to follow.

     a Singapore that cares.
                                      They have uplifted the lives of many
                                  despite the challenging outlook. I
                                  wholeheartedly commend these
                                  Champions of Good for their
                                  inspiring work.
                                      With the Champions of Good leading
                                  the way, I am confident that we will build
                                  a City of Good–a Singapore that cares.
CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good
04          CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020

                                                                                                                 Snack box subscription
                                                                                                                 startup Boxgreen has
                                                                                                                 seen an increase in
                                                                                                                 subscription with more
                                                                                                                 people working from
                                                                                                                 home. In addition
                                                                                                                 to working with 15
                                                                                                                 selected inmates at its
                                                                                                                 plant located in Changi
                                                                                                                 Prison, they are working
                                                                                                                 with the Yellow Ribbon
                                                                                                                 Project and have since
                                                                                                                 hired two ex-offenders.

                                  their impact. Last year, for
                                  instance, they announced
                                  their inaugural DBS Foun-
                                                                    We look forward to working with
                                  dation Social Impact Prize        social enterprises across Asia – as
                                  as part of SMU’s Lee Kuan
                                  Yew Global Business Plan          together, we work towards creating
                                  Competition.      They     also   a better, more sustainable world.
BUILDING                          partnered the Singapore
                                  International Foundation in
SINGAPORE'S                       2019 to award the DBSFxSIF
                                  Social Impact Prize to three
SOCIAL                            SEs who have shown compel-        Asia, with over S$5.5 million    efforts in the midst of the
ENTERPRISES                       ling achievements.
                                     This is in addition to their
                                                                    in grant funding.
                                                                       To help SEs get through
                                                                                                     pandemic.
                                                                                                        As part of the programme,
Businesses are                    annual Social Enterprise
                                  Grant, which has been held
                                                                    the Covid-19 pandemic, the
                                                                    foundation has ramped up
                                                                                                     Singtel recently provided
                                                                                                     grant support of S$40,000
increasingly aware                annually since 2015. The          support with a mix of loans      and networking access to
that championing                  2020 cycle of the grant is un-
                                  derway; this is the first time
                                                                    and grants. The SE Digital
                                                                    Business Loan is a collater-
                                                                                                     help some future makers
                                                                                                     scale their solutions.
these causes                      the foundation is introducing     al-free loan made available to      One of these SEs in-
is as much about                  a zero food waste category of
                                  grants for SEs with innovative
                                                                    all 360 raiSE-registered SEs.
                                                                    RaiSE is the Singapore Centre
                                                                                                     clude AEvice Health, which
                                                                                                     launched a remote mon-
nurturing them,                   solutions.                        for Social Enterprise. At an     itoring device that allows
as it is about                       Karen Ngui, board mem-
                                  ber of DBS Foundation and
                                                                    interest rate as low as 2 per
                                                                    cent per annum, this is the
                                                                                                     healthcare professionals to
                                                                                                     assess patients' physiolog-
strengthening                     DBS's head of group strate-       lowest interest-rate loan of-    ical vital signs and respira-
the ecosystem.                    gic marketing and commu-
                                  nications, said: “Food binds
                                                                    fered to SEs during this peri-
                                                                    od, DBS said.
                                                                                                     tory symptoms in real time
                                                                                                     without physical contact
By Mindy Tan                      people together and has the          The foundation has also       with Covid-19 patients. An-
tanmindy@sph.com.sg               power to connect across           set aside an additional          other SE is Solve Education!
@MindyTanBT                       generations. Yet some of our      S$500,000 in grant funding.      Foundation, which launched
                                  attitudes towards food have       The Business Transforma-         an educational game app to
                                  exacerbated critical issues       tion and Improvement (BTI)       equip marginalised children
                                  such as global warming, cli-      Grant is open to all DBS         and youth with accessible

 A      s the social enterprise   mate change and biodiver-         Foundation-supported SEs         knowledge and skills on how
        (SE) matures in Sing-     sity loss. We look forward        to provide funding support to    to manage Covid-19.
        apore, businesses are     to working with social en-        them, so they can protect and       As part of larger efforts to
increasingly    aware      that   terprises across Asia – as        create jobs, as well as pivot    support the social impact
championing these causes is       together, we work towards         digitally in search of new       ecosystem, the communi-
as much about nurturing           creating a better, more sus-      income streams.                  cations group actively en-
these businesses, as it           tainable world.”                     Meanwhile, Singtel Future     gages with the 3Ps – people,
is about strengthening the           DBS Foundation is the first    Makers, an accelerator pro-      private and public sectors.
ecosystem.                        foundation in Singapore ded-      gramme that aims to estab-       For instance, they work in
   DBS Bank’s DBS Founda-         icated to championing social      lish a community of support      consultation with raiSE to
tion, an early player in the      entrepreneurship. To date,        for SEs that leverage technol-   understand the needs of SEs
space, is actively leverag-       the foundation has support-       ogy and innovation for social    and established a co-funding
ing collaborations to widen       ed more than 60 SEs across        impact, has also ramped up       partnership.
CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good
CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020                                    05
                                the Company of Good (COG)         individuals who needed                        timise efforts to work togeth-
                                banner into action in late        the help.                                     er towards common causes.”
                                February.                             Sharon Eng, head of cor-                     OCBC has also recognised
                                   Together with its mem-         porate responsibility and sus-                the importance of providing
                                bers – which include May-         tainability in Maybank Sin-                   food support and contribut-
                                bank Singapore and Samsui         gapore, said: “The Covid-19                   ed S$300,000 as well as vol-
FOOD FOR                        Supplies & Services – NVPC
                                roped in The Food Bank
                                                                  pandemic has worsened so-
                                                                  cial inequalities and many
                                                                                                                unteer support to help Food
                                                                                                                from the Heart (FFTH) set
GOOD                            Singapore’s “Feed the City”       areas of need have surfaced.                  up its Community Shop@
                                project.                          In this volatile situation, a key             Mountbatten. At this shop,
Companies and                      By mid-April, the drive        challenge is to quickly identi-               nearly 5,000 eligible house-
volunteers contribute           was ready to support those
                                struggling to put food on the
                                                                  fy the most urgent needs and
                                                                  gaps to fill, partners who are
                                                                                                                holds can pick the food items
                                                                                                                they need, instead of receiv-
what they are best              table.                            best able to implement the                    ing standard rations of rice
                                   Nichol Ng, co-founder of       initiatives, and decide which                 and canned foods.
placed to offer –               The Food Bank Singapore,          causes to support and how to                     Koh Ching Ching, head of
funds, the meals or             said demand for these meals       be part of the solution.”                     Group Brand and Communi-
                                surpassed supply, and with            Samsui Supplies’ director                 cations at OCBC Bank, said:
distribution logistics.         potential corporate donors        Ang Kian Peng said: “Sam-                     “At the heart of the #OCBC-
                                tightening their budgets, do-     sui Supplies & Services Pte                   Cares Programme is our on-
By Vivien Ang
                                nations were being spread         Ltd and our founders have                     going effort to help where it
vivang@sph.com.sg               thin across many non-gov-         always believed that giving                   matters the most; providing
                                ernmental organisations.          back to the community is                      targeted help to address gaps.
                                   Each company thus took         part of our social responsi-                  We speak to members of the
                                on a role it was positioned to    bility, especially as a home-                 community, charity and even
                                deliver on: Maybank provid-       grown company.”                               government organisations to

 T      he free bento meal
        that     81-year-old
        Madam Ng has been
                                ed the funds; Soup Restau-
                                rant Group (the parent firm
                                of Samsui Supplies) and
                                                                      Also doing its part was the
                                                                  Pan Pacific Hotels Group,
                                                                  which converted a kitchen
                                                                                                                understand what the critical
                                                                                                                needs are.”
                                                                                                                   In the area of food sup-
tucking into daily since mid-   other F&B businesses wel-         facility for the food drive                   port, the bank’s staff volun-
April comes courtesy of a       comed the food orders             and channelled its opera-                     teers first stepped forward in
web of connections.             as these generated reve-          tions teams to provide over                   2013 to cook the meals at the
   A beneficiary of Man Fut     nue for them, while giving        20,000 meals to low-income                    Willing Hearts Soup Kitch-
Tong Welfare Society who        them a chance to give back        families with children on                     en, before moving to food
lives on her own in Hougang     by participating in the           home-based learning till                      distribution on a larger scale
Street 11, going out to buy     programme.                        June 1, 2020. The provision                   with FFTH.
food was no longer an option       Food Bank Singapore, on        of meals is part of Project                      Iris Tan, assistant vice-
during Covid-19.                its part, stepped up with its     Makan, organised by The                       president of OCBC, said she
   In stepped the National      understanding of the gaps in      Social Kitchen, YMCA and                      was among the volunteers
Volunteer & Philanthropy        the needs of the community        SHINE Children & Youth                        who distributed eggs to
Centre (NVPC), which gal-       and its communications and        Services.                                     needy families in Bukit Mer-
vanised its members under       logistics capabilities to reach       Wee Wei Ling, executive                   ah back in 2019.
                                                                  director of Sustainability                       “By the time we had com-
                                                                  Partnership, Lifestyle and As-                pleted distribution and I was
                                                                  set, said: “Pan Pacific Hotels                preparing to leave, I walked
                                                                  Group has in its core belief                  past one of the recipients’
                                                                  the need to give back to the                  flats and saw the family’s
                                                                  society it operates in.”                      very young children dragging
                                                                      When asked what more                      mattresses out of the flat, and
                                                                  can be done to boost the                      laying them along the cor-
                                                                  giving scene, she said: “Part-                ridor and staircase landing,
                                                                  nership and collaboration                     getting ready for the night.
                                                                  – these are key principles                       “It was then that I real-
                                                                  which will drive this ecosys-                 ised that the tray of eggs and
                                                                  tem more robustly. Among                      food rations the family was
                                                                  the non-profit organisations                  receiving monthly may have
                                                                  within each sector, we have                   seemed like normal items
                                                                  observed certain overlaps                     that we were distributing
                                                                  in beneficiary groups. More                   week after week, but to these
                                                                  communication or coordina-                    families in need, they were
                                                                  tion between them would op-                   powerful lifelines.”

                                                                  FROM ABOVE LEFT: PPHG’s provision of meals is part of Project Makan, organised by
                                                                  Social Kitchen, YMCA and SHINE Children & Youth Services to benefit low-income
                                                                  families with children whose access to free or subsidised meals in schools are disrupted
                                                                  during Singapore’s extended circuit breaker.
                                                                  Project Belanja! supported by OCBC Bank, enables seniors to enjoy hot meals
                                                                  conveniently every day through the use of a QR code redemption system. The term
                                                                  “Belanja” embodies the spirit of OCBC’s partnership with Food from the Heart –
                                                                  to treat families in need to nutritious meals.
CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good
06         CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020

GOING ALL OUT
FOR INCLUSIVE HIRING
These organisations from across different
sectors have one thing in common –
they view corporate social responsibility
as a crucial part of their core values.
By Mindy Tan
tanmindy@sph.com.sg
@MindyTanBT

 E        ven as Covid-19 is
          making its impact
          felt on businesses,
                                  mould, and even viruses like
                                  Covid-19.
                                      “We have transitioned 80
companies that understand         per cent of our 70 staff into
the importance of inclusive       the cleantech space,” said
hiring are digging their heels    Mr Chua. “It has helped our
in deeper and, in some cases,     workers move up the career
are even accelerating their       ladder as they move into spe-
processes.                        cialist tracks.”
    Cleaning services compa-          Another firm that is step-
ny Spic & Span (SNS), for in-     ping up hiring efforts, despite
stance, has been aggressively     being in one of the sectors
ramping up training for its       most impacted by Covid-19,
staff as it expands into clean-   is food and beverage (F&B)
ing technology – also known       operator Iron Nori.
as cleantech.                         The SE recently re-hired its
    For founder Benjamin          first special needs staff, Lee                    FROM TOP: Mr Lee (second from right) with Indranee Rajah during a
Chua, the mission of the          De Chun, who in addition to              community event. Mr Lee is Iron Nori’s first special needs staff and is currently
                                                                             undergoing training as a drinks counter staff at their Tanjong Pagar branch.
company has always been           having a moderate intellec-
                                                                              Head chef Subash Srikrishnan (left) provides the Sodexo kitchen team with
clear: To be a force for good,    tual disability, has multiple            some pointers to reduce food waste during preparation, based on data from the
while being commercially          health issues.                                                                      WasteWatch programme last year.
viable. The social enterprise         Mr Lee joined Iron Nori in                Spic & Span’s social outreach encompasses the Yellow Ribbon Project and
(SE) hires ex-offenders, per-                                                           Family Service Centres which provide family counselling services.
                                  2018, but had to take a break
sons with disabilities, and       due to health issues. He re-
individuals that come from        joined Iron Nori and later,
marginalised families.            upon graduating from an in-
    “Our main objective is to     house training programme,             The curriculum has been                 the Covid-19 pandemic, the
allow them to be valuable and     the F&B operator helped him        designed to cater to the                   on-job placement has been
contributing members of so-       transition into a manufactur-      learning requirements of                   put on hold.
ciety,” said Mr Chua. “There      ing job. He was retrenched         persons with both physical                    “In the meantime, we
is a proper feedback loop to      from this job recently, and        and cognitive disabilities.                have converted the training
ensure that the person placed     Iron Nori decided to re-           They do this by incorpo-                   into online classes. During
on employment treats SNS as       employ him.                        rating photographs, videos                 this period, our trainees un-
a career, so both us as an em-        Helping persons with dis-      and hands-on demonstra-                    dergo home-based learning
ployer and the social service     abilities find careers in the      tions. For those with physical             and we’re very proud that
agency (SSA) can properly in-     F&B industry is something          disabilities, the worksta-                 they are able to adapt well to
vest in the worker in order to    that Sodexo and         Samsui     tions in the training kitchens             technology-enabled learn-
ensure sustainability.”           Supplies & Services, are fa-       are equipped with knee-                    ing,” said Rosalind Chaw,
    More recently, SNS has        miliar with.                       operated hand sinks. The                   Sodexo’s country human
ventured into the cleantech           They started the Train and     walkways are also wider,                   resources (HR) manager.
space. Unlike traditional         Place programme in Septem-         and      workstations      are                “It’s been an enriching
cleaning products – which         ber last year, which offers        designed to accommodate                    journey for us and we’re glad
kill bacteria on application      training in areas such as safe-    wheelchair users.                          that we were able to adapt to
– this special coating (Spe-      ty and hygiene, and invento-          Sodexo has trained two                  the challenges of the current
co) is able to kill bacteria,     ry management.                     batches of students. Due to                situation,” she said.
CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good
CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020                  07
                                                                                                                             as a financial risk. In turn,
                                                                                                                             leading global investors and
                                                                                                                             capital-market participants
                                                                                                                             have become early movers
                                                                                                                             in taking comprehensive ac-
                                                                                                                             tion to identify, evaluate and
                                                                                                                             manage climate-related risks
                                                                                                                             and opportunities in their
                                                                                                                             portfolios or loan books.
                                                                                                                                 Ms MacPherson added
                                                                                                                             that the current pandemic
                                                                                                                             and its economic fallout are
                                                                                                                             triggering a further surge in
                                                                                                                             sustainable, responsible and
                                                                                                                             impact investing.
                                                                                                                                 In a similar vein, Right
                                                                                                                             People Renewable Energy
                                                                                                                             (RPRE), a company based in
FROM LEFT:   RPRE Team with the owner of Gangga Island Resort & Spa.                                                         Singapore and Indonesia, is
In 2019, Moody’s Singapore received the AmCham CARES Gold Recognition Award for their extraordinary                          helping its customers switch
corporate and societal excellence efforts. On Nov 15, 2019, Moody’s volunteers joined AmCham to help pack and                from expensive and pollutive
deliver groceries to more than 600 vulnerable households on AmCham’s annual Corporate Community Day.
                                                                                                                             fossil fuels to clean, renew-
                                                                                                                             able sources of energy (pri-
                                                                                                                             marily solar and batteries).
                                             est soap-recycling charity,                 chapter of Soap Cycling was             Having set for itself the
                                             expanded to Singapore, so                   set up, hotels were the first       target of being net zero emis-
                                             as to gather these unused                   partners it reached out to.         sions by 2030, it has taken its
                                             soaps and shampoos for                      Hotel partners now include          first step by having its Singa-
                                             recycling and subsequent                    Park Hotel Group, Hilton Sin-       pore office in a building that
                                             distribution to groups such                 gapore, and Frasers Hospital-       runs on 100 per cent renew-
                                             as migrant workers and low-                 ity.                                able energy by purchasing a
WALKING                                      income families.                                The soaps collected from        green electrical tariff. RPRE
                                                                                         Soap Cycling Singapore’s            has also installed solar pan-
THE                                                                                      hospitality partners are first      els and batteries on a floating
SUSTAINABILITY                                                                           sorted and then “cleaned” –
                                                                                         in straightforward fashion,
                                                                                                                             fish farm in Singapore, re-
                                                                                                                             placing the noisy, dirty diesel
TALK                                                                                     that is, by scraping off the        generator onboard.
                                             We focus on                                 surface layer of the soap with          Taking and staying on the
Firms are making                             commercial and
                                                                                         a scraper.                          sustainability track does not
                                                                                             Ms Tan said: “Soap is           always make for a smooth
it their business                            industrial clients                          self-cleansing and self-pre-        journey.
to practise what                             who use dirty
                                                                                         serving, so it’s safe for use and
                                                                                         does not have to go through a
                                                                                                                                 Robin Pho, founder and
                                                                                                                             chief executive of RPRE said
they preach                                  fossil fuels as                             ‘sterilisation’ process.”           that obtaining bank financ-
when it comes to                             their primary
                                                                                             The charity also trains ho-
                                                                                         tel housekeepers on selecting
                                                                                                                             ing for solar projects is usu-
                                                                                                                             ally challenging unless the
saving the Earth.                            source of energy.
                                                                                         the soaps for the programme,        amounts are S$10 million
                                                                                         so that only mildly used or         and above, though the situa-
By Vivien Ang
vivang@sph.com.sg                            We believe we                               unused ones are collected.
                                                                                             The name of the game
                                                                                                                             tion is improving.
                                                                                                                                 Minimum loan quantums
                                             can make the                                here is, of course, sustain-        have since become more ac-
                                             biggest impact                              ability, which has become
                                                                                         enough of a catchphrase that
                                                                                                                             cessible, he noted.
                                                                                                                                 The company has also
                                             by prioritising
  B
         ack before Covid-19                                                             Moody’s Corporation has             hired one employee who is a
         struck, hotels would                                                            acquired a majority stake in        refugee from Afghanistan.
         typically be left with              these clients.                              global sustainability data and          Mr Pho said: “Working
barely used bars of soap and                                                             assessment firm, Vigeo Eiris,       with the United Nations
bottles of shampoo after their                                                           and in climate risk analytics       High Commissioner for Ref-
guests check out.                                                                        house, Four Twenty Seven,           ugees has made us all more
   Lush Singapore, a chain                      Jacqueline Tan, partner-                 in 2019.                            empathetic to the plight of
with outlets retailing soaps,                ships manager of Soap Cy-                       Martina MacPherson, se-         refugees and grateful for the
shampoos and skin-pam-                       cling, said that with hotels                nior vice-president of Stra-        safety we have in our lives. It
pering items, did something                  running at 80 to 90 per cent                tegic ESG (Environmental,           also sparked insightful con-
about soap waste through its                 occupancy when a pre-pan-                   Social and Corporate Gover-         versations with my family
exclusive licensee company,                  demic Singapore was still                   nance) Engagement & Part-           members, where I discov-
Sash Natural.                                a major tourism hub, a lot                  nerships at Moody’s, said:          ered that my own family
   Its chance came when                      of hotel soap was going                     “Investors and capital mar-         fled Indonesia as refugees
Hong Kong-based Soap Cy-                     to waste.                                   kets are recognising the im-        in the 1970s to escape
cling, Asia’s first and larg-                   So when the Singapore                    plications of climate change        Suharto’s regime.”
CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good
08        CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020

                                                                                                  FROM FAR LEFT, CLOCKWISE: Hogan
                                                                                                  Lovells Lee & Lee team at The
                                                                                                  Bloomberg Square Mile Relay 2019.
                                                                                                  Through Mindset’s art exhibitions
                                                                                                  titled “Colours of MINDSET”,
                                                                                                  many artworks were showcased
                                                                                                  by persons-in-recovery to raise
                                                                                                  awareness for mental health.
                                                                                                  Johnson & Johnson’s employees
                                                                                                  packing carepacks for frontliners
                                                                                                  before circuit breaker. In March,
                                                                                                  the Johnson & Johnson Family
                                                                                                  of Companies and the Johnson
                                                                                                  & Johnson Foundation committed
                                                                                                  US$50 million dollars to support and
                                                                                                  care for frontline health workers.

                               formed by Goshen after the       in October 2016 in collabo-       people have been screened
                               COG Fellowship Programme         ration with Singapore Asso-       and close to 333,000 people
                               to carry forward its CSR         ciation for Mental Health,        have been equipped with
                               initiatives.                     MLH provides job trainings        glasses.
                                   Sharon Eng, head of Cor-     and employment opportuni-             “In today’s world, business
                               porate Responsibility and        ties in organisations such as     has a strong role to be a ‘force
                               Sustainability, Maybank Sin-     Mandarin Oriental for men-        for good’ and work with all
                               gapore, said: “The collab-       tal health persons-in-recov-      stakeholders to solve social,
                               oration between Maybank          ery to reintegrate back into      environmental and public
WHEN                           and ArtSE came as a unique       the workforce.”                   health issues,” said Jayanth
                               opportunity as Maybank              Other companies which          Bhuvaraghan, chief mission
COMPANIES                      was on the onset of setting      are doing their bit to help the   officer, Essilor International.
MAKE HEALTH                    up the first branch across
                               its network that combines
                                                                community include Johnson
                                                                & Johnson, Hogan Lovells
                                                                                                  “We are a unique company
                                                                                                  driven by our mission of ‘im-
AN IMPERATIVE                  a cafe with modern bank-         Lee & Lee and Essilor Vision      proving lives by improving
                               ing services at the heart of     Foundation (EVF).                 sight’ which drives our strat-
Giving back to                 Orchard Road. Goshen Art            In Singapore, mental           egy, actions and defines our
                               Gallery was supporting and       health is an area that Johnson    raison d’être.”
the community                  curating an art exhibition for   & Johnson recognised in 2018          Law firm Hogan Lovells
by lending their               Mr Sim Kah Lim during the        that required much-needed
                                                                intervention.
                                                                                                  Lee & Lee has been support-
                                                                                                  ing the Movement for the
                               same period.”
business expertise                 Jack Yu, managing direc-        Guillermo Frydman, man-        Intellectually Disabled of
to various health              tor, Goshen Art Gallery, said:
                               “With the setup of ArtSE we
                                                                aging director of J&J Singa-
                                                                pore, said: “We identified
                                                                                                  Singapore (MINDS) since last
                                                                                                  year. In addition to facilitat-
programmes,                    were able to come across         and sought out partnering         ing development of MINDS’
                               many talented artists like Mr    organisations to collaborate      protocols and policies, the
assistance                     Sim who were facing many         and develop effective and         firm has also helped MINDS
schemes and social             challenges with their own        sustainable initiatives. Sever-
                                                                al volunteering programmes
                                                                                                  navigate the legal complex-
                                                                                                  ities around the growth of
                               ‘untapped abilities’.”
enterprises.                       According to a 2016 na-      through collaboration with        its employment development
                               tionwide survey conduct-         Caregiver Alliance Limited        centre.
By Vivien Ang                                                   and Singapore Association of          Mark Vincent, an associ-
                               ed, one in seven people in
vivang@sph.com.sg              Singapore has experienced        Mental Health have been           ate at Hogan Lovells Lee &
                               a mental disorder in their       rolled out since.”                Lee said: “MINDS is an excel-
                               lifetime. Yet mental health is      Uncorrected poor vision is     lent organisation, and they
                               an area that is often under-     another public health crisis      serve clients with intellectual

 S      ingaporean artist      served as compared to other      with severe social and eco-       disabilities across a variety
        Sim Kah Lim’s paint-   social causes. Hence, Jardine    nomic consequences – today,       of backgrounds and ages.
        ings celebrate old     Matheson Group (Jardines)        2.7 billion, or one in three,     We assist MINDS with legal
Singapore with yesteryear      in Singapore set up Mind-        people worldwide suffer from      advice and assist in review-
landscapes of Boat Quay        set in 2011 in response to       uncorrected poor vision due       ing their arrangements with
and Chinatown. But having      this gap.                        to lack of access and aware-      third parties.”
called the Institute of Men-       Ben Birks, chairman of       ness. To address this, eyeglass       Mr Vincent recalled
tal Health (IMH) home for      Jardines Mindset Singapore,      makers Essilor aims to elimi-     when he was invited to visit
more than 30 years – these     said: “Employment is an          nate uncorrected poor vision      MINDS’ premises at Alexan-
pieces were produced from      important part of recovery       by 2050.                          dra, where he saw MINDS’
memory.                        for mental health persons           Hence, its philanthrop-        clients busy at work at the
   His paintings were show-    in recovery as it supports       ic organisation EVF Asean         MINDS’ Bakers’ centre. “I felt
cased at MSpace at Maybank     their reintegration into soci-   spearheads strategic giving       happy that the firm’s work is
after the bank and Goshen      ety. Hence, Mindset Learn-       programmes across Asean to        facilitating in the contribu-
Art Gallery connected at the   ing Hub (MLH) is Mindset’s       provide free glasses to people    tions of these clients to soci-
Company of Good Fellow-        first flagship project which     most in need. Since EVF Ase-      ety and the good work they
ship Programme. ArtSE was      serves this need. Launched       an’s launch, over 1.2 million     are doing.”
CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good
CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020                                         09

52%                                   OF COMPANIES IN SINGAPORE
                                      ARE CORPORATE GIVERS
Here are some opportunities across the social sectors                                                                                                           Over 1 in 2
to get your organisation started...                                                                                                                               Singaporeans are
                                                                                                                                                                   unwilling to live
                                                                                                                                                                  with, live near or
                                                                                                                                                                  work with persons
                                                                                                                                                                  with mental health
                                                                                                                                                                      conditions

       SECTORS
                                                                                                                                                                How might we better educate
                                                                                                                                                                   our stakeholders about
                                                                                                                                                                 mental health, and support
       SUPPORTED BY                                                                                    IN THE SOCIAL SERVICE
                                                                                                       SECTOR, COMMUNITIES
                                                                                                                                                                  those who are afflicted?

       CORPORATE GIVERS                                                                                SUPPORTED BY CORPORATE
       IN SINGAPORE:                                                                                   GIVERS IN SINGAPORE:
                                                                                                                                                                          62%
                                                               49%                                     59%                                                            of persons
                                                                                                                                                                   with disabilities
                                                         Social service                                Elderly                                                      (PWDs) do not
                                                                                                                                                                     feel they are
                                                               24%                                     44%                                                        socially included,
                                                                Health                                 Children
                                                                                                                                                                  accepted or given
                                                                                                                                                                   opportunities to

                                                                                                                                    e.g.
                                                               23%                                     40%                                                           achieve their
                                                                                                                                                                       potential
                                                             Education                                 Disabled (physical and / or mental)                       How might we create a more
                                                                                                                                                                   inclusive workplace and
                                                               17%                                     36%                                                        develop a culture of equal

           473                                                                                                                                                     opportunity to honour all
                                                                                                                                                                       types of abilities?

          million
                                                   Self-help groups                                    Low income

           plastic                                             17%                                     19%
                                                                                                                         e.g
                                                                                                                               .

       disposable items
        like takeaway
        containers are
                                                               Religion                                Youth
                                                                                                                                                                    ~50,000
           consumed
                                                               17%                                     18%                                                          Households
                                                                                                                                                                    are living in
         in Singapore                     Community / Grassroots                                       Local community                                            public rental flats
           each year                                                                                                                                               How might we journey
      How might we reconsider                                  11%                                     18%                                                         with rental flat families
       our packaging to create                                                                                                                                     to improve their living
             less waste?                                  Environment                                                                                              conditions and provide
                                                                                                       Family                                                    sustained holistic support?
                                                   .g.
                                                  e
                                                               10%                                     14%
                                                                 Youth                                 Terminally ill

                                                                 9%                                    13%              e.g
                                                                                                                           .                                         291,900
                                                                                                                                                                      women are
                                                                Sports                                 Women                                                        not working due
                                                                                                                                                                      to housework
                                                                 7%                                    12%                                                           and caregiving
                                                                                                                                                                    responsibilities
                                                         Arts / Culture                                Religious community
                                                                                                                                                                   How might we better
                                                                 5%                                    7%
                                                                                                                                                                 support women to balance
                                                                                                                                                                employment and caregiving?

                                                                Animal                                 Ethnic community

                                                                                                       7%
                                                                                                       Inmates / Substance abusers

Sources: [1] National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (2018). Corporate Giving Survey 2017. https://cityofgood.sg/resources/nvpc-corporate-giving-survey-2017-findings-released/
[2] Singapore Environment Council (2018). Consumer Plastic and Plastic Resource Ecosystem in Singapore. https://sec.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DT_PlasticResourceResearch_28A
ug2018-FINAL_with-Addendum-19.pdf [3] National Council of Social Service (2018). NCSS Study on Attitudes towards Persons with Mental Health Conditions in Singapore. https://www.ncss.gov.
sg/Press-Room/National-Council-of-Social-Service/Press-Releases/Detail-Page?id=NCSS-Launches-First-Nation-Wide-Campaign-to-Fight [4] Tai, J. (2016, June 3). People with disabilities
in the spotlight. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/people-with-disabilities-in-the-spotlight [5] Singapore. Parliamentary debates. 18 May 2018. 94. https://sprs.parl.
gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=written-answer-11 [6] Ministry of Manpower (2020). Report: Labour Force in Singapore 2019. https://stats.mom.gov.sg/Pages/Labour-Force-In-Singapore-2019.
aspx [Note: Caregiving includes Care for Own Children Aged 12 & Below and Care for Families (including Own Children Aged Above 12 & Grandchildren)/Relatives].
CELEBRATING CATALYSTS OF CHANGE - Company of Good
10             CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020

                                                                                                                  T        he term “future-
                                                                                                                           proof” has attained
                                                                                                                           buzzword status in
                                                                                                                                                    Code, which encourages
                                                                                                                                                    participants to create solu-
                                                                                                                                                    tions using open-source
                                                                                                                 Singapore, where “Smart Na-        technology. Participants in-
                                                                                                                 tion” initiatives have taken       clude startups, academics
                                                                                                                 centre stage over the years.       and enterprise developers.
                        HELPING OTHERS RIDE THE                                                                     In the spirit of driving the
                                                                                                                 adoption of digital and smart
                                                                                                                                                       IBM Singapore and the
                                                                                                                                                    Singapore Civil Defence
                        DIGITAL WAVE                                                                             technologies in this city state,   Force (SCDF) launched the
                                                                                                                 many firms are helping so-         Lifesavers’ Innovation Chal-
                        Building the next generation of                                                          ciety to prepare for future        lenge in support of Call for
                                                                                                                 challenges by nurturing “new       Code 2020. Participants
                        skilled workers in a Smart Nation                                                        collar” workers among the          worked on solutions in the
                        through nurturing programmes.                                                            youth-at-risk.
                                                                                                                    IBM runs its signature
                                                                                                                                                    areas of emergency response
                                                                                                                                                    and civil defence during a 48-
                        By Ng Ren Jye                                                                            “Pathways in Technology”           hour e-hackathon from June
                        rjng@sph.com.sg                                                                          (P-TECH) programme for             12 to 14.
                        @NgRenJyeBT                                                                              ITE students interested in            The team from the Singa-
                                                                                                                 science, technology, engi-         pore Management University
                                                                                                                 neering, and mathematics,          won the top prize with their
                                                                                                                 collectively called the STEM       idea for a smart evacuation
                                                                                                                 disciplines. The programme,        and rescue system powered
                                                                                                                 which takes five to seven          by IBM Cloud.
                                                                                                                 years, complements the ITE            IBM and Deloitte are
                                                                                                                 and polytechnic curriculum         Champions of Good – com-
                                                                                                                 in those areas.                    panies that have been named
                                                                                                                    The global initiative de-       as catalysts of change under
                                                                                                                 buted in Singapore in 2019         a national recognition frame-
                                                                                                                 with its first cohort of 35 stu-   work; these companies have
Credit: Credit Suisse

                                                                                                                 dents. This year, IBM held its     not only been exemplary in
                                                                                                                 Welcome Day on July 24 for a       doing good, but have also
                                                                                                                 second cohort of 60 students.      been influencers and mul-
                                                                                                                    Nisagon Khongphaiton,           tipliers by engaging their
                                                                                                                 corporate citizenship leader       partners and stakeholders
                                                                                                                 at IBM Asia-Pacific, said that     on a collaborative journey.
                                                                                                                 through P-TECH, IBM ex-               Other companies doing
                                                                                                                 poses students to real-world       good on the digital front are
                                                                                                                 working environments with          local bank UOB and US IT
                                                                                                                 site visits and internships at     services company, Cogni-
                                                                                                                 IBM and its industry part-         zant. Both teamed up with
                                                                                                                 ners’ offices.                     the Infocomm Media Devel-
                                                                                                                    The programme also              opment Authority in 2018
                                                                                                                 offers first-in-line job inter-    to conduct clinics on digital
                                                                                                                 views for programme par-           banking and e-payments for
                                                                                                                 ticipants; potential jobs for      more than 400 seniors.
                                                                                                                 graduates range from asso-            The bank has been ac-
                                                                                                                 ciate analyst to digital design    tively engaging members of
                                                                                                                 developer.                         the public in recent years to
                                                                                                                    One of P-TECH’s many            acquaint them with digital
                                                                                                                 partners is Deloitte. Profes-      banking, and the clinics are
                                                                                                                 sionals from its Risk Advi-        another such initiative, said
                                                                                                                 sory practice assisted the         Janet Young, head of Group
                                                                                                                 programme’s trainers and           Channels and Digitalisation
                                                                                                                 more than 30 ITE students in       at UOB.
                                                                                                                 workshops on foundational
                                                                                                                 coding knowledge.
                                                                                                                    James Walton, corporate
                                                                                                                 social responsibility leader at
                                                                                                                 Deloitte Singapore, said his
                                                                                                                 company’s participation in
                        FROM TOP: Credit Suisse provided close to 100 volunteers for LinkedIn Coaches
                                                                                                                 P-TECH aligns with Deloitte’s
                        programmes in 2019 and 2020, and they have taken part in over eight LinkedIn             societal-impact       initiative
                        coaches sessions to date. The LinkedIn Career Coaches was conducted to a crowd of        WorldClass, under which the
                        over 170 candidates last October.
                        PwC has also made its Digital Fitness learning app free until July 31, 2021 as part
                                                                                                                 company has committed –
                        of wider initiatives to support individuals and organisations through the Covid-19       by 2030 – to equip 50 million
                        recovery. The app analyses a user’s “Digital Fitness” score to help identify overall     individuals with skills they
                        strengths and gaps in knowledge. Users can then select a fitness plan to improve their
                        digital knowledge and subsequently track their learning progress through the app.        need for the future.
                        UOB teamed up with Cognizant and the Infocomm Media Development Authority in                IBM has another glob-
                        2018 to conduct clinics on digital banking and e-payments for more than 400 seniors.     al digital initiative, Call for
CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020                          11
                                                                                                       FROM FAR LEFT: Fullerton Academy
                                                                                                       is designed to provide youth from
                                                                                                       low income families with mentorship
                                                                                                       and apprenticeship in the areas of
                                                                                                       hospitality and creative arts.
                                                                                                       Informatics Education and its
                                                                                                       subsidiaries, Informatics Academy
                                                                                                       and Informatics Global Campus, have
                                                                                                       adopted the theme of “Education for
                                                                                                       All” for the past few years and are
                                                                                                       continuing to tap their strength in
                                                                                                       providing IT education to give back
                                                                                                       to various segments of society.

                                    is marginalised youths, a           The emergence of the           youths by activating their
                                    segment which through our        Covid-19 pandemic pre-            unique strengths. We have
                                    initial research and scan of     sented unprecedented chal-        provided various training
                                    the charitable landscape, we     lenges for many businesses,       workshops which enable the
                                    felt was relatively under-sup-   including The Fullerton Ho-       youths to try out various hos-
                                    ported in comparison to          tel Singapore, but that has       pitality scopes.”
                                    children and elderly,” said      not stopped the hotel from           Also helping this group,
                                    Ms Ho.                           giving back.                      Informatics Education and
                                        CAG has focused its vol-        “For example, since April,     its subsidiary, Informatics
INVESTING IN                        unteer engagement, partner       our culinary team has pre-        Academy, have adopted the
                                    engagement and corporate         pared over 23,000 packed          theme of “Education for All”
THE FUTURE                          social responsibility (CSR)      meals for healthcare workers      for the past few years and
                                    programme         development    and migrant workers in Sin-       are continuing to tap their
These companies                     efforts on two primary ben-      gapore, and we have donated       strength in providing IT edu-
aim to level the                    eficiaries: NorthLight School
                                    (NLS) and Metta School (MS).
                                                                     essential supplies including
                                                                     masks and clothes to migrant
                                                                                                       cation to give back to various
                                                                                                       segments of society.
playing field for                       Engagements with both        workers,” said Cavaliere             Allan Norton, chief oper-
children and                        schools aim to prepare the
                                    students for the workforce.
                                                                     Giovanni Viterale, general
                                                                     manager, The Fullerton Ho-
                                                                                                       ating officer, said: “It was an
                                                                                                       initiative that originated from
youths with                             “NLS has been a bene-        tels and Resorts.                 our efforts to streamline our
                                    ficiary since 2014, and we          Launched in 2018, The          corporate giving efforts into
disadvantaged                       co-develop programmes to         Fullerton Academy is a cor-       something which is more
backgrounds.                        increase the students’ work
                                    readiness, self-esteem and
                                                                     porate social responsibility
                                                                     programme provided by The
                                                                                                       sustainable and meaningful.
                                                                                                       The crux of this is to focus on
By Vivien Ang                       confidence. We provide ca-       Fullerton Hotel Singapore,        education when we are plan-
vivang@sph.com.sg                   reer-related learning experi-    designed to provide youth         ning our corporate giving,
                                    ences within Changi Airport,     from marginalised families        and tapping our strengths for
                                    so students are more ready       with mentorship and ap-           corporate giving.”
                                    for the workforce,” said the     prenticeship in the areas of         One project under the ini-

 S
          tephanie Ho, associ-      associate director. Hence, the   hospitality and creative arts,    tiative includes a partnership
          ate director, Strategic   group partners with compa-       equipping them with skillsets     with New Hope Communi-
          Workforce Planning        nies such as ABR Holdings        to take on careers in the trav-   ty Services where the com-
& Organisation Transfor-            Limited (Swensen’s) and Cer-     el and hospitality industry       pany conducts IT literacy
mation, People Team from            tis within the airport to pro-   in future.                        classes and boosts employ-
Changi Airport Group, is on         vide the students with work         The academy offers two         ability skills.
a Zoom call with a student          experience.                      specific tracks for the youths       “It was part of our strate-
from Metta School to help               She added that pro-          from Reach Community Ser-         gy to tap existing resources
fine-tune the latter’s presen-      grammes with Metta School        vices. The first track equips     for CSR, and thus incor-
tation and interview skills.        focuses on helping low-          youths with skills pertain-       porating our business into
   The practice session on          er-functioning students de-      ing to the hospitality trade,     CSR projects was a natural
presentation and interview is       velop daily living skills and    providing training through        extension. With our exper-
part of a project that attempts     work readiness skills for        modular workshops impart-         tise in teaching IT to various
to pivot from traditional vol-      greater independence in          ing etiquette, culinary and       age groups, we believe that
unteering.                          the future.                      service skills; and the second    this is the best way we can
   Changi Foundation, the               “We remain committed to      empowers youths to cultivate      give back. As an education-
philanthropic arm of Changi         our chosen social cause be-      their interests in the creative   al institution, giving back to
Airport Group (CAG), drives         cause we are motivated by        arts through music and pho-       the society and empowering
CAG’s community efforts.            the potential to spark trans-    tography programmes.              our people to give back is in-
   “Established in 2012, the        formations in youths,” said         Mr Viterale said: “Our mis-    grained into our business,”
Changi Foundation mandate           Ms Ho.                           sion is simple: To empower        the COO said.
12         CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020

                                   but are also a good way to
                                   foster bonds.”
                                      In 2019, the courts or-
                                   ganised an inaugural Na-
                                   tional Day Charity Carnival
                                   where judges and staff
                                   raised nearly S$90,000 for
ORGANISATIONS                      the Singapore After-Care
                                   Association and Food from
JOIN HANDS                         the Heart.
                                      The State Courts also have
FOR                                a range of smaller CSR proj-
COMMUNITY                          ects, such as Food for Good
                                   and Book Nook.
PROJECTS                              Food for Good was a free
                                   food station located in the
Collaboration                      former State Courts’ build-
                                   ing. It welcomed donations
enables                            of fresh fruit and vegeta-
organisations                      bles, as well as baked and
                                   canned foods.
to leverage                           With the initiative pro-
                                   moting the reduction of food
each other’s                       waste, donors – members of
resources and                      the public or employees of
                                   the State Courts – are expect-
help more people.                  ed to give still-viable food
                                   items, and beneficiaries are
By Sharyl Chin                     expected to take only what
                                   they need.
                                      State Courts said: “As a

 C       ompanies now view
         corporate social re-
         sponsibility (CSR) as
                                   public organisation, we strive
                                   to contribute to the better-
                                   ment of society. Performing
a crucial part of their mission,   CSR is a meaningful way
rather than an afterthought,       for us to do so, besides our
and many see collaborations        core functions.”
with other companies as               Book Nook was a book
a good way to give back            station in the former State
to society.                        Courts’ building. It was set up
   The State Courts is an ex-      to encourage people to give
ample of an organisation           back to society and cultivate
that has undertaken collab-        a reading habit in children,
orations in doing good for its     especially those under 10.
CSR efforts. Since 2015, the          The pre-owned books
State Courts, Supreme Court        were donations from court
and Family Justice Courts          staff and members of the
have come together yearly to       public. The State Courts
organise “Judiciary Cares”, or     have also been active sup-
“JudiCares”, an event to reach     porters    of    the Yellow
out to marginalised members        Ribbon Project through the
of the community.                  sponsorship of artworks by
                                                                     FROM TOP: Mediacorp   and Fairprice collaborate for Share-A-Textbook project.
   Last November, for exam-        inmates and ex-offenders,
                                                                     Mitsubishi collaborated with BCA to paint the Asian Women’s Welfare
ple, the event held in support     and participation in the          Association’s shelters for displaced families.
of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance     Yellow Ribbon run.                State Courts National Day Charity Carnival 2019.
Singapore (CPAS) raised               In 2018, judges and staff
S$27,221. Volunteers spent         acquired 31 pieces of art, in-
half of the day at CPAS, where     cluding ceramic pieces and        community through small-                      to turn them into a positive
they served brunch and held        paintings to be displayed in      er-scale initiatives.                         living environment for these
special performances. The          the State Courts.                    Mitsubishi Electric, an                    families.
day ended on a high note as           “This was a meaningful         electronics manufacturing                         Winnie Ng, senior corpo-
the volunteers accompanied         way to show our support for       company, teamed up with                       rate communications exec-
the beneficiaries and care-        the rehabilitation of inmates     the Building and Construc-                    utive of Mitsubishi Electric,
givers on an outing to the         and ex-offenders,” State          tion Authority (BCA) to paint                 said: “Collaborating yields a
River Safari.                      Courts said.                      the Asian Women’s Welfare                     greater positive social impact
   The State Courts said:             CSR events need not            Association’s shelters for                    as it lets us leverage each
“CSR activities not only instil    be splashy affairs. Com-          displaced families. Volun-                    other’s resources and opens
the spirit of giving and the joy   panies can also make a            teers cleaned and painted                     the door to a greater pool of
of sharing among our staff         positive difference to the        the Lengkok Bahru premises                    beneficiaries.”
CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020                   13
                                                                                    F       or many firms in Sin-
                                                                                            gapore, setting work
                                                                                            hours and having
                                                                                                                     place by September, with em-
                                                                                                                     ployees participating.
                                                                                                                         Expedia Group’s director
                                                                                   employees adhere to them          of global product manage-
                                                                                   is practically an employer’s      ment, Ho-Strangas Shyn Yee,
                                                                                   right.                            said the company’s corporate
                                                                                      But Adriana Lim Escano         social responsibility efforts
HELPING MARGINALISED                                                               feels differently. The found-
                                                                                   er and chief executive officer
                                                                                                                     are aligned with eight of the
                                                                                                                     United Nations’ 17 Sustain-
WOMEN RISE ABOVE THEIR                                                             (CEO) of fashion and lifestyle    able Development Goals, in-
                                                                                                                     cluding gender equality and
                                                                                   retailer and distributor Abry
CIRCUMSTANCES                                                                      instead adapts working hours      reduced inequalities.
                                                                                   to suit the needs of her 19           “Aware is deeply involved
A number of firms have adopted                                                     staff members, the majority       in these areas and has been
measures such as flexible timings,                                                 of whom are single mothers
                                                                                   and elderly women.
                                                                                                                     at the forefront of driving
                                                                                                                     these causes locally... It was
mentoring programmes for                                                              This group struggles to        necessary for us to sup-
                                                                                   find employment as they of-       port them and their bene-
female entrepreneurs to network.                                                   ten cannot meet “rigid” tradi-    ficiaries during this crisis,”
By Rachel Chia                                                                     tional working hours, Ms Lim      she explained.
                                                                                   Escano, said.                         Expedia also runs mentor-
rchia@sph.com.sg
                                                                                      Elderly sales staff get to     ing programmes for margin-
@RachelChiaBT                                                                                                        alised women entrepreneurs,
                                                                                   work shorter hours, while
                                                                                   those with heavy family com-      working with organisations
                                                                                   mitments, such as children        such as the Asian Network
                                                                                   with special needs or handi-      of Women’s Shelters and
                                                                                   capped parents, are given ad-     Daughters of Tomorrow.
                                                                                   ministration and marketing            Another company em-
                                                                                   tasks. 11 of Abry’s employees     powering women entrepre-
                                                                                   are sales associates, while the   neurs is Dell Technologies,
                                                                                   remaining eight are in opera-     which hosts its global Dell
                                                                                   tions roles.                      Women’s Entrepreneur Net-
                                                                                      But accommodating staff        work (DWEN) Summit annu-
                                                                                   doesn’t mean sacrificing          ally in Singapore.
                                                                                   growth. Abry recently se-             International legal prac-
                                                                                   cured a distribution deal with    tice Hogan Lovells has been
                                                                                   jewellery brand Thomas            a DWEN partner since 2017.
                                                                                   Sabo, and is in talks with the    Last June, Hogan Lovells
                                                                                   DesignSingapore       Council,    partners advised female
                                                                                   National Gallery, and Gar-        entrepreneurs at the DWEN
                                                                                   dens by the Bay on a new re-      summit in Singapore on
                                                                                   tail design concept, even as      legal strategies to meet their
                                                                                   competitors shutter while the     commercial objectives, and
                                                                                   Covid-19 outbreak ravages         provided a complimentary
                                                                                   the retail industry.              legal toolkit covering key
                                                                                      Allowing flexible hours is     legal concerns for businesses
                                                                                   simply a matter of flexibility,   throughout diverse jurisdic-
                                                                                   creativity, and planning – as     tions.
                                                                                   many companies may have               “The participants valued
                                                                                   discovered during Singa-          learning from women entre-
                                                                                   pore’s circuit breaker period,    preneurs from around the
                                                                                   Ms Lim Escano said.               world about their journeys
                                                                                      She added: “Employers          and visions for success,”
                                                                                   have formidable means to          said Stephanie Keen, Sin-
                                                                                   shape a company’s human           gapore managing partner,
                                                                                   resource policy, so we need to    Hogan Lovells. “We valued
                                                                                   ask ourselves: where can we       the opportunity to en-
                                                                                   bend? Since I am the CEO, I       gage with and support the
                                                                                   will make the hours suitable.”    future leaders of business
                                                                                      Another company cham-          and industry.”
                                                                                   pioning for the inclusion of
                                                                                   women in the workforce is
                                                                                   online travel company Expe-
                                                                                   dia, which in March raised a
FROM TOP: Hogan Lovells brought together their partners globally and hosted a
workshop session on Legal Considerations of the Global Economy at Dell Women’s     five-figure sum for Aware’s
Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) 2019 held in Singapore. On the panel (from L to        Vulnerable Women’s Fund to
R): Ryan Garcia, moderator; Roberta Chang, Partner at Hogan Lovells Shanghai;
Stephanie Keen, Partner at Hogan Lovells Singapore; Maegen Morrison, Partner at    support women in Singapore
Hogan Lovells London; Mahvesh Qureshi, Partner at Hogan Lovells Washington, D.C.   affected by the pandemic. A
Fundraising for Daughters of Tomorrow through Expedia Travel Wars.                 second fundraiser will take
14             CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020

TOWARDS A BETTER
FUTURE TOGETHER

                                         COLLABORATE
      LEGEND

  Animal
  Welfare
                 Arts &
                Heritage
                                         FOR GOOD
                                                  s our newly conferred Champions
  Children
  & Youth
               Community
                                         A        of Good 2020 celebrate their
                                                  achievements, they are not
                                         resting on their laurels.
 Disability     Education                    Leaders in their respective fields, they
                                         are already embarking on the next part
                                         of their journey in doing good, seeking
  Elderly      Environment
                                         to further champion causes that they
                                         are passionate about, and inspire more
                                         stakeholders to join them in upcoming
                                         collaborations that create social impact
  Families       Health
                                         on a deeper and longer-lasting scale.
                                            Listed in this section are the
                                         Champions of Good 2020’s aspirations
Humanitarian      Social
                 Service
                                         and plans in support of their preferred
                                         causes, sectors and beneficiary groups.
                                         If your organisation advocates for the
   Sports        Women                   same causes and have the matching
                 & Girls
                                         resources to offer, please reach out
                                         to the Champions through the contact
                                         information listed.
                                            Alternatively, you may visit
                                         www.companyofgood.sg/collaborate
                                         to browse more opportunities, or
                                         post your own initiatives.
                                         contact@companyofgood.sg
CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020                    15
CHAMPIONS OF GOOD
ABRY Pte Ltd                                  Autobahn Motors (S) Pte Ltd                   Changi Airport Group
Seeks IT, sponsorship and platform            On the lookout for CSR/corporate event        (Singapore) Pte Ltd
support to build Singapore brands,            team to initiate Meaningful Sunday event,     Creating impact for marginalised
while mentoring and supporting                and corporate volunteers and sponsored        youths through virtual volunteering.
marginalised groups.                          goods/services for mentoring youth.

                                                                                            jill.phillips@changiairport.com
adriana@abry.co.uk                            dogood@10sq.io
                                                                                            Citi Singapore
Alpha Development Partnership                 Barclays                                      Open to collaborations to empower
Pte Ltd                                       Barclays wants to collaborate with charity    youth with workplace skills and leadership
Specialist training provider looking          partners, social entrepreneurs and experts    experience under the ‘Pathways-to-
to partner financial services firms           in digital platforms to support individuals   Progress’ programme through charitable
which want to link doing good                 who want to get into the workforce.           contributions, grant-making and
to leadership/talent/graduate                                                               employee volunteerism.
development programmes.
                                              citizenship.ap@barclays.com
                                                                                            jimmy.bh.ong@citi.com
jenmacapagal@alphadevelopment.com
                                              Boxgreen Pte Ltd
                                              Seeks collaboration in areas such as          City Developments Limited
American Express                              event management and digital platforms        Requires transport, logistical services
We back the communities where our             to empower ex-offenders through training      and volunteers for various initiatives
customers and colleagues live by              programmes and employment opportunities.      while providing support and event space.
investing financial and human resources
to address social, environmental and
economic needs.                               adeline@boxgreen.co                           renatan@cdl.com.sg

                                              Building and Construction                     Cognizant
sharveenkumar.lokanathan@aexp.com
                                              Authority                                     Seeks tech product partnerships, curated
                                              Hoping to partner industry professionals      tech training content and online digital
Amgen Singapore Manufacturing                 (built environment professionals,             platforms to conduct teaching and
ASM supports advancing science                volunteers) and seeking sponsorship           mentoring for future sessions/workshops.
education for vulnerable children and         to improve infrastructure and
staff volunteerism, and is on the lookout     living environment.
for more of such opportunities.                                                             pratibha.kurnool@cognizant.com

                                              doreen_ng@bca.gov.sg
                                                                                            Credit Suisse AG
mediarelations.sg@amgen.com
                                                                                            Focus on improving the employability and
                                              CapitaLand Limited                            financial education of marginalised young
Ang Chin Moh Funeral                          Provision of in-kind donations for            people and the financial inclusion of
Directors Pte Ltd                             charity partners, along with working          marginalised populations.
Planning to continue its project, The Last    with like-minded volunteers who want
Portrait. Besides volunteers, the firm also   to advocate for CapitaLand’s causes
requires collaborative opportunities with     to achieve greater impact.                    apac.corporatecitizenship@credit-
                                                                                            suisse.com
music schools and manicurists.

                                              clcsr@capitaland.com
marketing@angchinmoh.com.sg
                                              Carousell
                                              Seeks sponsorship and partnership
                                              while enabling community to connect
                                              with free items and inspire consumers
                                              to buy second-hand items over new ones.

                                              jingzhi@thecarousell.com
16          CHAMPIONS OF GO OD 2020

CHAMPIONS OF GOOD
DBS Bank                                     Dynasty Travel
DBS Bank wants to expand the breadth         Dynasty Travel is looking for collaboration
and scope of its volunteering programmes,    in virtual event management, or
or to enhance existing initiatives while     sponsorship and publicity for its “Towards
providing programme and skills-based         A Paperless Dynasty” movement.
volunteerism.

                                             marcom@dynastytravel.com.sg                   GIC
peopleofpurpose@dbs.com                                                                    Scaling up existing programmes, hence
                                             Essilor Vision Foundation                     seeking partnership opportunities in areas
Dell Technologies                            (EVF Ltd)                                     such as volunteerism, digital platforms
Dell is committed to driving human           Essilor is scaling up screenings for          and thought leadership.
progress and wants to collaborate with       vulnerable groups, and engaging the
partners like influencers to drive digital   public with webinars. It is looking for
                                                                                           marissalum@gic.com.sg
access, and universities to empower          partners to improve its communications
women in STEM.                               platforms and IT expertise.
                                                                                           Goshen Art Gallery
                                                                                           Sourcing for corporate and product
jasmine_sim@dell.com                         grace.chew@essilor.com                        sponsorship for the provision of more
                                                                                           items such as stay-home engagement kits
Deloitte Singapore                           Expedia Group                                 for elderly and special needs group.
Deloitte aims to bridge education and        On the lookout for volunteers and
employment gaps, and seeks resources         foundation pairing, and access to large
such as digital platforms for e-learning,    service user groups while expanding           info@goshenartgallery.com
training and development expertise           its giving and volunteerism platform,
while providing volunteers.                  and awareness building.                       Grace at Work Teambuilding
                                                                                           Sourcing for donation products at lower
                                                                                           cost, work space for storages and
csim@deloitte.com                            shkong@expediagroup.com                       networking opportunities while increasing
                                                                                           awareness for CSR opportunities
Deutsche Bank                                EY                                            to organisations.
Seeks new partnerships to support            EY has plans to roll out skills-based
the community through sharing of             sessions and would like to collaborate on
skills and expertise.                        events, and seek access to beneficiaries      tony@graceteambuilding.com
                                             and opportunities to support its causes.
                                                                                           Greenpac (S) Pte Ltd
db.asiafoundation@db.com                                                                   Welcomes support from potential givers,
                                             kathleen-y.chin@sg.ey.com                     and requires volunteers for its hydroponic
                                                                                           farming project while educating/
                                             FoodXervices Inc Pte Ltd                      explaining its benefits.
                                             Seeks volunteers, sponsorship and
                                             transport services as it is actively
                                             supporting Food Bank Singapore to             eco@greenpac.com.sg
                                             distribute excess food to those in need.
                                                                                           Hewlett Packard Enterprise
                                                                                           Provides IT literacy training and
                                             kwoksiang@foodxervices.com                    community support to the elderly and
                                                                                           persons with special needs but is looking
                                                                                           for event sponsors and volunteers.

                                                                                           tony.gui@hpe.com
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