Hi Huneybees,
How's your Lunar New Year celebration? Normally I'm not that jam-packed with all the errands but this year, it seemed like there is something to do every day, something to pack or someone to meet. I'm so backlogged on my posts but luckily, there are bubble tea stores around my area whenever I need to chillax.
Which brings us to the subject of the day,
"Recycle More, Waste Less". I've been a really good girl, being more conscious when I am I am throwing my things out for spring cleaning, recycling them if they are still usable and also using less plastic too.
Last year, in conjunction with the introduction of DBS’ “Live more, Bank less” ethos, the bank upped the ante on its commitment to becoming more socially conscious and launched the “Recycle more, Waste less” eco-movement, with a focus on encouraging Singaporeans to reduce their consumption of single-use plastics – a particularly pressing issue in Singapore. According to the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), Singaporeans use at least 1.76 billion plastic items a year, of which less than 20% is recycled. Singapore shoppers also take 820 million plastic bags from supermarkets every year.
It may just be a little more work, a little more troublesome to recycle but when it comes to thinking about our future environment and maintaining the world's beauty for our future generations to come, that little effort is really nothing.
Attending the launch of the DBS Sparks Studio - “studio by day, communal hub by night”, located at the bank’s headquarters in the Marina Bay Financial Centre district, not only introduced me to this new interactive space for communities (including social enterprises supported by DBS Foundation, interest groups within the bank, as well as public interest groups – where they can gather, network, organise or attend event), but also given me more insights on how we can do our little part in saving the earth.
DBS’ green initiatives are part of the bank’s commitment to sustainable development. It was the first Singapore bank to be included as an index constituent of the FTSE4Good Global Index, a global sustainability index. The bank is also the first Asian bank and first Singapore company to join global renewable energy initiative RE100.
DBS has pledged to power 100% of its Singapore operations using renewable energy by 2030. As part of this commitment, the bank installed 1,200 solar panels at its office buildings in Changi Business Park. Today, 40% of DBS’ total energy consumption in Singapore comes from renewable sources. In 2017, DBS launched Singapore's first green bond by a financial institution and helped to promote green finance through the issuance of a USD 500 million green bond. In the same year, DBS was also the sole bookrunner for the first green bond by a Singapore company – City Developments’ SGD 100 million green bond.
They have done a ton of effort to spread awareness like reducing the use of disposable plastic water bottles in Singapore by giving away 20,000 reusable water bottles last year to attendees of the DBS Marina Regatta and Social Enterprise Summit; working with their tech vendor to reuse and reduce packaging for its electronic items, and also eliminated the use of plastic wraps for its red packets, avoiding 220 kg in plastic wastage.
8,000 Sporks were also given out as part of a “pledge-for-Sporks” campaign across universities, food outlets and hawker centres in Singapore as well as to their employees to adopt sustainable practices by distributing 4,000 reusable bags (which fold easily to become tiny, zipped pouches), 2,000 Sporks (a hybrid metal cutlery tool shaped like a spoon and a fork at either end) and 2,500 sets of metal straws to help employees lead more eco-friendly lives.
More than 1,300 employees have also pledged to an ongoing campaign to reduce their carbon footprint in 2019. DBS also recently carried out a six-week campaign that saw some 200 staff volunteers (or “Eco-Heroes”) drive greater awareness on recycling among employees. The campaign has resulted in nearly 70% more trash (or 1,900 kg more) being sorted for recycling.
Next, in December 2018, DBS also partnered the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) to jointly launch the ‘One Less Plastic’ national campaign with four leading supermarket chains - Dairy Farm Singapore Group, NTUC FairPrice, Prime Group and Sheng Siong - to encourage the use of reusable bags among supermarket shoppers. To date, some 30,000 reusable bags have been distributed through the partnership.
Ever since I've been to the event, I also learned new ways to do my bit to help save the earth. During CNY month, I've eliminated the use of plastic utensils and plates for our gathering meals, recycled some of last year's decorations to create new displays on the wall, using recycle bags when shopping for groceries as well as bringing my own cup holder and metal straw for my bubble tea sesh.
I believe with just a little change of habits, we can all do our bit to “Recycle more, Waste less” and create a better future for our generations to come. So, get the word out and show the world
#RecyclemoreWasteless, #LivemoreBankless and #DBSSparks.
To find out more about DBS’ “Recycle more, Waste less” eco-movement and the bank’s other sustainability initiatives, visit
go.dbs.com/recyclemorewasteless and f
or more information about Sparks Studio, you can go to http://go.dbs.com/sparksstudio.
