Straits Times 24 Dec 07;
SAVING the earth is the politically correct, socially responsible thing to do - especially for businesses aiming to enhance their public standing.
On the one hand, going green is cause du jour in an age where consumers want to reuse, reduce and recycle.
But for many large companies, it is also a branding decision.
Keeping in line with the global trend towards environmental concern does a company's image good, said Associate Professor Tan Soo Jiuan of the department of marketing at the National University of Singapore Business School.
'Consumers believe these companies are not just concerned about making money but also contributing back to good causes. It is part of shaping their public image.'
It is not a new idea, with textbook-worthy examples such as philanthropic industrialists the Lever Brothers and The Body Shop.
In Singapore, businesses which realise the value of 'green' programmes are jumping on the bandwagon, reports Singapore Compact, a society which furthers corporate social responsibility (CSR) here.
The number of companies calling to ask for information on how to pitch in for environmental causes has doubled this year, compared to last year.
They include STMicroelectronics, Shell and City Developments Ltd, which are willing to budget between a few thousand to a few million dollars for green initiatives.
Said the executive director of Singapore Compact, Mr Thomas Thomas: 'There has been heightened interest over the last three years because companies realise they will no longer just be measured on making profits but how they make them.
'They have to respond in the international lingo and cannot avoid being part of the global economy.'
The cause - aided in no small part by pop culture contributions such as former United States vice-president Al Gore's Live Earth concert - is one that especially resonates with youth.
A recent STMicroelectronics tie-up with Young ChangeMakers had students trying their hand at design, development, and construction of electronic systems.
Young ChangeMakers is a grant scheme that provides funding and resources to youth who want to make a meaningful change in their community.
For Senoko Power, investing in youth means investing in 'the decision-makers of tomorrow' who will then learn to 'think globally but act locally'.
The company spends about $650,000 a year on CSR initiatives. About 75 per cent of that amount - through its National Weather Study Project - is aimed at youth and the environment.
This year, the biennial project equipped 234 schools with mini-weather stations. Students then worked on environmental projects for a competition, with the winning team awarded a trip to Switzerland.
Others, like HSBC, collaborated with two overseas universities to research climate change and other major forms of environmental damage. They then helped to develop technologies to overcome the problems identified.
The amount ploughed into the project: $1,939,281.
Petroleum companies, too, want in. For Shell, the issue is also about managing perceptions of its mining of non-renewable fuels.
To curb that perception, it launched a mentorship programme to help students build self-confidence through nature-based activities.
It also organised an eco-marathon with the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) - a global competition where students designed, built and raced vehicles which used up the least fuel and produced as little emissions as possible.
Yet, critics from the US say companies are doing this to make socially conscious investors and customers comfortable about buying their products and shares.
Still, most consumers say the benefit to companies from CSR does not appear to be a bad thing.
Even environmental agencies approve of CSR. The SEC, in fact, depends on corporate sponsorships for 50 per cent of its annual budget.
Its executive director, Mr Howard Shaw, said that despite the notion that oil companies are depleting resources, the reality is: 'You cannot switch off an oil well. If you switch it off, everything in society grinds to a halt.
'In any partnership, there needs to be a win-win situation, or you would not go into the arrangement in the first place.'
After all, at least the company is pitching in, said Mr Jonathan Harari, 22, who runs an investment management company.
'Both parties might be doing things for different reasons, but in the end the outcome is the same.'
