Firms, go on energy ‘diet’

NEA head also urges eco-friendly features for companies
Esther Fung, Today Online 20 Aug 08;

After acquiring one of Singapore’s oldest companies in a high-profile takeover battle early this year, Ms Chew Gek Khim (picture), is now tackling another challenge on the corporate scene.

Just days after successfully taking over Straits Trading in April, Ms Chew added another feather to her cap as the chairwoman of the National Environment Agency (NEA) in April, and wants to get more businesses to be more environmentally-friendly.

“One problem we have found at the NEA is most people feel that businesses have not done anything about the environment. It may not be true,” said Ms Chew, who is also the granddaughter of banking magnate and philanthropist Tan Chin Tuan. “Businesses here are more conscious of the environment, and part of it’s for pragmatic reasons.If you consume what costs more, it’s as basic as that.”

What businesses can do, is to consider their energy consumption as higher prices becomes a staple in the business climate for now, said Ms Chew, who acknowledges that recent high oil and electricity prices have made her job easier.

Property owners of older buildings and firms that consume a lot of energy, for instance, may want to do an energy audit, she said. Property developer City Developments is one company that has undergone an energy audit and includes eco-friendly features such as photovoltaic panels in its new projects.

The NEA has funded 113 energy audits for buildings and industrial facilities, helping their owners identify annual energy savings in excess of $28 million. Of these, six are smaller businesses.

“The approach for a small business should be no different from a household,” said Ms Chew, who admits reaching out to small and medium enterprises is a problem. “Just like managing a two-man business or a sole proprietorship, it should not be different from personal finance. When it comes to a certain size, your mindset should be no different from that of managing your own home.”

She conceded that people in Singapore may find it harder to relate to climate disruptions as the country has little agriculture. The issue is to get people and businesses to take a pragmatic approach and change certain habits.

“If you want change, make it something easy for people to accept. It’s like going ona diet. If I say I will just have one meal a day it will be too difficult, but if I cut 10 per cent of what I eat, it will be manageable,” said Ms Chew, who spends about an hour with the NEA twice a month.

But it’s not just getting firms to be more environmentally responsible. “I would like to champion during my term, societal participation on environmental issues. I may not succeed, but I would like to see society take ownership of the issues at large,” said Ms Chew, who is also chief executive of Tecity Group and chairman of Straits Trading.