Ten environmentally active persons receive EcoFriend Awards

Jessica Yeo, Channel NewsAsia 10 Jul 09;

SINGAPORE: Ten environmentally active individuals have received this year's EcoFriend Awards.

They were selected from over 280 nominations.

The awards - now in their third year - aim to recognise individuals who have contributed to environmental sustainability, and to encourage more to expand their efforts in promoting eco-friendliness.

The National Environment Agency said this year's awards also saw a significant rise in the number of youth nominees since the awards began.

Eighty-two youths were nominated this year, up from 46 in 2007.

- CNA/yb

Green team's chief gets EcoFriend award
CapitaLand initiatives help the environment and needy students too
Eisen Teo, Straits Times 11 Jul 09;

AS CHAIRMAN of property giant CapitaLand's Green Committee, Mr Wong Hooe Wai, 51, is no stranger to initiatives to save the environment.

One of the novel ideas his committee brought to fruition was an Environmental Tracking System in 2007 to monitor and regulate electricity and water usage of more than 150 CapitaLand properties worldwide, such as Raffles City in Singapore and in Chengdu, China.

But his work did not benefit only the environment. Over the past year, his Green For Hope programme encouraged 260,000 primary schoolchildren from 154 schools to recycle, helping Singapore's less fortunate in the process.

CapitaLand's Hope Foundation - its philanthropic arm - pledged $2 to school welfare funds for every 1kg of recyclable waste collected by students.

The foundation is still collating the amount earned.

Yesterday, Mr Wong's efforts were lauded as he received the National Environment Agency's (NEA) EcoFriend Award from Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim at Hort Park.

The honour was shared with nine other individuals - including Ms Tan Puay Hoon, president of the Singapore

Restroom Association, and Mr Alfred Tan, deputy director of the Building and Environment Division of the School of Engineering at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

They were chosen from 282 nominees for initiatives in nurturing communities to care for the environment.

Honoured too was the future of local environmental conservation: Samuel Lim, 18, one of the two winners in the Youth and Student category.

The Raffles Junior College student already has five green projects under his belt, from promoting conservation awareness through fun walks, to organising an international environment conference.

He said his interest blossomed as a child: 'As I grew older, I realised that the ecology would be destroyed if we did not care for our planet.'

It is a concern shared by Mr Wong: 'It is important to promote a sustainable environment for future generations, and give back to the communities within which we operate.'

The nominees
Ong Dai Lin, Today Online 11 Jul 09;

282 nominations were received for the 2009 EcoFriend Awards, the highest number since the awards were launched in 2007.

These recognise those who have engaged the community significantly to care for and sustain the environment.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Yaacob Ibrahim presented the awards to 10 winners at a ceremony yesterday.

The winner in the public sector category is Mr Alfred Tan Chin Huat, a course manager from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. The other winners are:

1 Ms Tan Puay Hoon, president, Restroom Association (Singapore)

2 Mr Oliver Goh Koon Jeow, Member, National Youth Achievement Award Gold Award Holders Alumni

3 Mr Peter Lo Shui Sung, Chairman, Canberra Citizens' Consultative Committee Environment Committee

4 Mr Nagappan Garunaharan, Leader, Chua Chu Kang Constituency Sports Club

5 Ms Lee Wanli, Member, Ci Yuan Community Centre's Youth Executive Committee

6 Mr Samuel Lim Yong Peng, Chairperson, Raffles One Earth, Raffles Junior College

7 Mr Loke Chee Peng, Principal, Marsiling Secondary School

8 Mrs Yak-Foo Sheau Yang, Curriculum Head, Raffles Institution