President's Award for the Environment goes to youth-related organisations

Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia 12 Oct 09;

SINGAPORE: The President's Award for the Environment, which received 29 nominations this year, focused on grooming youths as future eco-champions.

Two of the three recipients of the award - Commonwealth Secondary School and the National Youth Achievement Award Council - were recognised for developing students and youth leaders with an interest in green issues.

The award's evaluating committee said it was not a "conscious" decision to pick organisations that groomed youths, but instead it felt that if green leaders are developed from a young age, the benefits will be long-term.

Commonwealth Secondary School was recognised for being among the first to introduce a structured programme for environmental education.

The school's lower secondary students are exposed to topics such as water conservation, climate change and alternative energies. The students learn more about the environment through field trips and project work, and the school plans to further nurture the students' interest in the environment.

"We also intend to put in place a work attachment programme, so that we can expose our students to environment-related careers that they can embark on. So this gets them to think long-term, instead of short-term focus," said Cheah Mei Ling, principal, Commonwealth Secondary School.

The National Youth Achievement Award Council is another organisation which is convinced that change starts with youths. The council provides a platform to engage them and help develop a passion for the environment.

"They are the future and it's very important to provide them the opportunity and platform. And youths have the energy, they're passionate and if they believe in it, they will do it well," said James Soh, executive director, National Youth Achievement Award Council.

The semiconductor company, ST Microelectronics, is the third recipient of the award. Despite being a major player in a resource-intensive industry, the company has paved the way for greener facilities management, achieving huge water and energy savings.

With a new water reclamation system, the ST wafer fabrication plant manages to save about 2.6 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water daily. It also cut down on 3.5 million kilowatt-hour worth of energy last year, the equivalent of powering 800 four-room flats for a year.

"Basically to comply with regulatory framework was one of the key criteria. Then secondly, new fabrication is getting more and more expensive. We really have to think of a way to reduce the cost of running the new facilities," said Benny Lim, director, Facility Operations, ST Microelectronics.

Currently in its fourth year, the President's Award for the Environment is the highest accolade in Singapore that recognises individuals, organisations and companies for their contributions to environmental sustainability.

- CNA/sc

Environment awards have strong youth flavour
They will honour tech firm, school, youth achievement council
Joyce Hooi, Business Times 13 Oct 09;

THIS year's President's Award for the Environment will be presented to largely youth-oriented recipients by President SR Nathan at the Istana tonight.

Commonwealth Secondary School, the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) Council and STMicroelectronics were selected from 29 nominees for the award, which recognises efforts to achieve environmental stability.

'We have seen a wonderful move towards awareness of environmental sustainability and this has been reflected in the nominations we have received in the past few years,' said Tan Gee Paw, chairman of the award's evaluation committee.

The award, now in its fourth year, is for prolonged effort in the area of environmental conservation.

'Track record is important,' Mr Tan said. 'We were not looking for environmental efforts that were just a flash in the pan; the activities had to be ingrained in the organisation.'

This year's winners have built up a substantial portfolio of work in the environmental area.

The NYAA Council, for example, can trace its work in educating young people about the environment back to 1992. Its network of Gold Award Holders' Alumni is now developing a kit on climate change for pre-schoolers.

The first school to win the award, Commonwealth Secondary School, has made lessons on water conservation and climate change a part of its curriculum. The school also boasts a constructed wetland that was converted from a pond and recycles grey water.

'Sustainable development will be one of the major and most complex issues facing the next generation,' said Cheah Mei Ling, principal of Commonwealth Secondary School.

Semiconductor giant STMicroelectronics has spent almost three decades exploring sustainable business practices. As far back as the early 1990s, it made voluntary environmental reporting a part of its corporate social responsibility policy. 'We focus on water and energy conservation and have improved our bottom line as well,' said Benny Lim, the firm's director of facility operations front-end manufacturing in Asia-Pacific.

Last year, STMicroelectronics recycled 79 per cent of its waste, with only 1.5 per cent headed for landfills.

Previous award winners include Professor Tommy Koh in 2006, City Developments Ltd in 2007 and South West Community Development Council in 2008.

Commonwealth 1st school to win top green award
Grace Chua, Straits Times 13 Oct 09;

COMMONWEALTH Secondary School was not 14-year-old Wilson Lim's first choice.

But after being posted there and joining programmes such as the clean-ups of Sungei Pandan and dragonfly studies, the young environmentalist has no regrets about attending the neighbourhood school.

And now, he has something of which he can be even more proud.

This evening, Commonwealth Secondary will be the first school to receive the prestigious President's Award for the Environment, the highest national accolade for championing environmental sustainability.

The award, now in its fourth year, will be presented at the Istana in a ceremony presided over by President S R Nathan.

The school, one of two Ministry of Education centres of excellence for environmental education, has been incorporating the green message in its curriculum and activities for several years now.

Its students go on field trips to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and study water treatment and wildlife at the campus' specially constructed wetland habitat. The school is hoping to start a work attachment plan to expose students to environment- related jobs, said principal Cheah Mei Ling.

This environmental push began after its Green Club was formed in 2001. Students and staff then discovered a cause they could champion.

'We hope to inspire other schools to undertake a similar journey,' Mrs Cheah said.

The other award winners this year are the National Youth Achievement Award Council and semiconductor company ST Microelectronics.

The council, launched in 1992 to guide 14- to 25-year-olds in community service, skills development and other areas, has made conservation an element of its service criteria since 1993.

ST Microelectronics has an outstanding track record when it comes to saving energy and recycling its waste and water.

It saves about 6,000 cu m of water each day, enough to fill 2.6 Olympic-size swimming pools, and annually cuts enough energy to power 800 four-room HDB flats for a year.

Facility operations director Benny Lim said: 'We aim to comply with the most stringent frameworks.'

This year's winners were picked from 29 nominees, including individuals, organisations like schools and NGOs, and companies.

PUB chairman Tan Gee Paw, who chaired the award evaluation committee, said of the three winners: 'They have institutionalised environmental awareness, which will continue into the future.'