Conservation International council to energise the green drive in Singapore

Businesses can look to it for practical tips on responsible growth
Victoria Vaughan Straits Times 7 Jun 10;

GREEN group Conservation International has set up a council for businesses in the Asia-Pacific to discuss how to be more environmentally friendly.

Known as the Asia-Pacific Business and Sustainability Council, it aims to give companies practical tips on how to continue making money without doing so at the expense of the environment. It will also suggest ways for them to use less water and energy and reduce waste.

Its members are established firms such as agricultural heavyweights Wilmar International and Monsanto, Indonesian energy firm Medco Group, retail giant Wal-Mart Asia and tyre-maker Giti Tire. Coffee chain Starbucks was the sixth and latest big name to join the council last month.

To join the council, a company must be a leader in its field and have shown a commitment to sustainability.

'Companies need to realise they have to look beyond their finances to the ecosystem that supports them with fresh air and water,' said Conservation International's global vice-president for corporate relations Andy Wilson, who is based at its headquarters in Virginia in the United States. The group, a think-tank which focuses on science, policy, communications and marketing, recently opened a base in Singapore.

The council first met in Singapore in March and set South-east Asia's haze situation as a key priority.

A sub-committee to address this problem, which has plagued the region for years, was set up and is led by Medco and Singapore's Wilmar. Companies with oil palm and paper plantations have been accused of indirectly causing the haze as workers use fire to clear land.

The sub-committee will look at how to prevent the cutting down of virgin rainforests in Sumatra and the use of fire to clear land for farming. The latter has been the spark for much of the haze that engulfs the region at least twice a year.

Wilmar's head of corporate social responsibility, Mr Jeremy Goon, said: 'Haze affects our business too. Not only is our employee productivity reduced due to health reasons, the haze also slows down our operations due to low visibility, which makes work in the plantations almost impossible.'

Wilmar is the largest global processor of palm and lauric oils and has businesses in fire-prone areas such as Central Kalimantan. It has more than 230,000ha of oil palm plantations, the majority of which are in Indonesia.

'We believe our familiarity with the landscape there, as well as our experience in firefighting, will be useful in helping to fight the cause,' said Mr Goon.

Other issues raised by the council were green buildings, employee engagement and fresh water management.

Mr Wilson said he expects the membership of the council to grow to 25 in the next two to three years. Although big businesses are part of the problem when it comes to the environment, they are also part of the solution, he said.

Mr Wilson added that while there is a cost associated with being sustainable, green efforts can help boost profits.

'Yes, it costs money to invest in sustainability but if you are saving on energy, water and waste then it will have a positive impact on the bottom line,' he said, noting that Wal-Mart saved billions by encouraging its suppliers to use less packaging, thus reducing shipping costs.

The new Asia-Pacific council will meet again in Shanghai in September. There will be two meetings a year, which member companies will host.