2016 President's Award for the Environment Recipients

Marsiling Primary School

MPS supports the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint’s theme of moving Towards a Zero Waste Nation with their ‘Project Coffee Compost’, where they work with neighbouring cafes and coffee shops to collect used coffee beans and turn them into useful compost for the school garden.

Marsiling Primary School (MPS) has shown strong commitment in grooming every student to become a young environmental champion by integrating environmental education into their curriculum through the Green Citizenship Programme (GCP). Each year, the whole school comes together for the Green Citizenship Day, where students and staff take part in environmental activities ranging from clean-up activities to vegetable gardening.

Students are also involved in Project Buddy Clean, a programme that MPS developed with the National Environment Agency (NEA). Under this programme, senior students mentor their juniors to maintain the cleanliness of their school. Project Buddy Clean helps to inculcate positive values in the students as well as cultivate their leadership skills. MPS’s pilot of the programme has since been used as a learning guide for other schools to adopt.

What sets the primary school apart is their strong partnerships with the People, Public and Private (3P) sectors to enhance environmental awareness and sustainability. MPS supports the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint’s theme of moving Towards a Zero Waste Nation with their ‘Project Coffee Compost’, where they work with neighbouring cafes and coffee shops to collect used coffee beans and turn them into useful compost for the school garden.

The ‘Bin it Right @ MPS’ programme also encourages students to recycle actively in the school. Other initiatives such as ‘No Waste Days’, ‘Clean Plate Campaign’ and ‘Green Canteen’ were implemented to reduce food waste and the use of disposables.

With their dedication to environmental education and contribution to promoting environmental consciousness in the wider community, MPS is truly deserving of the President’s Award for the Environment 2016.

Bukit View Secondary School

As a leader in environmental education, BVSS has a longstanding track record in environmental advocacy.

Bukit View Secondary School (BVSS) is recognised for its distinctive environmental education programme. The school adopts a multi-disciplinary approach in its Environmental Science Programme, allowing their students to learn about the environment through different subjects. For example, the theme of Recycling and the Environment is incorporated into their English and Mother Tongue lessons.

BVSS also has a niche programme in Clean Energy and Environmental Technology. The Junior OUtstanding Leaders in Energy for Sustainability (JOULES) Programme is an enhanced 4-year programme designed to groom students as leaders to lead and care for the environment as well as cultivate their interest in sustainable energy.

As a leader in environmental education, BVSS has a longstanding track record in environmental advocacy. BVSS embarked on their environmental journey in 2006, when they set up an environment committee and started an annual sustainability forum for neighbouring schools to learn best sustainable practices from one another. The students of BVSS also actively champion the environmental cause to the wider community by sharing tips on water conservation and dengue prevention.

BVSS is committed to environmental sustainability and resource conservation by installing rainwater tanks to conserve water, and solar panels to conserve energy. They also constructed environment-learning facilities, such as an Eco Garden and a Learning Wall to teach students biodiversity, water and energy conservation messages, which are aligned to the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint (SSB)’s theme of “Eco-Smart” Endearing Towns. The Eco Garden was eventually opened up as an eco-trail for their students as well as students from neighbouring schools.

As a leader in environmental education, and for its commitment to environmental sustainability, BVSS is a deserving recipient of the President’s Award for the Environment 2016.

Ricoh Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

Ricoh’s sustainable environmental management began in 1970s to engage and balance environmental conservation activities with business sustainability.

Ricoh Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (Ricoh) is a prominent Japanese multinational corporation known for advocating environmental sustainability with the People, Public and Private (3P) sectors in Singapore.

Ricoh began its environmental journey in 2004 by inculcating the Eco Office concept into their office environment. They received the Project Eco Office Certification by the Singapore Environment Council in 2005 and conducted numerous Eco Office Tours to share their sustainable office management practices and ideas with many groups.

Ricoh worked with the National Parks Board, National Environment Agency, PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, and the Nature Society (Singapore) to adopt the Tanjong Pagar RICOH Park in 2005, and the Marina Reservoir in 2014, the Butterfly Trail @ Orchard project in 2010, and participated in annual tree-planting activities in conjunction with the Clean and Green Singapore movement. Since 2005, over 3,000 tree samplings have been planted.

Ricoh plays an active role among local Japanese community by producing Japanese Marina Barrage brochure, PUB World Water Day posters and Sustainable Singapore Blueprint storybooks.

To commemorate World Environment Day, Ricoh organises annual Eco Action Day in Singapore since 2007. In its 10th year this year, Ricoh rallied over 800 organisations to take positive actions to reduce environmental impact.

Ricoh’s sustainable environmental management began in 1970s to engage and balance environmental conservation activities with business sustainability. The Comet Circle™, a resource recirculating process created by Ricoh Group in 1994, efficiently reuse and recycle its products to maximise the closed-loop materials recycling, and reduce the use of virgin resources.

With these commendable environmental sustainability efforts, Ricoh is indeed a business that supports the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint’s theme: A Leading Green Economy, and deserves the President’s Award for the Environment 2016.