Rich bear the brunt

Inflation hits top income earners in unusual turnabout
Neo Chai Chin (TODAY)
March 25, 2008

FOR the first time in at least eight years, the wealthy in Singapore have borne the brunt of inflation, while lower-income earners have — in a reversal of roles — seen expenses rise at a slower rate than the national average.

In the last six months of 2007, inflation was 3.9 per cent for the top 20 per cent of income earners. The bottom 20 per cent saw a 2.8-per-cent hike in their consumer price index (CPI), while middle-income earners fell in between, with 3.3 per cent.

For the whole of last year, the top income-earners experienced 2.3-per-cent inflation, compared to 2 per cent for the rest.

It's an unusual turnabout. The Department of Statistics records dating from 2000 show inflation hurting the bottom 20 per cent of the population most. And one key reason high earners were harder hit last year: Spiralling fuel prices, which started reaching record highs in October.

This, said economists, fed into more expensive holiday travel, cars and petrol. Together with housing — where private property rentals helped push up the CPI — transport and recreation costs make up almost two-thirds of the top 20-per-cent earners' CPI.

Forecast's economist Vishnu Varathan said the affluent are more likely to hail cabs and to drive, and July's taxi fare hikes and higher pump prices would have affected this demographic more. "The impact of bus and MRT fare increases would be less acute for the lower-income as there have been small increases over time," he said.

Transport inflation for the bottom earners was 2.9 per cent for the second half, compared to 5 per cent for top earners.

As for recreation, said Standard Chartered economist Alvin Liew, the wealthy are more likely to go on holidays, and a "key component of air travel is fuel costs".

And with the high-end property market fetching record prices last year, consumers would have to pay higher rents for more swanky accommodation, said Mr Varathan.

But does all this mean that higher earners necessarily had it harder than the middle- or lower-income? Not so. As Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin pointed out: "What is important to note is that the higher-income group saw the highest nominal wage increases and are better able to withstand higher price increases."

Looking ahead, a slower global economy this year could ease prices of luxury items, which form a more significant part of higher earners' CPI, said Mr Liew.

Overall, however, it is uncertain if inflation will continue to be higher for the rich. Economists point to the twin trends of rising food prices and fuel costs, which affect all tiers of society.

Mr Varathan felt food prices — which went up by 4.1 per cent in the second half, up from just 1.7 per cent in the first half of 2007 — were likely to remain high because of global trends such as urbanisation, the growing of biofuels and increased consumption of meat. These impact the supply of food — cultivation of biofuels means less farmland available, for instance.

Can rising inflation be halted? February's CPI rose 6.5 per cent over the same period last year, with transport and communication, food, education and healthcare costs leading the surge. Part of it could be attributed to the Chinese New Year period, when food and overseas travel are at a premium.

Still, a reprieve could be in sight - the slowdown of the global economy and excess manufacturing capacity could lead to lower prices in the second half of the year, said economists. And come July, the effects of last year's GST hike will no longer reflect in year-on-year CPI comparisons.

OTHER SNAPSHOTS OF 2007

Healthcare

Middle-income earners were the hardest hit – healthcare costs rose 4.3 per cent for them, higher than the overall 4.1 per cent. Economists did not know exactly why this might be, saying more research had to be done. For example, are the subsidies for the poor benefiting the middle classes? Did hospital charges rise proportionately across all income classes? What types of medication did the middle classes consume?

Food prices

While the hike was about equal for all income groups, averaging 2.9 per cent, the poor felt the impact most as this component accounts for almost 30 per cent of their expenditure.

Housing

Thanks partly to the moderating influence of service and conservancy charge rebates, bottom and middle-income groups saw inflation of 0.1 per cent, compared to 1.2 per cent for top earners.

Inflation hits top income earners in unusual turnabout

SPEND MORE, BUSH TELLS CHINA CONSUMERS

6 September 2007 (TODAY)

SYDNEY - United States President George W Bush yesterday urged China's
consumers to spend more to help close a yawning trade gap with the US, as
he prepared to meet his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao today.

While trade will likely top the agenda at the talks, the leaders are also
expected to include prickly issues such as exchange rates and reported
Chinese cyber-attacks on the Pentagon, reflecting a relationship Bush
termed "complex".

"We certainly hope that China changes from a saving society to a consuming
society," Mr Bush said, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(Apec) forum.

"Right now, because of the lack of a (social) safety net, many Chinese
save for what we call a rainy day," Mr Bush said. "What we want is the
government to provide more of a safety net so they start buying more US
and Australian products."

Most American criticism of the surplus is focused on the value of China's
currency - said to be kept artificially low - but Mr Bush focused on
China's high savings rates ahead of his meeting with Mr Hu.

China's enormous trade surplus with the US is a regular bone of contention
in bilateral relations, with widespread American claims that jobs are
being lost to the massive Chinese exporting machine.

The gap with China, which has the lion's share of imports into the US,
expanded to a record US$21.2 billion ($32.3 billion) in June from US$20.02
billion in May, according to US official data. - AFP

Taking the green message to business

29 Aug 07 (Business Times)

IT'S been said so often as to seem almost a platitude: 'Go green
because it's good for your business'.

And certainly there are many high-profile examples of corporations
taking measures to make their businesses more environment- friendly.
But by and large, the impact of the green message on the corporate
world remains depressingly negligible.

We need to ask why, and what can be done about it.

Many are passionate young people who have moved beyond traditional
media to the interactive world of the Internet. For them, the Web's
social networking sites and strategies are the perfect way to
disseminate information, identify and encourage green initiatives, and
generally educate tens of millions of their young peers in an
intensively interactive environment.

The educating is more effective because the lessons are shared,
dissected, criticised and recreated by consensus.

It is education that is absorbed, not imposed. Some call it Web 2.0;
the name doesn't matter, the experience does.

And that is a lesson that their senior counterparts in business and
government could take to heart.

Not in the area of green products and activities; leave that to the
experts.

It takes scientists to create more effective and eco-friendly fuels
and efficient hybrid cars, engineers to reduce the power and emission
needs of a manufacturing process.

It needs an experienced business team to convert eco-friendly
innovations into commercially feasible products. And it takes
visionary government officials to project a country's needs decades
into the future, and create a public transportation system that is
effective, and people as well as environment- friendly.

But that's already happening.

So why do the mass of business folk, who stand to benefit from
eco-friendly innovations and infrastructure, continue to drag their heels?

Simply, the message hasn't got through.

And so long as this vast majority remains uncommitted, the industrial
fog will stay, both literally and figuratively.

Clearly, education is key. But education imposed in the traditional
way has proved to be ineffective.

Which is why it's worth paying attention to the new-media world of our
youth, where information is dynamically shared and absorbed. It could
be the strategy that turns the tide.

China's Bicycle Solution

Aug 22 2007 (TODAY)

Bid to reduce pollution prompts rental scheme

BEIJING - The Chinese authorities have launched a new bicycle rental
scheme in a bid to reduce pollution and ease traffic congestion in the
capital of Beijing.

According to China Daily, 50,000 bicycles will be available for rent
soon - at a cost of 100 yuan (20 cents) for a one-year contract or 20 yuan
per day.

Under the scheme, users have to pay a deposit of 400 yuan - which is
refundable, less annual rental fees, upon the return of the bicycle.

In recent months, the authorities in Beijing have conducted trials of the
service, whereby some 5,000 bicycles were available for rent at 31
locations.

"It has proved really popular, so it is worth rolling it out across the
city," Mr Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing municipal
environmental protection bureau, was quoted by the Beijing News as saying.

It is estimated that the expanded network will cover 200 outlets - that
are located near to subway stations, Olympic venues, as well as hotels and
office buildings - by the time the 2008 Olympics kick-off next August.

"Organisations and individuals are welcome to join our service network for
free, as long as they can provide an area about the size of one parking
space," Mr Wang Yong, general manager of Beijing Bicycle Rental Services,
was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Mr Wang said that his company would provide all the bicycles for rent, and
franchise outlets would receive 1 yuan a day for each bike they operate as
running costs.

The launch of the bicycle rental scheme came following the success of the
four-day car reduction test last week, in which more than 1 million cars
each day were barred from the roads.

While the most obvious benefit of the test was the reduction in traffic
congestion, the Beijing Environment Protection Monitoring Centre noted
that the air quality in the capital improved during the four-day period.

A Lifestyle On The Reservoir

Aug 9 2007 (TODAY)

From being the venue for this year's NDP, the Marina Basin will soon be an
exhilarating site for recreation, thanks to PUB

Just 2.5km away from this year's National Day Parade at Marina Bay is a
project that is equally, if not more, massive.

Called the Marina Barrage, the development will see a dam being built
across the Marina Channel, transforming the Marina Basin into Singapore's
first reservoir in the city - the Marina Reservoir.

The 350m-wide dam operated by PUB, the national water agency, will have
nine water gates, intelligent water level sensors, automated water pumps
and a visitor centre sheltered by a landscape roof that doubles up as a
park.

After its completion at the end of this year, the dam will effectively
shut out the open sea. This will ensure a constant water level in the
reservoir, which will not be affected by tides.

The water, which covers a surface area of 240ha, will make the reservoir
an ideal venue for recreational activities such as boating, windsurfing
and water-skiing.

But PUB won't have to wait till next year for its latest venture to be in
the limelight. That the Marina Reservoir was chosen to host the NDP -
ahead of the dam's completion - was a vote of confidence in the venue's
potential for hosting major events in the future.

PUB's director of drainage, Mr Yap Kheng Guan, said: "This is only an
indicator of bigger things to come."

One of these is its Active, Beautiful, Clean (ABC) Waters programme, a
project which is being rolled out over the next 20 years.

This programme is, in turn, part of PUB's larger strategic objective to
bring people closer to water, so that they can better appreciate and
cherish this precious resource.

Even though this is the third year that PUB will be part of the marching
contingents, the location makes it exceptionally significant for the
company.

Said assistant contingent commander of the 72-strong PUB squad, Mr Bernard
Tan: "It is an NDP that's held on our own reservoir. And I feel proud of
that."

To commemorate it, PUB also sponsored 500,000 bottles of Newater, with
specially designed labels featuring its mascot, a raindrop called Water
Wally.

But Mr Yap also reminds us that it isn't just up to the sponsors or the
participants to make the parade a success. "We need as much help as
possible in keeping the waters clean. The water belongs to everyone," he
urged.

"Water that's going into the reservoir is coming from one-sixth of
Singapore's land area, from as far as Ang Mo Kio," he added.

Singapore's water system of drains and canals is so well connected that a
careless toss of junk into a drain in the heartlands could end up in the
city waters - definitely not a pretty sight for NDP.

In 2009, when Marina Basin becomes Marina Reservoir, it would be as Mr Tan
said: "The NDP spectators will actually be looking at the very water that
they will drink."

Good that this year's parade is a timely reminder then, to give us a
two-year head start. Serene Huang

People are more environmentally conscious, but not enough: Al Gore

By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
07 August 2007

SINGAPORE: Businesses and consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious, but more needs to be done at a faster rate, said former US vice president Al Gore.

Mr Gore, who is in Singapore for a two-day visit, gave a closed door presentation to about 600 people at the Global Brand Forum.

Being part of the solution to the climate crisis is in companies’ interests, he said, because doing so would help boost their reputations in the future.

And some local businesses are already heeding his call.

Elim Chew, president and founder of 77th Street, said: "We're working out with less advantaged people, making re-useable bags. They'll sew it, and we'll also get designs from a movement called Eco-Movement.

"And we're going to print this bag called ‘reuse me again and again and again’ so that people will understand they have to reuse the bag again and again, and so that we'll be able to save on plastic bags."

Lo Yong Poo, CEO of Goodrich Global, also does his part to contribute to the green movement. Through research and development, its supplier now uses ink that is more environmental friendly to print wallpapers.

“(The supplier has) replaced the traditional chemical kind of ink to a more water-based kind of ink to reduce pollution,” he said.

Mr Gore pointed out, however, individuals should also do their part by making simple choices such as installing energy-saving light bulbs and switching off lights when leaving a room.

Singapore is now moving towards compulsory energy labelling, but many believe that items such as air-conditioners and cars should also be given carbon labelling.

Penny Low, MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, agreed that if the public can calculate how much carbon dioxide are being released into the atmosphere through their activities, "and what that translates to in terms of our carbon footprints, then I think we'll make a more conscientious effort to reduce that carbon footprints."

Mr Gore was given the inaugural Global Brand Forum Brand Icon of the Year award, which recognises individuals for their outstanding achievements in the area of global branding. - CNA/ac

Walking to the shops ‘damages planet more than going by car’

From The Times
August 4, 2007
By Dominic Kennedy

Walking does more than driving to cause global warming, a leading environmentalist has calculated.

Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes. Provided, of course, they remembered to switch off the TV rather than leaving it on standby.

The sums were done by Chris Goodall, campaigning author of How to Live a Low-Carbon Life, based on the greenhouse gases created by intensive beef production. “Driving a typical UK car for 3 miles [4.8km] adds about 0.9 kg [2lb] of CO2 to the atmosphere,” he said, a calculation based on the Government’s official fuel emission figures. “If you walked instead, it would use about 180 calories. You’d need about 100g of beef to replace those calories, resulting in 3.6kg of emissions, or four times as much as driving.

“The troubling fact is that taking a lot of exercise and then eating a bit more food is not good for the global atmosphere. Eating less and driving to save energy would be better.”

Mr Goodall, Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford West & Abingdon, is the latest serious thinker to turn popular myths about the environment on their head.

Catching a diesel train is now twice as polluting as travelling by car for an average family, the Rail Safety and Standards Board admitted recently. Paper bags are worse for the environment than plastic because of the extra energy needed to manufacture and transport them, the Government says.

Fresh research published in New Scientistlast month suggested that 1kg of meat cost the Earth 36kg in global warming gases. The figure was based on Japanese methods of industrial beef production but Mr Goodall says that farming techniques are similar throughout the West.

What if, instead of beef, the walker drank a glass of milk? The average person would need to drink 420ml – three quarters of a pint – to recover the calories used in the walk. Modern dairy farming emits the equivalent of 1.2kg of CO2 to produce the milk, still more pollution than the car journey.

Cattle farming is notorious for its perceived damage to the environment, based on what scientists politely call “methane production” from cows. The gas, released during the digestive process, is 21 times more harmful than CO2 . Organic beef is the most damaging because organic cattle emit more methane.

Michael O’Leary, boss of the budget airline Ryanair, has been widely derided after he was reported to have said that global warming could be solved by massacring the world’s cattle. “The way he is running around telling people they should shoot cows,” Lawrence Hunt, head of Silverjet, another budget airline, told the Commons Environmental Audit Committee. “I do not think you can really have debates with somebody with that mentality.”

But according to Mr Goodall, Mr O’Leary may have a point. “Food is more important [to Britain’s greenhouse emissions] than aircraft but there is no publicity,” he said. “Associated British Foods isn’t being questioned by MPs about energy.

“We need to become accustomed to the idea that our food production systems are equally damaging. As the man from Ryanair says, cows generate more emissions than aircraft. Unfortunately, perhaps, he is right. Of course, this doesn’t mean we should always choose to use air or car travel instead of walking. It means we need urgently to work out how to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of our foodstuffs.”

Simply cutting out beef, or even meat, however, would be too modest a change. The food industry is estimated to be responsible for a sixth of an individual’s carbon emissions, and Britain may be the worst culprit.

“This is not just about flying your beans from Kenya in the winter,” Mr Goodall said. “The whole system is stuffed with energy and nitrous oxide emissions. The UK is probably the worst country in the world for this.

“We have industrialised our food production. We use an enormous amount of processed food, like ready meals, compared to most countries. Three quarters of supermarkets’ energy is to refrigerate and freeze food prepared elsewhere.

A chilled ready meal is a perfect example of where the energy is wasted. You make the meal, then use an enormous amount of energy to chill it and keep it chilled through warehousing and storage.”

The ideal diet would consist of cereals and pulses. “This is a route which virtually nobody, apart from a vegan, is going to follow,” Mr Goodall said. But there are other ways to reduce the carbon footprint. “Don’t buy anything from the supermarket,” Mr Goodall said, “or anything that’s travelled too far.” dkennedy@thetimes.co.uk

Shattering the great green myths

— Traditional nappies are as bad as disposables, a study by the Environment Agency found. While throwaway nappies make up 0.1 per cent of landfill waste, the cloth variety are a waste of energy, clean water and detergent

— Paper bags cause more global warming than plastic. They need much more space to store so require extra energy to transport them from manufacturers to shops

— Diesel trains in rural Britain are more polluting than 4x4 vehicles. Douglas Alexander, when Transport Secretary, said: “If ten or fewer people travel in a Sprinter [train], it would be less environmentally damaging to give them each a Land Rover Freelander and tell them to drive”

— Burning wood for fuel is better for the environment than recycling it, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs discovered

— Organic dairy cows are worse for the climate. They produce less milk so their methane emissions per litre are higher

— Someone who installs a “green” lightbulb undoes a year’s worth of energy-saving by buying two bags of imported veg, as so much carbon is wasted flying the food to Britain

— Trees, regarded as shields against global warming because they absorb carbon, were found by German scientists to be major producers of methane, a much more harmful greenhouse gas

Sources: Defra; How to Live a Low-Carbon Life, by Chris Goodall; Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturers Association; The Times; BBC

Luxurious, But Eco-friendly

Energy Smart hotels save energy without stinting on quality

Lin Yanqin
yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg
Aug 4 2007 (TODAY)

KEEPING guests pampered and comfortable comes at a high price - hotels are
among the biggest energy guzzlers in Singapore, accounting for nearly 2
per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions.

And with 2,000 rooms to be added over the next couple of years and another
4,300 by 2010 - courtesy of the integrated resorts - they are now in the
green movement's spotlight.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has added hotels to the Energy Smart
Building labelling scheme, a two-year-old programme that recognises
establishments for being energy efficient.

"I would say the next eight months is a critical time," said Dr Lee Siew
Eang from the National University of Singapore (NUS), who headed the team
that developed the benchmarks for the scheme.

"When all the design work (for the hotels) is going on, we can use this
opportunity to put energy efficiency at the forefront of (the developers')
minds."

To qualify to be Energy Smart, hotels need to engage an accredited energy
service company to conduct an audit on their energy efficiency.

As an incentive, the NEA will fund 50 per cent of the cost of the audit,
up to a maximum of $200,000.

If the audit shows that the hotel ranks among the top 25 per cent in terms
of energy efficiency, it will be awarded the label.

The trouble, Dr Lee said, is that many hotels in Singapore are ignorant of
how energy inefficient they are.

"And some of the posh hotels told us that energy saving was not their
priority because they were luxury hotels," he said.

"They think that saving energy means compromising on quality."

But four hotels that were awarded the inaugural Energy Smart Hotel label
on Friday prove this is not necessarily the case.

The Regent Singapore, for instance, shaves about $20,000 from its monthly
utilities bill thanks to clever tweaking of current operations.

The hotel now uses a heat recovery system - using the heat emitted when
water is cooled - for the hotel's heating needs.

The system cost the hotel $500,000 to install, but it is confident that it
will recoup the amount within 18 months.

"That's what this whole scheme is about - improving energy efficiency
without compromising the guests' stay," said Ms Ann Verbeek, public
relations director of The Regent.

"We are doing all this without sacrificing luxury."

The other three hotels - InterContinental Singapore, Shangri-La Hotel, and
Changi Village Hotel - have similar heat recovery systems, as well as
energy efficient lighting systems to reduce electricity usage on lighting.

Energy Smart Office labels were also awarded to five other commercial
buildings on Friday, along with a special award for the National Library
Building.

This brings the total number of buildings under the labelling scheme to 13
office buildings, four hotels, and one library.

"There are real savings which contribute to the bottom line and the
systems are a business asset," said Dr Lee, who also heads NUS Energy
Sustainability Unit.

"The challenge is to convince developers that energy efficiency is not
just a running cost, but can become a capital gain."

Plans are in the pipeline to extend the scheme to other types of buildings
including shopping centres, hospitals and schools.

Singaporeans going green following Bring Your Own Bag drive

By Foo Xiao Xuan, Channel NewsAsia
03 July 2007

SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) said the Bring Your Own Bag Day (BYOBD) campaign, which started in April, has sparked many initiatives to distribute reusable bags from various organisations.

These include the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), North West CDC, South West CDC and Keppel Corporation.

HSBC, for example, launched its "HSBC Green Sale" on 28 June, where for one month, every financial product sold will see the bank donating S$2.80 to its Garden City fund to help conserve the rainforest.

NEA Chief Executive Officer Lee Yuen Hee hopes these initiatives will inspire more people to take ownership of the environment and to do their part against global warming.

The agency will also work with schools to promote the Bring Your Own Bag Day campaign, where students from secondary schools will be at supermarkets to explain the rationale behind the campaign as well as conduct a shopper's survey on it.

Meanwhile, the fourth BYOB Day will be on 4 July and shoppers are encouraged to use reusable bags to bag their purchases on this day.

Alternatively, shoppers can purchase a reusable bag from supermarkets or make a 10 cents donation for each plastic bag that they need.

The donated amount goes to the Singapore Environment Council to fund environmental activities.


- CNA/so

Multidisciplinary Teams Tackle Climate Change with Innovative Plans for Healthy, Sustainable Communities

June 22, 2007 — By Royal Institute of British Architects - USA

LOS ANGELES, CA - At a symposium at the A + D Museum (Architecture Plus Design Museum) in Los Angeles on June 8 through 10, four winning teams were selected from among twelve finalists who presented proposals as part of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) - USA California chapter's competition, Building A Sustainable World: Life in the Balance. The competition, sponsored by Autodesk, Inc. attracted 65 registrations from 18 different countries, encompassing over 200 participants, either as individuals or in multi-disciplinary teams. It challenged participants to develop concepts for healthy, vibrant communities designed to address climate change and reverse, rather than add to, environmental damage.

Each entry tackled environmental and social challenges of enormous scope and offered engaging, inspiring solutions.

First Prize for $10,000.00 was awarded to the team from Fiji - Toby Kyle, Chris Cole and Kamineli Vuadreu for their project Sustainable Urban Housing in Fiji - "Vakabauta Village". This proposal addresses the displaced and low income Fijians with ways to uplift their local economy with affordable sustainable housing, and engaging ideas for the local people to create higher incomes for themselves whilst respecting and maintaining their cultural values and traditions.

Second Prize for $5,000.00 was awarded to the Australian Team from Gall and Medek - team DES of Brisbane, presented by Jim Gall and Tony Frye called "Boonah Two Development". This proposal addresses primary elements of off the grid communities including water catchment, food production, transportation, and relationship to each other and nature.

Third Prize for $2,500.00 was won by the United States design team of Wallace Roberts and Todd, LLC from Philadelphia, presented by Stephen Gibson called "Urban Kidney Project" (The Forgotten Bottom). The WRT team includes George B. Bryant, Stephen M. Gibson, Kyle Gradinger, John Keene, Adam Krom, Lauren W. Leatherbarrow, Jamie R. Ober, Anthony C. Okoye, Yogesh Saoji, KaMan E. Skinner, Devinder S. Soin, and Michael J. Tweed. This proposal addresses "The Forgotten Bottom" in Philadelphia and the sustainable restoration and re-use of this brown field site.

Bonus Prize for $5,000.00 was awarded to the entry that demonstrated the most imaginative use of Autodesk Software. This prize was awarded to Liu Di of China for his entry called "Seasonal Flood Threatened Community". This proposal addresses solutions to protect and support communities from serious flood.

An Honorable Mention was also given to the U.K. team - Angela Rivera, the Sustainable Construction Team with DGP International and Scott Wilson Ltd for their highly creative thinking outside of the box called "Tankers Converted to Village". This proposal addresses our soon to be flooded coastlines and offers a solution by converting abandoned oil tankers into sustainable communities.

RK Stewart, President of the American Institute of Architects opened the reception on Friday evening encouraging all disciplines in the building industry to work together in order to rise and meet our global challenges.

Architects have a golden opportunity to make a tremendous difference to our future by showing leadership and demonstrating how readily available sustainable systems of building and design are, exemplified by the works here.

An awards ceremony will be held the weekend of September 21 and 22nd 2007 in Los Angeles.

Contact Info:

Tim Clark
E-mail : tc@anet.net

Caroline Davies
E-mail : photoartist@earthlink.net

Website : Royal Institute of British Architects - USA

Singapore is 14th most expensive city to live in: survey

By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
18 June 2007

SINGAPORE: Singapore has jumped three places to become the 14th most expensive city in the world for expatriates.

This is according to a Cost of Living Survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

The survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative costs of over 200 items.

These include housing, transport, food, household goods and entertainment.

The cost of living Index for Singapore rose from 92 points in March 2006 to 100.4 points this year.

Mercer says the spike in house prices and climbing transportation prices have contributed to the higher ranking on the global list.

Moscow remained as the world's most expensive city for the second year running while Asuncion in Paraguay ranks as the cheapest for the fifth consecutive year.

London is second on the worldwide list, scaling three places compared to 2006.

This is due to the stronger British pound against the US dollar and steep property rental costs.

Mercer added that the strengthening of the Euro has resulted in some European cities moving significantly up the chart this year.

Four of the world's top 10 costliest cities are in Asia and they are Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Osaka.

Within Asia-Pacific, Singapore moved up one spot to be the fifth most expensive city. - CNA/yy

"Green" Helpline to Cut Consumers' Carbon Footprint

UK: June 20, 2007
Story by Jennifer Hill
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
Source

LONDON - A new service designed to help consumers reduce their carbon footprint aims to boost the number of "green" homes in Britain by half a million within a year.

Greenhelpline.com, which went live on Tuesday, allows people to search environmentally friendly energy tariffs and source local food producers.
The site -- developed by environmentalist Alex Lambie and energy price comparison service energyhelpline.com -- hopes to convert 500,000 homes to electricity from renewable resources within the next 12 months.

Currently, just 150,000 households are on green energy tariffs, of which there are around 17 at present.

Switching to green electricity can cut the average household's annual carbon footprint from energy consumption to four tonnes from six, and save them up to 145 pounds per year, the Web site says.

However, green energy is often more expensive than electricity from non-renewable resources and Lambie concedes that such cost savings will generally only be available to those who have never switched provider.

There are some 25 million householders in the UK -- half of whom have never switched energy supplier.

People already on competitive tariffs will pay an average 10 percent more for "green" energy, while those on the cheapest deals -- such as British Gas' online "Click" tariff -- could pay up to 14 percent more.

"For a slight (cost) increase -- as a worst case scenario -- you can go green and have an immediate positive effect on the environment," Lambie told Reuters.

Users are able to rank green electricity deals by the potential CO2 reduction, price, service rating or fuel mix.

They can also search for local food producers -- such as farm shops, markets, delis, box schemes, "pick your own" sites and bakeries -- within a 50 mile radius of their home.

Once the site is fully developed, consumers will be able to buy local produce through the site, with a proportion of revenues being invested in schemes to help local farmers.

"There's so much confused messaging about what 'going green' is: there's an overload of information, and it's often contradictory," said Lambie.

"These days, there's also so much noise about the 'nanny state' and the way the country is run.

"But here are two really simple things you can do -- ones that will have real measurable effect."

A number of big companies are also being offered the tool to help their customers and staff become more environmentally friendly.

Greenhelpline.com -- which will make a flat rate of commission of 40 pounds per energy switch, from which around two pounds will be profit -- will split revenues 50/50 with the companies who sign up.

This money will then go into a scheme run by greenhelpline.com to give cash-back, vouchers and discounts to those who switch to a greener way of life.

Organic waste treatment plant needs better trash sorting

By Jeana Wong, Channel NewsAsia
12 June 2007 1941 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singapore's first organic waste treatment plant is set to be up and running by the end of this year.

The plant - the first and largest of its kind in Asia - will turn food waste into power.

But the plant owner, IUT Global, says thus far its power generation capacity has not been the most efficient.

That is because it has been having trouble collecting the right kind of food waste.

Singapore-based IUT Global had hoped that it would make some headway with getting its food waste suppliers to sort out their trash properly since it broke ground at its facility in Tuas nearly two years ago by building an organic waste treatment plant.

"The big challenge is to actually collect what we want. Having a number of people, and even malls like Century Square signing up was not a problem because many of these people want to be seen to be green.

"We've quite a number of hotels as well, including the big hotels like Raffles (Hotel) and Shangri-La. But the current system has food waste all mixed in," says Edwin Khew, CEO, IUT Global.

IUT Global says it needs to collect the purest food or organic waste in order to be effective and profitable.

And it remains hopeful that its S$60 million plant can deliver the promise of transforming a quarter of Singapore's food waste into electricity and compost materials.

"We've just started doing the testing and commissioning. Food waste will be coming in and we'll be ramping up, and this will take time. So we're hopeful that we can get the full 300 tonnes to move forward. But more hopeful that we can get the 300 tonnes that we want and not 300 tonnes that's mixed in with other things," says Mr Khew.

Singapore throws away some 1,500 tonnes of food waste on a daily basis.

That makes up nearly one-tenth of Singapore's trash, which last year amounted to more than five million tonnes.

If successful, IUT Global's new plant will be able to turn food waste into enough electricity for itself and over 10,000 other industrial facilities. - CNA/yy

Students design products to help environment and disabled people

By Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia
11 June 2007

SINGAPORE: More students are being drawn to find commercially-viable solutions to help the community.

A mechanical innovation in five weeks, complete with a business plan to make sure it sells - that was the challenge to 600 Mechanical Engineering students at the Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) Engineering Innovation and Design Competition.

The competition, now into its eighth year, is seeing students turn into technopreneurs.

For one group, water-conservation is a Turnon - the name of their proposed company which invented 'Flowminator'.

It automatically stops water from over-flowing in a bath tub.

Ernest Pang, second year mechanical engineering student, NTU, said: "We're looking to manufacture the product in China in a city called NingBoGe. We've contacted a firm in China, and the cost of production has worked out to be $7. We're looking to sell it [at a] retail price of around $35 in Japan.

"Japan has a rich tradition of having bathtubs in the household. In Japan, the tourism and resort industry is also booming, so we're expecting more hotels and resorts to be springing up.

"We're looking into the possibility of collaborating with hotels and resorts to actually use our product."

Asst Professor David Lee Butler, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Singapore Institute of Manufacting Tech, said: "This goes back to 1999 when we decided to give our students a chance to become technopreneurs.

"So we set up the scheme with a business plan... [to] come up with an idea, and [commercialise] it. So really, to give them a hand, to give it a try."

Another environment-friendly solution - a mechanical system which circulates cool air in cars parked under the sun.

Safety is also an area of interest.

A Follow-Me-Not device will force you to put a brake on the accelerator, once it senses that you are tailgating.

It is one-up on a current Japanese innovation which only beeps but does not slow you down when you are too close to the car in front.

Students hope the Land Transport Authority can make the device a mandatory installation in every vehicle.

Among the winning designs in the category of Safety is the Rotational Window, which can clean outer window panes safely.

Assistive Technologies is seeing simple mechanical innovations meet design to improve the lives of the elderly and disabled.

One example is a wheelchair to make it easier for them to use the toilet.

Or a simple fixture to help elevate them to reach for things stored on higher shelves.

"Now it's in the eighth year and we've had 5,000 students on the scheme. This year the quality is quite good, I'm quite happy. Some amazing ideas such as the fish scaling device and the shuttlecock launcher," said Mr Butler.

There is no limit to innovation and creativity.

An automated shuttlecock launcher, which can adjust the launching angle of shuttlecocks, came in tops in terms of design.

Currently there are no mechanical shuttlecock launchers in the market.

But this launcher can not only be produced at a low cost, but also help beginners execute different strokes.

Another practical design is a retractable bamboo system that improves safety when drying laundry. It also comes with a plastic cover to keep out the rain.

The above are just a few examples of the 52 innovations that may just find their way into our homes and lives, once these young technopreneurs find the right investors. - CNA/yy

Over 70% of shoppers support Bring Your Own Bag Day

By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
06 June 2007

SINGAPORE: Over 70 percent of shoppers have supported the Bring Your Own Bag Day exercises so far.

Two of such exercises were held over the last two months and a total of 215 retail outlets are participating in the campaign.

The campaign designates the first Wednesday of every month as Bring Your Own Bag Day.

On this day, shoppers are encouraged to bring their own bags for their purchases. Those who do not wish to do so can choose to make a 10 cents donation for each plastic bag they need.

Some 100,000 reusable bags, sponsored by Keppel Corporation, are distributed for free at all NTUC FairPrice supermarkets, making Keppel the first private organisation to support the Bring Your Own Bag Day campaign.

Over 100 Keppel volunteers, known as Green Ambassadors, are also stationed at selected NTUC outlets to help customers bag their groceries.

On the whole, more people are seen bringing their own reusable bags when they shop for groceries.

Seah Kian Peng, Managing Director, NTUC FairPrice, said: "Some stores are reporting that 20 percent of the customers are starting to bring their own bags and some stores are reporting figures as high as 80 percent. I think these are all very encouraging signs and we need to build on this because we want to make this a part of our lifestyle."

The long green mile

By Sheralyn Tay, TODAY
05 June 2007

SINGAPORE: It takes as little as turning off the lights and air-conditioner during lunch hour — but this tiny effort to go green seems monumental for most Singapore companies.

The first nation-wide initiative to get companies to practise energy-saving measures for one day only — it’s World Environment Day today — has received poor response.

Only 30 firms agreed to take part in the Eco Action programme, far short of the target of 100.

And the reasons given? Companies do not want to disrupt their workflow and fear a loss of productivity, noted the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), which is supporting the event.

The initial interest in the programme had been encouraging, said Ms Masayo Hada, assistant manager at Ricoh Asia Pacific’s Regional Environment Management Group. Almost 50 companies attended the briefing sessions on Eco Action, but this did not translate into action.

The sign-up rate appears to echo Singapore’s poor showing in a survey released last month by Grant Thornton International, which indicated that Singapore firms had little interest in managing their energy costs.

Just 25 per cent of Singaporean businesses, compared to a global average of 37 per cent, felt energy costs had a major impact on their cost pressures. And in terms of what companies have done to be more energy efficient, Singapore scored last in a list of 32 countries.

But Ms Hada put the cool response down to first-time jitters: “My feeling is that they are keen ... But maybe they are uncomfortable because they don’t know exactly what to do. Next year, we will inform them in advance and, hopefully, numbers will be better.” Nevertheless, she noted, this year’s range of participants is encouraging. They include the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, the Infocomm Development Authority, Alexandra Hospital, seven multinationals and four small and medium-sized enterprises.

Also, Eco Action’s low take-up rate among companies, said SEC executive director Howard Shaw, does not mean there are no “internal initiatives” being taken.

Around the world today, rallies, seminars, exhibitions, tree planting and citywide clean-ups are being held to mark World Environment Day.

In Singapore, Eco Action — registered as an official event with the United Nations Environmental Programme — asks companies to pledge to reduce energy consumption by describing ways to tackle carbon emissions, and acting on them for just one day.

Each company is required to submit a post-activity report. For photocopier vendor Ricoh Asia Pacific, a co-organiser of the programme, all 60 or so staffmembers will leave work three hours earlier today, when all office lights and electrical appliances will be turned off. This will save about 100 kilowatt-hours, the average amount of energy in a month consumed by a one-room HDB flat.

According to Ms Hada, each Ricoh office worldwide practises an energy-saving programme once a month. Initiatives such as turningoff the lights daily at lunchtime and using both sides of the paper have achieved huge savings — with energy consumption falling by 20 per cent and paper consumption by 39 per cent since 2003. - TODAY/fa

New Packaging Agreement aims to reduce waste

By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia
05 June 2007

SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) feels it is time to take a harder look at reducing waste.

So it has teamed up with over 500 industry partners (companies from five industries) to cut down on the amount of packaging waste produced.

Singaporeans dispose of nearly 7,000 tonnes of solid waste everyday, according to 2006 figures.

Most of it comes from packaging.

According to the NEA, the volume of solid waste has increased by nearly six times in the last 30 years.

The NEA believes building more landfill sites and incinerator plants is not a long-term solution.

One way forward is to reduce the amount of packaging produced.

And the Packaging Agreement, which takes effect in July, is a positive step towards this.

It is based on the idea that those who make, sell or use products should be responsible for their environmental impact.

This is called product stewardship.

And industry players say they support the move which they feel comes at the right time.

"I think industry is ready, because a lot of us are exporting, and some of them are also facing problems with regulations on packaging in some other parts of the world," says Albert Lim, Chairman of the Packaging Council of Singapore.

So the information-sharing processes provided for in the agreement will allow them to better understand and comply with these regulations.

"Right now, with the cost of packaging going up so high, the freight costs going up so high, the logistics costs going up so high, they may want to cut back. But can the consumer accept? That is one big question mark," says Sunny Koh, Chairman, Food & Beverage Industry Group, Singapore Manufacturers' Federation.

"Now the only fear ... is whether the consumer can accept, or whether they will be seen as cutting corners."

But others believe Singaporeans will come round to the idea.

"The agreement also tries to drive more eco-friendly types of packaging, packaging that can be more easily recycled for example, or packaging that is derived from material that is sustainable in nature.

"So in a way you can have your elaborate packaging, you have to be a bit more innovative about how that packaging is designed and what it's made from," says Howard Shaw, Executive Director, Singapore Environment Council.

The Packaging Agreement lasts for five years, and will first target the Food and Beverage industry.

The NEA says this is because the level of recycling of F&B packaging waste is the lowest compared to say, the construction industry.

This is partly due to stricter regulations on food-safe packaging that limit recycling.

F&B packaging waste also tends to be contaminated by other waste, making it costly and difficult to recycle.

It is also voluntary.

"Voluntary agreements allow some scope to be flexible, because once you insist on legislation then what will happen is that it will become hard and fast, and costs will go up.

"What we want to do is for people to learn as we go along, what is the best way to adopt environmentally-friendly packaging design," says Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister, Environment and Water Resources.

Fast food chain KFC has done away with paper mats on its trays, an example cited by Dr Yaacob on how companies are cutting down on waste. - CNA/yy

Survey shows that paperless society still has a long way to go

By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia
06 June 2007

SINGAPORE : Despite widespread computerisation and growing environmental consciousness, the use of paper remains consistently high, according to a recent survey.

A check of 100 Singapore companies showed that far more companies are increasing their use of paper compared to those reducing usage - 43 percent against just 18 percent.

Although these are improved numbers from the last survey done in 2005, it looks like paper is still the way most people process information.

More than half of the companies surveyed also had no guidelines on the use of paper - employees could use as much as they wanted.

And when there are guidelines, it is usually motivated by ISO standards or multinational corporations implementing directions from their head offices.

However, the good news is that 75 percent of the companies now send paper for recycling, up from less than 20 percent in 2005.

The Asian paper market is estimated to account for approximately 32 percent of total global consumption. - CNA/ch

Raw material costs, not GST hike, behind higher prices of groceries

By Derrick A Paulo, TODAY
18 May 2007 1051 hrs

SINGAPORE: If you feel like you have been paying more for groceries in recent weeks, you are spot on — though perhaps not for the reason you might think.

From milk to Milo, cooking oil to coffee, canned foods, processed foods, wheat products and more, prices have been rising recently at supermarkets and hypermarts here.

Retail operators told TODAY that, since late last month, more food items have been affected. And it has set some shoppers wondering if profiteering is happening even before the Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike, from 5 to 7 per cent, kicks in in July.

Irked reader Joyce Ong told TODAY: “The GST hike has not yet been implemented, but the price of Nestle Carnation evaporated milk and Milkmaid condensed milk has already been increased from $1.10 to $1.60 ... Besides starting too early, isn’t the increase too drastic?”

Online, price increases are being compared on Internet chat forums, with many netizens attributing the inflation to the impending GST hike.

But various food suppliers told TODAY the higher tax has nothing to do with it. They blame the “tremendous cost increases” in raw materials for their moves to increase prices.

Cost pressures for dairy products, especially milk, are increasing worldwide, and especially in Asia and Africa as the supplies come from elsewhere. Demand in Asia is also rapidly increasing.

Bloomberg reported this week that China would increase demand by as much as 15 per cent annually for the next three years. This has “aggravated the situation”, Nestle Singapore communications and corporate affairs manager James Wong told TODAY.

Various factors have come together to create, virtually, a perfect storm, said analysts.

Australia has reduced milk exports because of its worst drought in a century. Reduced subsidies, meanwhile, have eliminated milk surpluses in Europe and slowed growth in its production in the United States.

Fuel and feed costs are affecting farmers, who may choose not to expand their herds.

All the food suppliers TODAY spoke to stressed that they are not passing on the full increase to consumers in Singapore. Mr Kenneth Low, assistant general supplies Magnolia products, said the recommended retail price of its fresh and pasteurised milk products were adjusted from May 4.

“F&N has absorbed a significant portion of the increased cost (of milk),” he said.

The prices of key ingredients in Milo have all increased, said Nestle’s Mr Wong. The price of skimmed milk powder went up 112 per cent year-on-year last month, cocoa prices rose 12 per cent “due to world supply”, and palm oil shortages jacked up prices by almost 40 per cent.

“We have increased our coffee prices by an average of 6 to 9 per cent, and Milo products by an average of 5.2 per cent,” he said. “Increasing world demand has pushed up Nescafe prices by almost 17 per cent. In fact, through increased efficiency in production, we have managed to lessen the burden of price increases as well as delay the price increase to consumers.”

Currency changes have also caused food prices here to go up. Del Monte Asia, which supplies processed foods here, buys and sells its products in US dollars. But the latter has depreciated and production costs are still in local currencies, said Del Monte Asia marketing director Catherine Chang.

“Our peaches, for example, come from South Africa where the rand has appreciated. So, prices have increased 6 to 8 per cent,” she said.

Supermarkets like Sheng Siong say they are doing their part to help consumers. Purchaser Alan Chan said the retailer is holding out against pressure from suppliers to increase the price of instant noodles.

NTUC FairPrice, which has promised to absorb the GST hike for a range of essential items, is mindful of its social role in the current scenario, said its director of integrated purchasing, Mrs Teo Poh Yim.

“When suppliers come to us with recommendations to raise prices, we always seek justification from them. We ourselves have to be convinced,” she said.

“Where possible, we want to be the last to adjust prices. For example, the cost price and recommended retail price for a particular brand of kaya increased, but we decided to sell it 10 cents below this price.

“Another supplier had increased the price for a brand of canned mushrooms in mid-March, from $1.20 to $1.30. We continued to sell it at $1.20 until April 27.” - TODAY/fa

NEA launches campaign to encourage shoppers to use reusable bags

By Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia
11 April 2007 2242 hrs

SINGAPORE : You can do your bit to help cut down global warming - all you have to do is buy a reusable shopping bag, and use it in place of plastic bags which are harmful to the environment.

This is part of a new campaign by Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) which starts next week.

It is aimed at reducing the amount of waste created.

This latest campaign by the NEA is about changing mindsets of shoppers.

That is why it's working with seven food retailers to sell reusable bags.

From next week, shoppers who still want a plastic bag will be asked to make a 10 cent donation.

And starting in May, the first Wednesday of each month will be dedicated for shoppers to bring their own bag.

The NEA hopes to increase the low 2% of shoppers using reusable bags.

But bringing your own bag clearly needs some getting used to.

"Well I guess you would have to remember to bring it all the time. That's one. And I wonder how big it is as it may be a bit inconvenient if you bring it along with you all the time, especially if you're on a bus or on a MRT," says one member of the public.

"It is good but habits are hard to change. Moreover, they are still giving us free plastic bags," says another.

Singapore consumes 2.5 billion plastic bags each year.

"We noticed that over the years, more and more plastic bags are being used. So we felt it is important that we start educating our people on how they should use the plastic bags," says Lee Yuen Hee, CEO of NEA.

Singapore incinerates its waste plastic bags and burning a tonne of them produces almost 2,900 kilograms of carbon dioxide - the gas that causes global warming.

Global warming is the reason why glaciers melt, causing sea levels to rise. And that is a serious issue for islands like Singapore.

And some plastic bags end up as rubbish, polluting beaches and clogging up waterways & drains.

"Each year, we do waste studies in incineration plants, and found a large amount of plastic bags unused and thrown away by people as trash items. This indicates that there is huge room for us to cut down the wastage," says Yang Hong, Senior Environment Health Executive, Resource Conservation Department, NEA.

And that's why, instead of promoting retailers to switch to biodegradable bags, NEA's strategy is to focus on public education, as everyone has a part to play. - CNA /ls