Sustainability Report FY11 - National Environment … Sustainability Report Card Inside NEA 02 Foreword by CEO 04 Preface 06 Our Mandate 08 Our Governance Structure 12 Sustainability

Sustainability Report FY11

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CONTENTS

Monitoring Progress 22 Materiality Matrix

26 Reporting Boundary

28 Awards & Benchmarks

30 Sustainability Report Card

Inside NEA02 Foreword by CEO

04 Preface

06 Our Mandate

08 Our Governance Structure

12 Sustainability in Our Policies & Public Initiatives

16 Our Sustainability Framework

18 Risk Management

Nurturing50 An Eco-Friendly Culture

55 Our People

59 Operational Excellence

Cherishing66 Today for a Better Tomorrow

Safeguarding 34 Our Environment

40 Our Finances

44 Our Workplace

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INSIdE NEANEA is both a regulator and champion for the environment

and seeks to ensure clean air, clean land, clean water and

a high standard of public health for our nation.

This begins inside NEA as we walk the talk and innovate

for sustainability, share with the community, and embed

sustainability in our day-to-day work.

FOREWORd BY CEO

In 2009, the Government launched the Sustainable

Development Blueprint with the intention of developing

Singapore into a more liveable and sustainable city. The report

highlighted how sustainable development for Singapore

should be about achieving economic growth without

compromising on the quality of our living environment.

An integral part of this Blueprint is the role of organisations,

businesses, and industry in adopting and promoting

environmental sustainability. Looking beyond corporate

social responsibility, adopting sustainability is a means to

manage risks and strengthen one’s competitiveness. With

global resources verging towards scarcity and rising public

expectations, there is a pressing need for businesses to

rethink and restructure their current operations to factor in

these risks.

Organisations which balance economic and environmental

sustainability will be better positioned in an increasingly

resource-constrained world. I believe that embracing

sustainability presents opportunities for organisations and

businesses to collaborate for growth as well as to tackle

the challenges of climate change and other environmental

problems effectively.

Public sector agencies such as the National Environment

Agency (NEA) have an important role to play in contributing

(PSTLES) initiative. These initiatives are testament to our

past and continued efforts to ensure that our internal

principles on sustainability − W.I.S.E. (Walk the Talk, Innovate

for Sustainability, Share with the Community and Embed

Sustainability) are integrated in our work.

This is NEA’s first Sustainability Report and the first by a

Singapore public agency drafted in line with Global Reporting

Initiative (GRI) guidelines. We have also set ourselves a high

target, that is, to publish a B-GRI checked sustainability

report. I am pleased that we have managed to do so and this

would not have been possible without the efforts by our staff

to walk the talk and innovate for sustainability.

In driving environmental sustainability for Singapore,

NEA will continue its strategic push to promote higher

environmental standards, achieve greater resource

efficiency, develop the country’s clean environment industry,

and encourage greater community ownership of the

environment. These are in line with the overall goals of the

Singapore Sustainable Development Blueprint.

At the same time, NEA will continue with its transformation

efforts to be relevant and future-ready and promote sustainable

practices working in collaboration with its partners.

to Singapore’s plans for sustainable development. With a

better informed electorate, the public now expects higher

standards of transparency and accountability from the

Government and public agencies.

As the leading environmental agency in Singapore, NEA

should lead the way in sustainability in our day-to-day

work. We have taken the first step forward in FY11 by

putting in place a framework and governance structure

for sustainability, building on our existing programmes on

sustainability and initiating new internal programmes, with

plans to further drive hardware and “heartware” changes for

sustainability within NEA in the medium-term. I believe it is

timely for NEA to now take another step forward and share

with the community our internal efforts on sustainability

through this first sustainability report.

This move towards sustainability reporting shows NEA’s

commitment to transparency and accountability in our work

and belief in the environmental causes we are driving to

achieve a cleaner and greener Singapore. Some of the steps

we have taken on our journey of sustainability include the

replanting of mangroves totalling 136,000 square metres —

following the construction of the offshore Semakau Landfill,

integrating green design in our newest meteorological service

facility along Kim Chuan Road, as well as championing the

Public Sector Taking the Lead on Environmental Sustainability

I hope that our move towards sustainability reporting would

motivate other public agencies and businesses to embark on

their own journey of sustainability and unlock the true value

of their organisations.

The environment is everyone’s responsibility. Let us work

together to safeguard, nurture, and cherish our environment.

Mr Andrew Tan

Chief Executive Officer

National Environment Agency

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NEA SuSTAINABILITY REPORT FY11

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PREFACEThe National Environment Agency (NEA) was formed on

1 July 2002 as the leading public organisation in Singapore

responsible for improving and sustaining a clean and green

environment in Singapore. Its core mandate has been to

develop as well as spearhead environmental initiatives and

programmes through its partnership with the People, Public,

and Private sectors.

NEA is a statutory board under the Ministry of the

Environment and Water Resources in Singapore. NEA is both

a regulator and champion for the Environment. By protecting

Singapore’s environment from pollution, maintaining a high

level of public health, encouraging resource conservation

and providing timely meteorological information, NEA

endeavors to ensure clean air, clean land, clean water, and a

high standard of public health.

NEA has a broad work scope under its purview and has been

in a constant push to strategise and implement sustainable

policies for the greater good of Singapore’s natural and

urban environment under the following key programmes:

• PollutionControl

• SolidWasteManagement

• EnergyEfficiency

• RadiationProtectionandNuclearSafety

• PreventionandControlofVector-BorneDiseases

• PublicHygieneandCleanliness

• ManagementofHawkerCentres

• MeteorologicalServices

• 3P(People,Public,andPrivate)Partnership

• EnvironmentalTraining

Within NEA, there are twelve different divisions/offices

governed by a 12-strong Board of Directors, with some

divisions focusing on singular while others, multiple

responsibilities (as listed above):

1. 3P Network Division

2. Corporate Services and Development Division

3. HumanResourceDivision

4. Policy and Planning Division

5. Environmental Protection Division

6. EnvironmentalPublicHealthDivision

7. Meteorological Service Singapore

8. Singapore Environmental Institute

9. Environment Technology Office

10. Strategic Development & Transformation Office

11. Industry Development & Promotion Office

12. Service Quality Division

As highlighted in NEA’s Annual Report 2010/11,

environmental ownership in the community is a critical

factor for achieving environmental sustainability, which

involves striking a balance between economic development

and growth alongside a clean and green environment to

live in. This concept for environmental ownership calls for

Singaporeans to take action along the three action themes

of “Safeguard, Nurture, and Cherish” as follows:

• Safeguard our clean and healthy environment

• Nurture an eco-friendly culture in every generation

• Cherish our beautiful, clean, and green environment for

present and future generations

Being part of this community calls for NEA to recognise the

importance of walking the talk in safeguarding Singapore’s

clean and healthy environment and nurturing an eco-

friendly culture within NEA. Thus, in April 2010, NEA set

up the Sustainability Office with a clear objective to drive

sustainability within NEA, emphasising on engaging our staff,

partners, and the community at large in our sustainability

drive. Some of the key initiatives to drive sustainability within

NEA include complying with requirements under the Public

Sector Taking the Lead in Environmental Sustainability

(PSTLES) initiative, the Eco-Office programme, 8 Effective

Habits 10% Challenge, corporate social responsibility and

work-life harmony.

This report aims to share with the community our efforts

within NEA in adopting sustainable practices for the benefit

of our environment, economy, and community both present

and future. We hope this would inspire the community and

responsible organisations to similarly embed sustainability in

their day-to-day operations and embark on their own journey

of sustainability.

INSIdE NEA


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4. Innovation − We constantly pursue new ideas and

creative solutions.

5. Professionalism − We take pride in what we do and

strive for excellence.

OUR MANdATE Integration of NEA’s core values in our drive

for sustainability within NEA

Sustainability is a core strategy for business

excellence in NEA. Through our internal drive for

sustainability, NEA also aims to further promote

our core values and integrates these values in our

sustainability framework, governance structure and

initiatives as follows:

• Caring and Innovation as fundamental values

in NEA’s Sustainability Framework

• To ensure Teamwork through emphasis on

engagement

• To uphold Integrity through good corporate

governance on sustainability

• To ensure Professionalism through efforts to

benchmark our work on sustainability

This report will explain how we envision our

undertakings in encouraging sustainability within NEA

as we safeguard, nurture, and cherish our environment.

CORE VALUESFundamental to NEA’s success in realising our mission and

vision are our five core values. These are the cornerstones

that will continue to govern the organisation’s best practices

as we fulfil our responsibilities and strive for greater

excellence in the short, medium, and long term.

1. Caring − We value each individual and strive to exceed

our customers’ expectations.

2. Integrity − We uphold the trust and confidence of others

in us.

3. Teamwork − We work as a team and with our partners

to achieve common goals.

VISIONaN Enterprising Agency, Embracing All in Caring for our

CleanandHealthyEnvironment−Today,forTomorrow

MISSION To achieve a liveable and sustainable Singapore, we:

• Safeguardandpromotetheenvironment

• Strengthencommunityownership

• Buildstrongcapabilitieswithourpartners

• Servewithpassionandexcellence

NEA takes a long-term view to drive environmental sustainability in Singapore. This is clearly reflected in our Vision, Mission and Core Values.

INSIdE NEA


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Prof Kandiah Satkunanantham

Director of Medical Services

Ministry of Health

Mr David Wong Cheong Fook

Chairman

Ascendas Funds

Management (S) Ltd

Within the Board, there have been three committees established to assist in the execution of its responsibilities: Audit

Committee, Human Resource Committee and Board Strategy Committee.

The Audit Committee is tasked to assist the Board in maintaining a high standard of corporate governance, particularly in the areas of financial accounting and reporting, and internal control systems. It assesses external auditors based on factors such as the quality of their audit and the independence of the auditors before recommending them to the Board.

The Human Resource Committee ensures an objective and fair management process in churning direct reports to the Chief Executive Officer and equivalent Director-General/Director-level positions in NEA. Besides this, it endorses changes in salary schemes, the terms and conditions of service for NEA staff, and ensures that appropriate action is taken with regard to disciplinary matters.

The Board Strategy Committee provides strategic guidance to NEA’s management.

Audit Committee HumAn ResouRCe Committee BoARd stRAtegy Committee

Chair People: Ms Chew Gek Khim, Mr Andrew Tan, Mr Ang Hin Kee, Prof Lily Kong, Dr Phillip Choi, Mr Chia Mia Chiang and Ms Teoh Zsin Woon.Gender Allocation: 57% Male, 43% Female

Chair People: Ms Chew Gek Khim (Chairman), Mr Andrew Tan and Prof Kandiah SatkunananthamGender Allocation: 66% Male, 33% Female

Chair People: Mr David Wong (Chairman), Mr Daniel Ee and Ms Saw Phaik HwaGender Allocation: 66% Male, 33% Female

Our GOvernance Structure

¹ The board (as listed above) has served for a 2-year period from 1 Apr 2010

to 31 Mar 2012.

The Leadership

neA BoARd of diReCtoRsPlaying an advisory role to NEA’s corporate governance

is its 12-member Board of Directors which provides

strategic direction and oversight of NEA’s functions and

goals, steering the organisation towards achieving its vision

and mission. In addition, the Board is responsible for the

appointment of external auditors, critical to NEA’s overall

governance framework.

Mr Ang Hin Kee


Employment and Employability

Institute (e2i)

Ms Teoh Zsin Woon

Director

Strategic Planning

Ministry of National Development

Ms Saw Phaik Hwa

Former President and Chief

Executive Officer of SMRT

Corporation Ltd

Dr Philip Choi

Chairman

Shell International Eastern

Trading Company

Mr Chia Mia Chiang

Principal

Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Ms Yew Lun Tian

Correspondent

Lianhe Zaobao

Singapore Press Holdings

Mr Andrew Tan



Mr Daniel Ee Hock Huat

Chairman

CitySpring Infrastructure

Management Pte Ltd

Ms Chew Gek Khim

Chairman


Executive Chairman

Tecity Group

Prof Lily Kong Lee Lee

Vice-President

University & Global Relations

National University of Singapore

All in all, the Board1 comprises individuals with diverse and

extensive experience in both private and public sectors,

commissioned by the Minister of the Environment and

Water Resources.

Internal AuditUnit

HeadMarcus Quek


Andrew Tan

Deputy CEO

(Policy & Planning)

Khoo Seow Poh

Deputy CEO

(Technology & Corp Devt)

Joseph Hui

Audit Committee

neA oRgAnisAtion CHARt

Customer & Quality

Service Dept

Operational Excellence

Dept

Complaints Investigation

Unit

CIO Office

Finance Dept

Legal Dept

Project Facilitation

Office

Corporate Excellence

Dept

Projects/Corporate Excellence

Dept

Procurement, Administration

& Projects Dept

Business Partners

HR Strategy & Policy Dept

Strategic Workforce Planning & Employee

Engagement

Business Administration

Environmental Learning Centre

Knowledge & Resource

Centre

Programme Development

Industry Development

Industry Promotion

Technology Research &

Development

Research Management

DirectorToh Wee Khiang

EnvironmentTechnology

Office

ServiceQuality Division

DirectorLee Kheng Seng

DirectorDalson Chung

Industry Devt & Promotion

Office /Sustainability

Office

DirectorOng Eng Kian

SingaporeEnvironment

Institute

DirectorGloria Chin

HumanResourceDivision

DirectorFrancis

Tan Eng Kim

Corp Svcs &Devt Division

teCHnology & CoRp devt gRoup

Environmental Health Dept

Environmental Health Institute

Hawkers Dept (Policy & Admin)

Hawkers Dept (Planning &

Devt)

Hawkers Dept (Operations)

Department of Public

Cleanliness

Business & Corporate Affairs Unit

Climate Science Dept

Weather Services Dept

Central Building

Plan Dept

Centre for Radiation & Protection & Nuclear Science

Energy Efficiency &

Conservation Dept

Pollution Control Dept

Waste & Resource

Management Dept

Project ( New Incineration

Plant)

Director-GeneralDerek Ho

EnvironmentalPublic Health

Division

Director-GeneralWong Chin Ling

MeteorologicalService

Singapore

Director-GeneralKoh Kim Hock

EnvironmentalProtection

Division

opeRAtions gRoup

As depicted in the chart below, NEA is segmented into two

groups: Policy & Planning and Technology & Corporate

Development. Both are led by designated Deputy Chief

Executive Officers who report directly to NEA’s Chief

Executive Officer. On a separate note, the Audit Committee

oversees the Internal Audit Unit independently under the

Chief Executive Officer’s watch.

Climate Change Programme

Dept

International Relations Dept

Policy Dept 1

Policy Dept 2

International Law Unit

Research & Statistics Unit

Programmes

Programme Marketing

Partnerships

DirectorChua Yew Peng

Policy &PlanningDivision

DirectorTan Wee Hock

3PN Division

DirectorDulcie Chan

CorporateCommunications

Dept

Strategic Devt &

Transformation Office / Joint Operations &

Planning

Systems Integration

Transformation Initiatives

Emergency Preparedness

& Crisis Management

Projects, Emergency

Preparedness

DirectorS. Satish Appoo

poliCy & plAnning gRoup

inside neA

NEA SUSTAINABILITy REPORT Fy11

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NEA SUStAINABILIty COMMIttEETo discuss, share and align our sustainability efforts

Chair: Director (Sustainability Office)Committeemembers:AllHeadsofDepartments

Middle Management’s Support

Volunteers for ad hoc Projects

PEERStaff Involvement

ECO-OffICE COMMIttEE

Senior Management’s Support

NEA StEERINg COMMIttEE fOR SUStAINABILItyTo provide overall leadership & direction on sustainability efforts in NEA

Chair: CEOCommittee members: Senior Management

NWRO Communiqué Day is an engagement platform

organised for the benefit of NEA’s North West

Regional Office (NWRO) personnel to keep tabs on

new developments, initiatives, policy changes and

implementationsatHQ.

On 22 December 2011, NWRO held its first NWRO

Communiqué Day, during which Sustainability Office

shared with around 100 NWRO colleagues the

rationale behind NEA’s sustainability framework and

more information on NEA’s governance structure on

sustainability. Staff support and feedback were also

sought for some of the new initiatives on sustainability

e.g.the8EffectiveHabits10%Challenge.

In line with NEA’s drive for environmental sustainability,

the NWRO’s Eco-Office champion elaborated

on NWRO’s existing and upcoming Eco-Office

initiatives and implementations, highlighting areas that

NWRO had done well and areas that would require

improvement as suggested by the Eco-Office auditors.

“Sustainability should not stay as an initiative

driven by HQ. Each of our site offices would

need to customise, run and sustain our own

programme in line with the HQ Sustainability

framework. Only by taking ownership, can we be

a step closer to embedding sustainability in our

day-to-day work. together, we can make NEA a

better organisation and workplace that we are all

proud to work in.”

Silachart Lau

Head,NorthWestRegionalOffice

SUStAINABILIty OffICEIn FY10, the Sustainability Office was set up to oversee

and coordinate all efforts on sustainability within NEA.

A robust governance structure was put in place with the

support and commitment from senior management and

the Board. Its purpose was to provide a structural conduit

for systemic flow of information from ground staff to top

management and vice versa.

NEA StEERINg COMMIttEE fOR SUStAINABILIty & SUStAINABILIty COMMIttEE Driving leadership and direction at the top is the NEA

Steering Committee for Sustainability chaired by the

Chief Executive Officer, comprising senior management.

They met thrice in FY11 for the following purposes:

• Deliberate on NEA’s future direction on sustainability

• Endorse NEA’s initiatives on sustainability

• Advise on NEA’s report preparation process

As this journey of sustainability involves strong commitment

and buy-in at all levels of NEA’s management, NEA has

since April 2011 appointed all Heads of Departments as

Sustainability Champions. Their role is to help drive sustainable

changes within their respective departments and foster a

culture of continuous improvement within the organisation.

The Sustainability Champions meet regularly at

NEA Sustainability Committee meetings. Here, the

Sustainability Champions − led by the Director (Sustainability

Office) − discuss, share, and align sustainability efforts.

Although the set-up might seem like a conventional top-

down approach, the flow of information functions just about

in an opposite manner in many instances. The seeds of

change are often initiated from the staff level. Information

is then passed on to the NEA Sustainability Committee for

evaluation. Potential solutions on sustainability, requiring

senior management’s approval, are subsequently surfaced

to the Steering Committee for their deliberation. upon

approval, the Sustainability Office will coordinate and

implement these efforts.

StAff INVOLVEMENtTo encourage staff to take ownership and play a bigger

role in promoting sustainability, Sustainability Champions

nominate at least one staff in their department to join the

working committees for sustainability, namely the Eco-

Office committee which drives environmental sustainability

and the Panel for Employee Engagement & Recognition

(PEER) committee that promotes engagement and

social sustainability. In FY11, each of the committees is

represented by at least 40 staff from all the departments in

NEA. Mechanisms are also put in place to review and rotate

staff involvement in these committees on a regular basis to

encourage new ideas and enhance staff involvement.

NEA also seeks to encourage staff involvement and

feedback on our sustainability initiatives through various

engagement channels (e.g. CEO Townhall, Intranet, email

blasts, discussion forums, focus group discussions, contests,

etc.). The aim is to create a conducive environment for staff

to contribute and innovate, thereby enhancing NEA’s abilities

to operate in a more environmentally, socially, and financially

sustainable manner.

SpreadingSustainabilityMessagesfromHQto off-site premises — NWRO Communiqué Day

Advocates of Sustainability

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Improving Energy Efficiency as a

Key Strategy to Mitigate Climate

Change

• Promote energy efficiency across all sectors in Singapore through legislation (e.g. the upcoming

Energy Conservation Act), incentive schemes (e.g. Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance

Scheme), collaboration with partners ( e.g. the Energy Efficiency National Partnership programme)

and trainings to build capability

• Research and collaborate with partners to understand our vulnerabilities to climate change, identify and

assess adaptation measures required for climate change, and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions

Clean Air, Land & Water

Towards Zero Landfill

• Formulate environmental policy for clean air, land & water

• Control & monitor air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, toxic waste, hazardous substances

• Ensure safe use of ionising and non-ionising radiation

• Implement policies to ensure proper waste management

• Regulate refuse collection for the domestic & trade premises and the disposal facilities — issue

licences to waste collectors and disposal facilities, and enforce against illegal dumping

• Operate and maintain waste-to-energy incineration plants as well as Semakau Landfill and Tuas

Marine Transfer Station

• Formulate policies and implement programmes to promote waste minimisation and recycling

• Enhance cleaning standards and inculcate anti-littering behavior

Building Capability & Expertise • Support collaboration for innovation and the development and adaptation of green technology and products

• Provide training through our training and knowledge division — Singapore Environment Institute

• Develop the environmental industry & forge greater international partnerships

An Environmentally

Responsible Community

• Encourage 3P (People, Private and Public) sectors partnership

• Reach out and connect with everyone to promote a culture of reducing waste, using energy and

other resources efficiently, making greener consumer and commuting choices

• Organise community environmental activities (e.g. Clean & Green Singapore)

HighStandardofPublicHealth • Ensure high standard of public health and hygiene through comprehensive ground surveillance,

research, and appropriate preventive measures

• Promote socially responsible behaviours & community ownership

• Manage and regulate markets and hawker centres

• Keep vector-borne diseases (e.g. dengue) at bay through educational campaigns, community

engagement, research and routine inspection

Efficient Service Provider • Provide timely & reliable weather information

• Provide care for the dead services

• Continue to pursue corporate & organisational excellence

SUSTAINABILITY IN OUR POLICIES & PUBLIC INITIATIvESSustainable development has always been a top priority for Singapore. As a small country with few natural resources, Singapore has to constantly keep the balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Sustainable Development BlueprintNEA pursues pragmatic environmental solutions to ensure that Singapore continues

to keep its high economic growth rates without sacrificing the quality of our living

environment. The policies we introduce are kept in line with the expectations in the

Sustainable Development Blueprint, which was launched by the Inter-Ministerial

Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) as a national strategy for Singapore’s

sustainable development in the context of emerging domestic and global challenges.

Figure 1 shows the national goals that NEA is working towards as stated in the Sustainable

Development Blueprint.

AREAS OF WORK

Energy — Greater Efficiency

and Diversification

Reduceourenergyintensity(perdollarGDP)by20%from2005levelsby2020,andby

35%from2005levelsby2030

Waste — Towards Zero Landfill Improveourrecyclingratefrom56%in2008to65%in2020and70%in2030

Air Quality — Cleaner Air Reduce the annual mean for ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from 16μg/m3 in

2008 to 12μg/m3 by 2020 and maintain it at this level till 2030

Cap ambient sulphur dioxide (SO2) levels at 15μg/m3 by 2020 and maintain it at this level

till 2030

Capability and Expertise Build Singapore into an outstanding knowledge hub in the latest technology and services

that will help cities grow in a more environmentally friendly way

Environmentally Responsible

Community

Build a community in Singapore where everyone adopts a more environmentally responsible

lifestyle. Environmental responsibility will be part of our people and business culture

Figure 1: Goals by 2030 as stated in Sustainable Development Blueprint

GOALS STATED IN SUSTAINABLE DEvELOPMENT BLUEPRINT

NEA seeks to formulate clear policies and public initiatives

for the long term interest of our environment, society, and

economy. As NEA’s work deals with almost every aspect of

the public’s daily life, we work closely with the community

to jointly realise the sustainable development vision for

Singapore. Figure 2 below highlights some of NEA’s key

efforts to achieve the goals stated in the Sustainable


Sustainability in Our Operations

OUR POLICY DIRECTIONS (in line with the goals stated in the Sustainable Development Blueprint)

Figure 2: NEA’s key work

OUR WORK


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INSIdE NEA

Preparing for the future NEA is working to position ourselves to be more relevant,

responsive and resourceful. This is to ensure that NEA can

continue to operate effectively and efficiently and perform

our role to safeguard the environment and nurture an eco-

friendly culture in every generation, such that our present

and future generations will take ownership and cherish our

beautiful, clean, and green environment.

To remain relevant, NEA seeks to keep ourselves well-

informed and prepared for the future by adopting innovative

ways to drive environmental sustainability. This includes

efforts to keep in touch with the ground in our outreach

programmes, to develop a networked approach for faster,

better response and to leverage on technology.

REACHINg OUt tO tHE PUBLICNEA is keenly aware of the need for community support and

we advocate ground-up initiatives in order to encourage the

public to safeguard, nurture, and cherish our environment. We

seek to reach out to as many people as possible, and to put out

a message that is relevant and compelling to a wider audience.

NEA is already leveraging on

technology and new media to

engage the public so that we

can jointly co-create solutions

for environmental issues that

the community needs. Take

for example, NEA uses Twitter

account and myENV app to

push out timely information

such as weather forecasts

and information on dengue

clusters. This empowers the

public to take action to protect

themselves and manage their

dailyactivities.ThemyENVappalsoenablesthepublictotake

and send photos of environmental lapses from their mobile

phones to NEA for follow-up. This complements enforcement

efforts on the ground and leverages crowd-sourcing to help

NEA gather public feedback to safeguard the environment.

Going forward, we will continue to focus on developing

innovative environmental solutions for our outreach

programmes. For instance, to reach out to the public on

dengue prevention, NEA worked with Smart Communities

Beyond that, NEA has also begun to build up capacities to

prepare itself for any potential future threats in different

fields along the likes of nuclear science and climate science.

SUPPORtINg COLLABORAtION, INNOVAtION & tECHNOLOgy fOR tHE fUtURENEA recognises that customising technological solutions

for operations takes time and patience, which is why NEA

has invested in discovering environmental technology, and

funding relevant research and development projects.

NEA embarks on regular envisioning exercises, through

which NEA projects our future challenges, defines the

competencies required and picks out new promising

technological solutions, analysing them for their applicability

to Singapore’s use before launching any further research.

Our partnerships with other research and educational

institutes play a vital role in this process of finding solutions.

For instance, in 2011, two landmark Memorandums of

understanding were signed between NEA and institutes of

higher learning on research and development projects on

environmental areas such as climate modelling, air quality

studies, and adaptation to climate change.

NEA pushes for long-term technological development

with various schemes, including grants. One example

is the Environmental Technology Research Programme

launched in 2009, where S$15 million has been set aside to

support research and development projects relevant to the

environment. Projects covering better waste management

methods to more cost-effective methods of pollution control

have been undertaken so far.

These efforts not only provide solutions to NEA for future

obstacles; they may also lead to new advancements which

may be sought after by other parts of the world.

Controls and checks are put in place to ensure that

sustainable development considerations are made and

included in our business planning cycle. Some of these

controls and checks are as highlighted below:

1. Close monitoring of feedback from the public and their

participation in our activities and events

2. Periodic surveys with our key stakeholders

• 3PPartnershipIndexSurveythroughwhichNEAcan

better understand the level of public awareness and

stakeholder participation, thereby helping us adjust

our programmes and policies accordingly

• thesmokingbanextensionpublicconsultatione-poll

on REACH through which 8,000 members of the

public participated and shared their views

3. Engagement with concerned stakeholders before NEA

puts into place any new policies

• engaging public for feedback on our plans for the

new hawker centres

• consulting industries to seek feedback on the

upcoming Energy Conservation Act

4. Strategic cross-divisional committees

5. Enterprise Risk Management Committee (ERMC)

chaired by CEO. More information on NEA’s risk

management structure and systems can be found in the

Risk Management section on page18

6. Board Strategy Committee to provide oversight and review

of NEA’s strategic directions

7. Routine reporting to Ministry, Chairman, and key officers

besides NEA Management

Pte Ltd on www.x-Dengue.com where people can subscribe

to text message alerts on new areas of dengue transmission.

Besides this, other initiatives in the works include the

development of an app with local start-up Buuuk that would

allow the public to report cleaning lapses to the newly formed

Department of Public Cleanliness.

fOR A fAStER, BEttER RESPONSE tO SAfEgUARd OUR ENVIRONMENtAs environmental issues and crisis increasingly occur on a

larger-scale, emergency preparedness and response have

become critical elements in long-term planning.

NEA has embarked on exploring new advances on technology

to equip itself with better situational awareness and response

capabilities. This effort goes hand in hand with a review of

NEA’s organisational structure, concept of operations, and

operational and service excellence. In the pipeline, systems

are currently being developed and integrated to improve the

management of environmental incidents, crises, resources,

and day-to-day operations.

In one key system being developed, the Integrated

Environment System (IES), environmental sensors in

Singapore will be linked to an integrated system, offering

NEA a complete picture of the environment on the ground

at all times. The IES will form the backbone of our Integrated

Operation Command System and the NEA Operations

Centre, where the response to any environmental incident

or crisis can be more effectively coordinated — from ground

operations to decision-making across the different regional

offices and departments in NEA, and even across different

agencies. With more data consolidated on a common

platform, better analysis and predictive modelling could be

carried out to facilitate pre-emptive measures, as well as

swift and effective responses.


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INSIdE NEA

OUR SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORk

Our desired outcomes under each of the key work

areas in our framework are:

Environmental Sustainability Pillar

• Toachievearesource-efficientoffice

• To achieve a clean and eco-friendly working

environment

Financial Sustainability Pillar

• Toensureresponsibleprocurement, investments

and operations

Social Sustainability Pillar

• Tohavegoodworkplacehealthandsafety

• Tohaveanexpertandprofessionalworkforce

• Toachievestrongcorporatesocialresponsibility

Engagement

• Toachieveahighlevelofpublictrust

• ForallstafftobeNEAambassadors

Sustainability Framework

NEA strives to be the leading agency in sustainability practices for the benefit of our environment, economy, and community — today,

for tomorrow.

ENgAgEMENt

fINANCIAL ENVIRONMENtAL SOCIAL

“Having a sustainability framework provides a unified ideology behind our efforts in driving sustainability within our agency,” says Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive Officer, NEA

NEA strives to be the leading agency in sustainable practices

for the benefit of our environment, economy and community

— today, for tomorrow.

As shown in the diagram below, the basis of NEA’s

sustainability framework is classified under four guiding

principles:

• W — Walk the Talk

• I — Innovate for Sustainability

• S — Share with the Community

• E — Embed Sustainability

W.I.S.E. provides the foundational discipline to support the

organisation’s key work pillars — Environmental Sustainability,

Financial Sustainability and Social Sustainability — under

which NEA prioritises its work on sustainability and

implements new initiatives.

Similar to NEA’s public outreach programme — where NEA

emphasises on stakeholders’ engagement — NEA values and

recognises the importance of engaging its staff, suppliers,

working partners, and the community at large in our internal

sustainability programme.

Achieving sustainability within organisations

is no longer a mere peripheral goal. It is

inextricably linked with major decision

making practices that determine long term

productivity, efficient use of resources

and the well-being of employees. Director

(Sustainability Office), Mr Dalson Chung, explains the importance

of having a Sustainability Office to drive systemic changes in this

growing foray within the organisation.

Director (Sustainability Office), would you like to share

some key challenges the Sustainability Office has faced

and the solutions implemented to drive sustainability

within NEA?

NEA is a large organisation with more than 3,000 staff located

at 14 offices in Singapore. Reaching out to all staff and getting

buy-in from them on the new concept of sustainability is indeed

a challenge. This would necessitate a change of mindset of

performing our work.

To reach out to our staff, Sustainability Office adopts short,

succinct and universal messaging. Take for example, we use

an acronym, W.I.S.E., for our guiding principles on sustainability:

W.I.S.E. refers to Walking the talk, Innovate for sustainability,

Share with the community and Embed sustainability. Its purpose

is to make it easier for staff to remember so as to help them

embrace sustainability in all areas of their work.

How do you perceive the role of staff engagement in

achieving NEA’s sustainability targets?

Staff engagement is the most important step in driving

sustainability within NEA. The success of having a sustainability

culture will need both top-down drive and bottom-up support

and commitment. Many staff engagement channels were set up

in FY11 to allow staff to offer feedback on NEA’s sustainability

efforts. Engagement channels include a discussion forum and

voting booth on NEA’s Intranet, CEO Townhall, together with the

Eco-Office Champions and Sustainability Champions network.

Initiatives like the 8 Effective Habits 10% Challenge for

staff also help to reinforce our environmental sustainability

messaging and provide opportunity for staff participation. It is

heartening to see staff taking ownership and volunteering to

drive sustainability initiatives which they believe in.

Any plans to take these even further?

In FY11, NEA started small by taking a deeper look at our day-

to-day work to try to inculcate good environment-friendly habits

among staff, reduce wastage, and use resources efficiently.

In the next few years, NEA would work towards incorporating

more aspects of sustainability in the formulation of strategies,

policies and decision-making processes. We also look to expand

our engagement plans to include other stakeholders like the

community and our suppliers.

What is your vision?

I believe sustainability is slowly taking a deeper root within

NEA. My wish is for NEA to be a leading agency that adopts

sustainable practices for the benefit of our environment,

economy, and community. I’m sure you’ve already heard this but

just to reiterate, it’s all about sustaining today's environment, for

tomorrow generation.

Do you have any tips to share with other organisations that

are interested to embark on their journey of sustainability?

Sustainability is a journey. It is an ongoing, iterative and reflective

long term process involving continual inquiry and commitment

to continuous improvement. I believe that senior management’s

support and commitment, staff buy-in and involvement as well

as a clear and comprehensive sustainability framework are the

three critical success factors for one’s journey of sustainability.

Take NEA for example, our governing structure for sustainability

had helped drive changes and translate our plans into actions.

Without a formal structure, senior management’s commitment

and various engagement channels, I believe it would take us

twice the time to achieve where we are now.

In fact, I believe that most organisations are already

unconsciously practising sustainability in one way or another.

So, the next natural step forward is to systematically consolidate

one’s existing efforts in an easy to understand sustainability

framework which enables one to easily identify gaps, optimise

the use of existing resources in implementing new initiatives for

sustainability and monitor progress. This is what NEA has done

and will be doing, and I hope that by sharing our experience

through this sustainability report, more organisations can come

onboard this journey of sustainability.

TheLeader’sPointofView:TacklingSustainabilityIssuesHead-on

(Walk the Talk, Innovate for Sustainability, Share with the Community, Embed Sustainability in NEA)

NEA’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES — W.I.S.E.

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INSIdE NEA

The ERM Committee (ERMC) reviews risk management

policies, procedures, assessments, and treatment plans, and

provides overall leadership and guidance. The ERMC is chaired

by the Chief Executive Officer (NEA). Its members include

senior management (known as Risk Owners), Head (Legal),

department representatives (known as Department Risk

Champions),andHead(InternalAudit)whoactsasanobserver

to the meeting and provides inputs on audit issues related to

risk management when necessary.

High-leveloversightofERMActivitiesisprovidedbytheBoardof

Directors, to whom the ERMC reports through the Board Audit

Committee. Fraud, misconduct, and key operational risks are

some examples of the Board’s area of expertise.

Identifying, assessing, and monitoring key strategic risks and

treatment plans would fall under the responsibility of Risk Owners.

Process owners are the ones that provide risk content (causes,

consequences, controls) and are also involved in implementing

and keeping watch on the effectiveness of risk treatment plans.

Each department has a Risk Champion acting as a risk

representative who administers risk policies and procedures

at the departmental level along with documenting risks and

related control plans in their own department’s risk register.

Risk registers are regularly updated and subsequently collated

from all departments for the purpose of mapping strategic and

key operational risks into a risk map. The risk map provides the

ERMC with a quick overview of the top priority risks that NEA

faces, allowing the ERMC to observe the full effectiveness of

control plans in managing risks.

More risks have been encroaching on NEA’s watch in recent

years.Higherpublicexpectations,higherstandards,moreeffective

operations, citizen-centric policies, mounting environmental

challenges, new work areas, and technology changes are just

some of the key challenges NEA faces on a day-to-day basis in an

increasingly complex and dynamic environment.

These risks not only directly impact and influence NEA’s public

policies and programmes, but also on how NEA as an organisation

prepares itself to be sustainable and future-ready.

Proper risk management enables NEA to identify and address

possible risks up front and helps reduce the impact of the risk in

the event it materialises. In view of the diversity of work handled

by NEA, it is important that NEA approaches risk management in

a holistic and effective manner. Otherwise, the combined impacts

of risks could derail the pursuit of our strategic objectives and

damage our reputation.

NEA recognises the importance of a structured and integrated

framework for oversight of key enterprise risks as part of

good corporate governance and strategic planning. We have

therefore embarked on the Enterprise Risk Management

(ERM) journey—since December 2006, bringing KPMG on

board as our consultant for the project.

PURPOSE Of IMPLEMENtINg ERM

The purpose of implementing ERM is to enable NEA to identify,

assess, prioritise, and treat its key strategic risks on an on-going

basis. It also aims to enhance:

• Risk Awareness — by providing an integrated view of

the combined impact of different risks in the organisation,

thereby breaking down silo thinking in managing risks

• Risk Ownership — by providing a formalised structure

to assign accountability for key risks and their mitigating

measures or action plans

• Proactive Risk Management — by providing a structured

and robust management tool to enable more proactive risk

management in order to minimise risk, optimise resources,

and seize opportunities

NEA’S ERM APPROACH

NEA’s ERM Reporting Approach clearly defines our respective

roles and authorities in establishing an ERM framework distinct

to our organisation.

Direct responding line Two-way exchange of information

Board of directors

Audit Committee

ERM Committee

Risk Owners

Process Owner Process OwnerProcess Owner

Risk Champion

Internal Audit/

Compliance

RISk MANAGEMENT

Why is this a major risk to Singaporeans?Dengue fever infects 50 to 100 million people worldwide every year, with half a million life threatening infections. Its frequency has increased by 30-fold between 1960 and 2010. This increase is believed to be due to a combination of urbanisation, population growth, increased international travel, and global warming.

The virus can cause fever, severe headaches, joint and muscular pains, vomiting, diarrhoea and rashes. There is currently no vaccine or drug for dengue.

Singapore is both vulnerable and receptive to dengue as: a. Singapore is located in a dengue endemic region (Asia and the

Pacific region).

b. As Singapore has a high population density, any dengue outbreak has the potential to spread very quickly.

c. The Aedes mosquito thrives well in Singapore’s highly built-up and urbanised environment.

d. Our years of successful dengue control have resulted in a low herd immunity in our population.

e. Singapore’s position as an international transport hub allow for easy importation of the disease.

f. The dengue fever problem may worsen because of higher temperatures and changes in viral strains.

There were 5,330 cases of dengue in Singapore in 2011. A major dengue outbreak is one of the risks faced by NEA.

What is done to control the situation?NEA adopts an integrated evidence-based dengue control strategy comprising vector surveillance and control, laboratory surveillance and research, risk assessments, legislation and enforcement, and community outreach and mobilisation to maintain low incidence of dengue in Singapore. It is not possible to eradicate either the virus or the vector from any country. The key to successful dengue control is thus to remove all

possible mosquito breeding habitats (i.e. reduction at source) so that mosquitoes do not breed. NEA carries out active virus surveillance on patient blood samples submitted by primary healthcare providers, to track the serotypes circulating in the community. This provides early warning of any switch in predominant serotype, which is typically associated with outbreaks.

One important component of NEA’s dengue surveillance and control programme is the development of a set of Focus Areas, using a risk assessment approach based on the principles of dengue epidemiology, as well as Aedes ecology and behaviour. A selection of risk factors which include the level of herd immunity, circulating serotypes, vector distribution, age of the estates, demographic information etc., is analysed using a Geographic Information System, and the resultant areas considered to have relatively higher epidemic potential are marked out as Focus Areas. This regular risk assessment enables NEA to effectively deploy our resources to carry out vector control operations.

In Nov 2011, NEA also embarked on an enhanced two-pronged communication approach that incorporates both national level publicity programmes and target-group specific programmes for dengue outreach. The national level programme addresses the general public through an aggressive communications strategy via the local media through posters at bus shelters and MRT stations, advertisements in newspapers, as well as dengue messaging on radio and TV. Target-group specificprogrammes zoom in to engage different segments of the population in preventing dengue. Such an approach enhances our existing dengue control operations with greater emphasis on education and outreach efforts to households.

Can we say that the preventive measures & risk-based approaches have been effective?

Through a network of general practitioners all over the island, NEA’s Environmental Health Institute (EHI)’s active laboratory surveillancesystem enabled us to detect the rapid switch in dengue serotype that warned us of an outbreak in 2007.

NEA has also managed to buck the rising dengue trend since 2008. From 2007–2011, the number of dengue cases were 8,826, 7,031, 4,497, 5,363, and 5,330 respectively.

Dengue Outbreak: Managing the Risks

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INSIdE NEA

1918

MONITORINGPROGRESS

To better manage risks and identify opportunities,

NEA systematically tracks and reviews the organisation’s

performance and approach to sustainability.

MATERIALITY MATRIxNational Environment Agency (NEA) believes that our drive

for sustainability within the organisation can help us better

manage risks and identify opportunities.

However,giventhewidespectrumofissuestobeaddressed

under sustainability, NEA recognises the need to prioritise

our efforts in order to optimise our resources to best

manage our risks.

NEA has thus utilised two different modus operandi: (1) a

detailed analysis of our current situation to identify risks

and opportunities related to driving sustainability within the

organisation, and (2) an analysis of our priority stakeholders,

which NEA follows up with surveys — the Organisation Climate

Survey and the 3P Partnership Index Survey 2010/11. These

approaches have helped NEA determine the relevance and

significance of an issue to us and our stakeholders and thus

the key issues to address.

In line with our sustainability framework, the Sustainability

Committee agreed to focus on the following four main issues

for a start. These are issues rated of highest importance by

both our Sustainability Champions and stakeholders due to

their significant environmental, economic, and social impact.

• Create a more resource-efficient office through promotion

of energy conservation, waste minimisation and

recycling

Significance of Environmental, Economic and Social Impacts

A Glimpse into Our Planning Considerations

AN ANALYSIS OF OUR CURRENT SITUATIONThe Sustainability Committee has identified the following as key issues to address and their corresponding initiatives on sustainability to be implemented.

This analysis helps NEA identify risks and opportunities related to driving sustainability within the organisation.

KEY ISSUES OUR APPROACH OPPORTUNITIES

Increased public expectations for NEA to be

the champion for environment and to walk

the talk, especially in view of upcoming NEA

legislation requiring large premises and sites

to report on their consumption in the coming

years

Drive both hardware and "heartware" changes

to achieve environmental sustainability within

NEA

Continue to innovate for sustainability and

explore possibilities to rely on technology in

our drive for sustainability

Report on our progress in our sustainability

reports

An opportunity for NEA to experiment

first-hand the issues that might arise with

implementation and to gain public trust for

our policies

Growing trend in embracing sustainability in

the private sector, especially with the release

of Singapore Exchange (SGX) guidelines

on sustainability reporting since July 2011.

We are expecting similar trends in the public

sector over time

Being the first public agency to report on

sustainability gives NEA the maximum lead

time to further fine-tune our efforts

Enable NEA to identify areas for improvement

through sustainability reporting

The need to comply with the Public

Sector Taking the Lead in Environmental

Sustainability (PSTLES) initiative

Ensure that NEA meets the minimum

environmental requirements

Global environmental trends — scarcity of

resources, climate change, increase in prices

of resources, limited landfill space, seeking

low carbon economy and increasing pace of

technology development

An opportunity for NEA, a ‘business unit’ for

the Singapore government, to do our part for

the environment

Reduce any financial implications by adopting

proper risk management system

An opportunity to rely on technologies to

enhance our operations

• Intensify our engagement with staff in the hope that

they can be ardent environmental ambassadors for NEA

• Inculcate a stronger sense of corporate social

responsibility and leverage on this movement to

increase staff engagement and promote NEA’s core

values

• Enhance our talent management initiatives

Prio

rity

base

d on

Sta

keho

lder

s (S

taff

) Fe

edba

ck

LOW HIgH

HIgH

Cleanliness- Anti-Littering- Clean Toilet- Dengue Prevention

Pollution Prevention & Control

Green Procurement

Reduce C02

Environment Friendly Events (internal & external)

Green Transport

Invest in Sustainability

Workplace Safety

Work-Life Harmony

Waste Minimisation & Recycling

Energy Conservation

Corporate Social Responsibility

Talent Management

Water Conservation

Green Building

Materia

l topics

Relative

Reporti

ng Priorit

y

The materiality matrix is supported by the Steering Committee

for Sustainability, forming the basis of our sustainability

initiatives and reporting programmes.

NEA will continue to closely monitor the changes in national

and global trends, risks, and stakeholders’ feedback to work

out our future material issues; optimise our resources to best

manage our risks and create new opportunities for NEA.

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MONItORINg PROgRESS

2322

National drive in productivity and innovation to

maximise output per human capital

Emphasise on innovation in every aspect of

NEA’s drive for sustainability

Put in place initiatives in line with national

drive for productivity

An opportunity to advance in business

excellence practices

Impact of an aging population on NEA’s

manpower requirements

Continue to enhance work life harmony and

talent management initiatives

Ability to extend the working life of our

employees

Need to meet rising expectations from staff

on issues related to work life harmony and job

satisfaction

Good for staff well-being and retention

Broadening of NEA’s role from an enforcer

role to a facilitator and partnership role

Increase emphasis on developing soft skills

under talent management programme

More diverse work scope provides staff with

more choices within NEA to pursue their

career

Raising staff expectations and growing

demand for engagement

Emphasise on engagement in every aspect of

NEA’s drive for sustainability

Ride on existing engagement platforms and

create new ones

Good for staff retention and a chance to

reinforce NEA’s corporate culture

Possibility of attracting suitable talent to join

NEA

A need to strengthen our corporate culture Inculcate our core values in our drive for

sustainability

KEY GROUP OF STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGEMENT CHANNELS

Our Staff • Existing and new internal engagement platforms (e.g. CEO Townhall, Intranet, etc.)

Public Agencies • NEA’s Sustainability Report

• 3P Partnership Index Survey

Business Community • NEA’s Sustainability Report

• 3P Partnership Index Survey

• To continue supporting key partners like Singapore Compact and Singapore Business

Federation in their drive to promote sustainability to the business community

There will be continual efforts to annually review the above and ensure that our sustainability efforts address upcoming

trends and risks.

PRIORITISING OUR STAKEHOLDERS

NEA realises the importance of engagement with its

stakeholders, which is why we have segmented them into

three key groups to bring out the best resources allocation.

The selection of stakeholders is based on the above

mentioned risk analysis, and is driven by the need for NEA

to walk the talk and implement vital internal measures.

NEA conducted its biannual Organisation Climate

Survey (OCS) in the first half of 2011. This was an

independent survey partnership between the Civil

Service College and Towers Watson to help the

management understand how employees perceived

their work environment, along with the way decisions

and executions were made in the organisation.

The survey was a replacement of our previous Employee

Engagement Survey (EES) and covered a wider scope

of topics such as capturing staff perceptions on key

organisational issues as well as enquiring their views

towards NEA’s mission, core values, work processes and

systems, changes within the organization, so on and so

forth. With these results in hand, we used it to craft NEA’s

FY11/12 approach on internal sustainability.

About 72 per cent of NEA’s staff responded to the survey.

When the results were compared with EES (2008), it

showed that staff were generally more appreciative of

NEA’s efforts to encourage flexibility in work schedules

andcooperationwithinNEA.However, therewasstilla

need to enhance NEA’s culture even further and realise

additional staff engagement.

The survey results were also benchmarked against PS

EES Norm, a set of targeted benchmarks of employee

perceptions around engagement and its key drivers

across Singapore Public Sector agencies and the Towers

Watson Singapore National Norm. In comparison, the

results highlighted that NEA did well in learning and

development work but similarly, there would be a need to

strengthen our corporate culture and be more proactive

in the area of staff engagement

This does not, however, indicate that other groups of

stakeholders (e.g. NGOs, tertiary institutions, suppliers, etc.)

are neglected. NEA has set sights to eventually broaden

our engagement with other groups of stakeholders.

To better understand the expectations from the three

key groups of stakeholders, NEA has conducted the

Organisation Climate Survey and the 3P Partnership

Index Survey 2010/11.

ORGANISATION CLIMATE SURvEY (STAKEHOLDERS: STAFF)

3P PARTNERSHIP INDEx SURvEY 2010/11 (STAKEHOLDERS: PUBLIC AGENCIES & PARTNERS)

The 3P Partnership Index Survey 2010/11 was

commissioned by NEA from December 2010 to January

2011 in hopes of measuring developments and changes

in our working partnerships throughout the year. It

provides an indication of the current level of awareness

and participation in NEA’s 3P programmes and activities

among our partners (e.g. staff, government organisations,

private companies, business association) in the People-

Public-Private sector.

The survey results suggested that for the past year, our

partners participated and were interested in activities

related to waste minimisation, recycling, energy

conservation and environmental training sessions.

When measured against the 2007/08 survey, there was

also a noted increase in the number of organisations

that would like to see a higher level of participation in

environmental programmes among their staff.

NEA’s materiality matrix is thus crafted to take into account our staff feedback and our partners’ areas of interests

(specifically on waste minimisation, recycling, and energy conservation). NEA will pay particular attention to ensure

that we walk the talk and lead by example in these areas.

KEY ISSUES OUR APPROACH OPPORTUNITIES

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MONItORINg PROgRESS

2524

REPORTING BOUNdARYNEA’s first Sustainability Report is drafted in accordance

to the Global Reporting Initiatives 3.1 Guidelines and the

Sector Supplement for Public Agencies (pilot version 1.0).

SCOPEThe report focuses on NEA’s framework and processes

in place to drive sustainability and elaborates on the

sustainability initiatives implemented within NEA, with brief

mention of our nationwide policies and initiatives — lucid

illustrations on how NEA walks the talk.

More information on our nationwide policies and initiatives,

together with our financial statements, will be made available

in our Annual Report.

This report also documents the organisation’s key internal

sustainability performance in FY11 (1 April 2011 to 31 March

2012), encompassing over 3,000 in manpower strength

spanning across 14 key premises. They are listed accordingly2:

• NEA Offices at Environment Building

• FiveNEARegionalOffices

• TwoIncinerationPlantslocatedatTuasSouth&Tuas

• SemakauLandfill

• TuasMarinaTransferStation

• Environmental Health Institute Premise at Helios

Building in Biopolis

• MeteorologicalServicesDivisionPremiseatChangi

• ChoaChuKangCrematoriumandColumbarium

• MandaiCrematoriumandColumbarium

MAIN SECtIONS IN REPORtIn line with NEA’s three action themes of “Safeguard, Nurture,

and Cherish”, the main sections of this Sustainability Report

are as follows:

• Safeguarding Our Environment, Finances and

Workplace touches on the organisation’s internal

efforts to comply with existing environmental guidelines

and benchmarks, ensure responsible procurements

and investments, and champion a safe and conducive

environment for our staff to work in, thereby driving

sustainability to a greater height within NEA and bringing

about impactful changes for a more resource-efficient

office and a better working environment for our staff.

• Nurturing An Eco-Friendly Culture, Our People

and Operational Excellence hinges on the act of

cultivating an eco-friendly culture where a purposeful

consciousness naturally evolves into second nature,

encouraging work-life harmony, learning and innovation,

and cultivating a risk culture within NEA.

• Cherishing Today for a Better Tomorrow has a

deeper focus on driving home a sense of appreciation,

promoting sustainability through staff engagement, and

active involvement within the community.

ESSENtIAL INfORMAtIONThis Sustainability Report reports on NEA’s processes,

framework, initiatives, and FY11 performance with regards

to driving sustainability within NEA. This report serves as the

backbone for all our future mentions on NEA’s sustainability

efforts, which we will continue to build on, unless stated

otherwise, based on the framework and processes mentioned

in this report.

The Sustainability Report will be an annual publication to

update on any of our initiatives and performance. NEA does

not rule out the possibility of integrating this report into our

future annual report, in view of the upcoming trend which

favours an integrated report.

We hope this document would be useful reference material

for other organisations or government agencies looking

to benchmark their own efforts; notably those seeking to

embark on their own journey of sustainability and in doing

so, produce their own Sustainability Reports.

ENQUIRIESFor further enquires, feel free to contact the NEA

Sustainability Office through our NEA Call Centre hotline:

1800-CALL NEA (1800-2255 632)

2 The consumption data for the new Meteorological Services Division

premise — Upper Air Observatory — along Kim Chuan Road (opened on

23 Mar 2012) and hawker centres that are currently managed by NEA

are not included in the scope of this report.


MONItORINg PROgRESS MONItORINg PROgRESS

2726

AWARdS & BENChMARkS

NEA’s drive for sustainability started since the formation of

NEA in 2002 and our efforts have built up over the years.

Since 2005, NEA has been a signatory of the uN

Global Compact. NEA now stands alongside 8,700 other

organisations from over 130 countries to carry out ten

universally accepted principles that cover the areas of human

rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

Sustainability is fundamental in NEA’s journey for business

excellence. NEA has seen ourselves certified in SPRING

standards of Singapore Quality Class (SQC), People

Developer (PD), Service-Class (S-Class) and Innovation-

Class (I-Class). In addition, NEA is ISO 9001 certified, with

zero non-conformance for the last five consecutive audits.

NEA’s key industrial installations like our incineration plants

and Tuas Marine Transfer Station are also ISO14001 certified.

In FY11, we made some significant progress in our journey

of environmental and social sustainability. They are

highlighted as follows:

• NEA’s newest purpose-built meteorological service facility

along Kim Chuan Road, boasts green features such as

solar panels as well as a rain-harvested irrigation system.

It went on to receive the BCA Greenmark Gold award

three days after its opening on 23 March 2012.

Find out more about the various Business Excellence certifications:Singapore Quality Class (SQC)

NEA has drawn up a holistic model for managing

a business for excellence based on the following

seven categories drawn out in SQC’s internationally

benchmarked business excellence framework:

• Leadership

• Planning

• Information

• People

• Processes

• Customers

• Results

using the business excellence framework, NEA

seeks to align our strategies, processes, and culture

with our mission and vision and coordinate efforts

among NEA’s numerous divisions and departments

to further drive performance.

We are pleased to be certified SQC, and aim to build

on our SQC effort, setting up the foundations for our

next milestone, the premier Singapore Quality Award

(SQA), which identifies organisations that have met

world class standards in business excellence.

The journey for business excellence is still unfolding

within NEA. We will keep up our relentless pursuit for

greater excellence and higher standards.

People Developer

PD is an official national certification that acknowledges

organisations with systems and processes in place to

achieve excellence through people. Similar to SQC,

NEA will be up for a mid-term review — in the 18th

month — followed by a renewal process at the end of

three years.

ISO 9001

Being internationally recognised for the standard of

quality management of business, the attainment of

ISO 9001 has raised the game in our organisational

commitment on the global front. Correcting product

or service deficiencies will not only improve efficiency

and productivity, but will also bring about significant

cost savings.

• NEA had all 14 premises recertified as Eco-Offices by

the Singapore Environment Council. The certification

echoes the organisation’s pledge to implement effective

environment-friendly practices internally. It also allows us

to recognise staff in their continual efforts to conserve

water and energy as well as minimise and recycle waste

whenever possible — over a period of two years.

• All premises owned by NEA were awarded the Water

Efficient Building label by the Public utilities Board — the

national water agency, one of the requirements under

the Public Sector Taking the Lead in Environmental

Sustainability initiative.

• Within the sphere of human

resource, we secured the AARP

Best Employers for Workers

over 50 Award (International) for

our enlightened management

practices in the recruitment, engagement, development,

and re-employment of mature workers.

• Havingmadethetop100employersfornewgraduates

for the first time this year was also an encouraging

acknowledgement.

• Other recognitions include being official finalists for the

followingthreeHRMAwards:KaplanProfessionalAward

for Best Training, Learning and Development, Best Mature

WorkforcePractices,andBestWork-LifeHarmony.

NEA seeks to benchmark our internal efforts on sustainability

by comparing with our industry peers and industry

standards. Take for example, for business excellence,

our human resources policies are benchmarked against

those implemented by companies that had obtained the

Singapore Quality Award and/or our peers from the public

sector. Another is our effort to benchmark our efforts on

environmental sustainability against those that are awarded

the Eco-Office Label and/or those that have obtained the

BCA Green Mark award.

NEA is no stranger in the sustainability area, always keeping

track on fresh developments and lending support to key

sustainability initiatives in Singapore. Notable ones would

include the Singapore Compact Awards for Corporate Social

Responsibility, ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards, as

well as the Singapore Environment Council’s Green Summit.

NEA will continue its efforts to benchmark our work

on sustainability and promote sustainability to the

business community.

MONItORINg PROgRESS


MONItORINg PROgRESS

2928

SUSTAINABILITYREPORT CARD

ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS FY09 FY10 FY11 TARGETS PROGRESS

Total electricity used per Monthly Rated Employee at NEA office buildings ( HQ, ROs, EHI& MSS) in kWh/MRE/yr

2369.71 2210.44 2136.32

To reduce NEA’s total electricity consumption by 10% below business-as-usual levels in FY16

P

Total electricity used per Monthly Rated Employee at NEA industrial premises (IPs, Semakau Landfill, Crematorium & Columbarium) in kWh/MRE/yr

(including electricity that NEA generated at the IPs for use at the IPs)

13609.51 14193.97 15155.63*

P

Energy Efficiency Index of NEA premises ( HQ & ROs)in kWh/m2/yr

111.61 109.22 110.00 To achieve Energy Efficiency Index of 154 kWh/m2/yr for office buildings (Using BCA Green Mark Platinum as benchmark)

P

Total water used per Monthly Rated Employee in m3/MRE/yr

31.44 31.28 33.33To reduce NEA’s total water consumption by 10% below business-as-usual levels in FY16

P

Total water used per Monthly Rated Employee at NEA industrial premises (IPs, Semakau Landfill, Crematorium & Columbarium) in m3/MRE/year

130.25 143.61 137.28*P

Total amount of paper purchased per Monthly Rated Employee in number of A4 reams/MRE/yr

6.52 5.72 4.65 To reduce paper purchased by 10% from FY10 levels by FY16

P

Legend: P In progress & on track to comply P Complied with PSTLES. Measures in place to sustain efforts N/A Premises not required under PSTLES to comply with requirements

* Electricity & water consumption at NEA industrial premises is directly correlated to factors beyond NEA’s control (e.g. amount and type of waste being burnt, the number of after death services required, etc.). Note that all the energy consumed at the incineration plants (IPs) is self-generated by the waste burnt at the incineration plants.

Legend: P in progress & on track to meet target P Met target. Measures in place to sustain efforts

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NEA HQ (Environment Building) P P P P P P

Central Regional Office P N/A P P P P

North East Regional Office P N/A P P P P

North West Regional Office P N/A P P P P

South East Regional Office P N/A P P P P

South West Regional Office P N/A P P P P

EHI (Biopolis) P N/A P N/A P P

MSD (Main Office at Changi) P N/A P N/A P P

CCK Columbarium & Crematorium P N/A P P P P

Mandai Crematorium & Columbarium P N/A P P P P

Mount Vernon Columbarium P N/A P P N/A P

Yishun Columbarium P N/A P P N/A P

TSIP P P P P P P

TIP P P P P P P

TMTS P N/A P P P P

Semakau Landfill P N/A P P P P

Met. Svcs Upper Air Observatory (newly opened in Mar 2012) P N/A P P P P

PSTLES REQUIREMENTS

** The increase in recruitment is mainly due to the creation of new positions in 2011

*** Due to implementation of structured courses and briefings in preparation for the DRE job re-design initiative

**** Due to the implementation of a one-off CSR initiative

KEY SOCIAL INDICATORS FY09 FY10 FY11

Average staff (Monthly Rated Employees (MREs) and

Daily Rated Employees (DREs)) strength

3307 3343** 3387**

Annual MREs turnover rate in % 6.3 6.4 6.6

Annual DREs turnover rate in % 0.9 1 0.8

Annual staff (MREs and DREs) turnover rate in % 5 5 5.4

Days of medical leave taken per staff ( MREs and DREs) 8 6.8 5.3

TALENT MANAGEMENT

Percentage of MREs that attained 40 or more training hours 85 79 79

Percentage of DREs that attained 40 or more training hours 67*** 74*** 40

Average training hours per staff (MREs and DREs) in hrs 69 70 58

Total staff (MREs and DREs) training hours 230,401 235,891 195,376

WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY

Number of cases of work-related fatalities 0 0 0

Number of cases of work-related accidents 40 53 58

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Total corporate-wide cash or in-kind contributions $436,785 $613,752 $542,361

Percentage of employee volunteering per year 26.34**** 8.54 10.70

Number of community hours logged by staff volunteers 2111**** 917 1333

KEY REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE PUBLIC SECTOR TAKING THE LEAD IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY (PSTLES) INITIATIVE

NEA PREMISES

NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY11

MONITORING PROGRESS MONITORING PROGRESS

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SAFEGUARdINGNEA works hand-in-hand with our staff to lay a strong foundation for us

to safeguard our environment, finances and workplace.

We seek to be a resource-efficient office, encourage financial prudence

and higher productivity in our work, and create a safe and

conducive environment for our staff to work in.

OUR ENvIRONMENT

To achieve long-term environmental sustainability, NEA aims to inculcate green habits

among staff and encourage innovation for sustainability through our 8 Effective Habits

10% Challenge. Moreinformationonthe8EffectiveHabits10%Challengeonpage50

3

The Public Sector Taking the Lead in Environmental Sustainability (PSTLES)

initiative states the basic environmental sustainability requirements that public sector agencies

should comply with. To be a resource-efficient office, NEA seeks to comply with and, if possible,

exceed the requirements stated under the PSTLES initiative. 1

NEA looks to further benchmark ourselves with the best and welcome third-party assessment

and recommendations on ways NEA can further improve our resource management and

environmental sustainability initiatives through our effort in achieving the Eco-Office Label. 2

As a champion for the environment, it is imperative that we

at National Environment Agency (NEA) set a good example

by walking the talk and innovating for sustainability. Our

focus in FY11 has been to be more resource efficient

and to intensify staff involvement so that they can be

active environmental ambassadors who can further help

spread environmental messages to the community.

The following are key programmes through which NEA

drives environmental sustainability within our organisation:

Promoting Environment Sustainability — Our Key Initiatives

Key Environmental Risks in NEA

In accordance with the country’s land zoning policy due to Singapore’s land conundrum, NEA’s premises are strategically located at specific zoning areas. For example, NEA’s headquarters and regional offices are located in commercial or light industrial zones while outposts such as the Tuas South Incineration Plant and Tuas Marina Transfer Station — where barges depart for Semakau Landfill — are amongst heavy industries. Such a land zoning policy helps to segregate higher risk environmental activities from risk sensitive areas like residential estates and delicate natural habitats.

ENvIRONMENTAL IMPACTS FROM NEA ACTIvITIES

THE IMPACT:Emissions and discharges from incineration processes at incineration plants

MITIGATION / SOLUTIONS:

• Adopted design features to minimise air and water pollution

• Incorporated effective flue gas treatment and cleaning system to further reduce emission of pollutants — e.g. catalyst impregnated bag filters for dioxin removal

• Implemented continuous and telemetric monitoring system for air emissions that is linked to the regulatory unit

RESULTS:

• Met regulatory limits and surpassed some limits

• No water pollution

• No smoky emissions from the chimneys

• No odour problem

THE IMPACT:Impact on biodiversity at Semakau Landfill


• Replanted two plots of mangroves totalling 136,000m2 on the fringes of the perimeter bund as the construction of offshore Semakau Landfill affected the mangroves

• Implemented system to monitor biodiversity conditions

• Ongoing planting and landscaping to beautify the landfill

RESULTS:

• Since Semakau Landfill began operations on 1 April 1999, the replanted mangroves and remaining natural habitats have assimilated well to their new environment.

• The western coast of Semakau is now a scenic and idyllic location with pristine waters, fresh air, and a natural green environment teeming with biodiversity.

• The site is currently operational as a landfill and recreational destination for activities such as sport fishing, intertidal walks, bird watching, and stargazing.

THE IMPACT:Day-to-day operations with increasing consumption of electricity, water and paper resources


• Implemented initiatives like the Eco-Office Label programme and 8 EffectiveHabits10%Challengetosystematicallyreduceenergyandwater consumption and cut down on paper purchased

RESULTS:

• Consumption is less than the business-as-usual levels, based on the various environmental indications as shown in NEA's Sustainability Repot Card in Page 30

• Increased staff ownership and interest to cut back on consumption underthe8EffectiveHabits10%Challenge

NEA has examined our operations and identified three key NEA activities that we believe have significant impacts to our environment. They are as listed below, along with our corresponding mitigation measures and results to date.

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All public agencies in Singapore are required to comply with

the requirements under the Public Sector Taking the Lead

in Environmental Sustainability (PSTLES) initiative. under

its requirements, public agencies have to conduct energy

audits for bigger outposts, set up the necessary recycling

programmes, and achieve the Water Efficient Building Label

as well as a host of others. NEA works closely with the

PSTLES team to ensure that the requirements are updated

and in line with NEA’s national push for energy efficiency

and resource management.

NEA uses the requirements under the PSTLES to guide our

internal efforts to be resource efficient. We are on track to

comply with all the PSTLES requirements.

In 2011, we have set ourselves higher targets, exceeding

those mapped out in PSTLES. One area is to reduce

Public Sector Taking the Lead in Environmental Sustainability Energy Efficiency Made a Reality

In light that an air-conditioning system typically

contributes 50 to 60 per cent of an office building’s

energy consumption, it is imperative that the chilled

water plant system is energy efficient so as to achieve

long-term savings and reduce operational costs.

In line with NEA’s national efforts to promote energy

efficiency, under the Public Sector Taking the Lead

in Environmental Sustainability (PSTLES) initiative, all

public sector buildings with more than 10,000m² of air-

conditioned floor areas are required to undergo an energy

audit and achieve an air-conditioning plant Coefficient

of Performance (C.O.P) of 5.4 or better. (A C.O.P. of 5.4

corresponds to a chilled-water plant efficiency of 0.65

kW/ton.)

NEA aims to lead by example and has undertaken the

following to comply with PSTLES:

i) Environment Building

NEA has been working closely with the Ministry of

the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR)

since the beginning of 2011 on a Guaranteed

Energy Savings Performance (GESP) contract which

would retrofit the central chilled water plant at the

Environment Building.

Trane Pte Ltd, an accredited Energy Services

Company (ESCO), was engaged to carry out the

investment grade energy audit as well as subsequent

implementation (by Q4 2012) of the chilled water

plant retrofit measures. The energy audit was

completed in December 2011.

under the GESP contracting model, Trane will

install highly accurate permanent measurement and

verification instruments for continuous tracking and

monitoring of the chilled water plant’s efficiency.

upon completion, Trane will be obliged to guarantee

an efficiency rating better than 0.60 kW/ton over

a period of five years — failing which will result in a

penalty for the ESCO. As cited below in the chilled

water plant efficiency chart, the guaranteed efficiency

is within the ‘Excellent’ range.

ii) NEA’s Infrastructure Facilities

As part of the PSTLES initiative, infrastructure facilities,

namely NEA’s incineration plants and the Public utility

Board’s water treatment plants, have to undergo an

energy audit by FY12. In response to this requirement,

NEA engaged ABB Industry Pte Ltd in 2011 to carry

out an energy audit on the power generation capability

and efficiency of its incineration plants.

The objective of the energy audit is to provide

recommendations for energy efficiency and resultant

electricity production improvements that can be

achieved through operational adjustments, corrective

maintenance, and retrofit or plant improvement measures.

As an antecedent phase, the energy audit will be

conducted only on selected monitoring & evaluation

systems in the incineration plant. This is slated to be

completed by the first half of 2012. The results will

then be used to assess whether the energy audit

should be extended entirely through Tuas South

Incineration Plant and Tuas Incineration Plant to

improve overall energy efficiency and reap further

energy cost savings.

0.5

(7.0)

0.6

(5.9)

0.7

(5.0)

0.8

(4.4)

0.9

(3.9)

1.0

(3.5)

1.1

(3.2)

1.2

(2.9)

kW/ton

C.O.P

New Technology All-Variable

Speed Chiller Plants

High-Efficiency Optimised

Chiller Plants

Conventional Code Based

Chiller Plants

Chiller Plants with Correctable Design or Operational Problems

ExCELLENt gOOd fAIR NEEdS IMPROVEMENt

Older Chiller Plants

AvERAGE ANNUAL CHILLER PLANT EFFICIENCY IN kW/ton (c.o.p)(Input energy includes chillers, condenser pumps and tower fans)

Based on electrically driven centrifugal chiller plants in comfort conditioning applications with 42F (5.6C) nominal chilled water supply temperature and open cooling towers sized for 85F (29.4C) maximum entering condenser water temperature. Local climate adjustment for North

American climates is +/- 0.05 kW/ton

electricity consumption by a good 10 per cent below

business-as-usual level within 5 years. Another has been to

make reference to the Green Mark building guidelines as a

benchmark even for our small offices. Take for example, NEA

designed and built the newest purpose-built meteorological

service facility along Kim Chuan Road, in line with Green

Mark (Gold) building guidelines. This is a small premise

which is not required to comply with Green Mark under the

PSTLES requirement.

Key PSTLES requirements

Energy Efficiency

• Public sector agencies owning buildings with central chilled

water plants and air-conditioned floor area >10,000m2 are

to conduct energy audits. Through these audits, they can

gather a better understanding of the energy performance

of their buildings and identify measures to improve energy

efficiency.

• As the chilled water plant is the main energy guzzler in most

of these buildings, the energy performance of the plant is to

be monitored continuously with permanent instrumentation.

In addition, the energy performance of retrofitted plant is to

achieve better than 0.185kWE/kWT.

The above requirements also apply to new buildings with central

chilled water plants and air-conditioned floor area >10,000m2.

• Public sector agencies must ensure that the indoor

temperature of their air-conditioned premises is maintained

at 24°C or higher.

• Public sector agencies must ensure that their Facility

Operation Managers (FOMs) attend relevant energy

management training.

• Public sector agencies are to procure the most cost-

effective appliances, taking into account life cycle costs.

• New office information and communication technology

equipment procured must meet the latest Energy Star

standards.

Water Efficiency

Public sector agencies and schools must achieve the Water

Efficient Building (WEB) Label for their buildings.

Recycling

Public sector agencies are to implement recycling programmes

which include initiatives to recycle paper, plastics, aluminium and

toner cartridges.

General Environmental Sustainability

• Public sector offices must achieve the Eco-Office Label.

• New public sector buildings with more than 5,000m2 air-

conditioned floor area, including buildings with development

cost fully or partly funded by the public sector (e.g. new

universities and hospitals) must attain the Green Mark

Platinum rating.

• All existing public sector buildings with more than 10,000m2

air-conditioned floor areas must attain the Green Mark

GoldPlus rating by 2020.

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The Eco-Office Label is an award given by the Singapore

Environment Council (SEC), an environmental non-

governmental organisation, to recognise offices that

have demonstrated commitment towards environmental

protection. Organisations that have done well in all of the

following aspects can apply for the Label:

• Corporateenvironmentalpolicyandresponsibility

• Purchasingpractices

• Wasteminimisation

• Recycling

• Paperuse

• Energyconservation

• Waterconservation

SEC will only award the Label after an auditor conducts

verification site visit(s) to determine the organisation’s

declaration on its environmental performance.

In NEA, the Eco-Office Committee is in charge of coordinating

our efforts in implementing green initiatives across all NEA

offices to comply with the Eco-Office Label requirements.

In many of our off-site premises, the representative in the

Eco-Office Committee would often chair a sub-committee

that would work together to initiate site-specific Eco-

Office initiatives, monitor the effectiveness of the action

plans, educate staff, and update staff on their site-specific

performance.

NEA is in the pioneer batch of the 2005 Eco-Office Label

recipients. This has earned us the much-needed propulsion

in our quest to be a leading example for other organisations

to follow.

SUStAININg tHAt COMMItMENt In 2007, NEA took a big step forward and successfully

achieved the Eco-Office Label for our 14 offices. These

include offices in our crematoriums, incineration plants,

meteorological stations, regional offices, the Environmental

HealthInstitute,andtheSemakauLandfill.

Each Eco-Office Label is only valid for two years. NEA

underwent two more rounds of recertification; once in 2009

where, NEA is the organisation with the most number of

offices to successfully achieve the Eco-Office Label, and

another in 2011. In line with the auditor’s recommendations,

NEA has made the following progress for the 2011 Eco-

Office Label audit:

• Excess light bulbs were removed from luminaries:

Our luminaire typically consists of two tubes of 36W

T8 tubes. In the previous round of audit, the auditor

recommended NEA to consider removing one of the two

light bulbs at certain areas (workstations nearer to the

windows, corridor, etc.). In removing the light bulbs, views

and feedback from affected staff were sought to ensure

that the light levels remained bright enough for them

to continue to work productively. With this effort, NEA

managed to save on our electricity consumption without

any negative impact on productivity.

• Conventional bulbs were replaced with energy efficient

alternatives whilst renovating and relocating to different

premises (e.g. South West Regional Office).

• More environmental awareness activities were organised

for staff.

• Educational materials were provided to remind staff to

practise good Eco-Office habits.

• Flow regulators were installed in all taps to achieve the

Water Efficient Building Label — awarded by the Public

utilities Board.

• Adequate recycling bins for paper, plastics and cans were

placed at convenient locations, within easy reach of staff.

• Ambient indoor air temperature was kept at 24°C and

above to maintain comfort without overcooling.

Eco-Office Label

• More robust governance structure was implemented to

facilitate succession planning of Eco-Office champions

and encourage seeding of ideas.

• All purchases were made electronically via GeBiZ — a

centralised government procurement website — and

priority was given to the purchase of green assets (e.g.

Energy Star certified laptops, certified Green Label

Cane Fields A4 paper manufactured using alternative

fibres) where possible.

Obtaining four straight Eco-Office Labels has definitely

proven NEA’s resoluteness in implementing effective

environmentally-friendly measures and gives credit where it

is due to staff who have contributed to this programme.

NEA will continue to leverage on Eco-Office Label programme

and audit recommendations to further drive environmental

sustainability within the organisation. The Eco-Office Label

programme is a useful benchmarking tool for NEA in our

quest for constant improvement in green adoption.

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OUR FINANCES

Funding ArrangementsNEA offers numerous funding and incentive schemes

(e.g. Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme,

Environmental Technology Research Programme, etc.) to

support worthwhile and innovative environmental initiatives.

We disburse funding support for projects that are in line with

Singapore’s environmental sustainability goals, especially

those that help build capacity among the community and

industry, creating value-add even after completion.

Typically, NEA will partially fund the projects to encourage

co-ownership and motivate the applicant, thereby maximising

value from given resources. Our organisation looks at both

long-term and short-term benefits that would possibly be

derived from each project we support. Some examples of

our funding schemes are as follows:

ENERgy EffICIENCy IMPROVEMENt ASSIStANCE SCHEMEThe Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme

(EASe) is a co-funding scheme (launched in April 2005)

administered by NEA to provide an incentive for companies

in the manufacturing and building sectors. This allows them

to carry out detailed studies on their energy consumption and

identify potential areas for energy efficiency improvement.

Funding of up to 50 per cent of the cost for such appraisals

— subject to a cap of $200,000 — may be made available

to any Singapore-registered company with buildings or

manufacturing facilities in Singapore.

gRANt fOR ENERgy EffICIENt tECHNOLOgIESNEA launched the Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies

(GREET) scheme in November 2008 to encourage more

investments in energy efficiency by providing a grant to

companies to offset part of the investment cost. under

GREET, NEA co-funds up to 50 per cent of the cost of energy

efficient equipment and technologies, capped at S$2 million

per project.

The GREET fund is one that aids companies in adopting

energy efficient equipment and technology. Moreover,

this fund helps organisations save a substantial amount in

current tumultuous economic times. This initiative was put

together by NEA, with support from SPRING Singapore

and the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises. Taking

reference from GREET, the Sustainability Office works on

projects with a payback3 of three years to seven years.

INNOVAtION fOR ENVIRONMENt SUStAINABILIty (IES) fUNdThe IES fund is a $20 million seed funding to encourage

and assist Singapore-registered companies to undertake

environmental protection and public health related projects

that would contribute to the long-term environmental

sustainability of Singapore. The IES fund is targeted

at projects at the applied research and test-bedding/

demonstration stages of technology developments.

The proposed IES projects target to achieve at least one of

these following objectives:

a. Initiatives that speed up environmentally sustainable

applications

b. Innovative proposals that have the potential to create

new value and capabilities for NEA

c. Projects that offer long-term solutions to specific

environmental problems faced by Singapore

NEA also seeks to incorporate innovative eco-friendly

features in our newly renovated or new premises. For

example, NEA’s newest purpose-built meteorological service

facility — recipient of the Building & Construction Authority’s

Green Mark Gold Award — at 36 Kim Chuan Road, boasts

green features along the likes of solar panels and a rain

harvesting system that harvests rainwater to irrigate the

building’s landscape.

3 Payback is calculated using the total project costs divided by estimated

annual energy cost savings. Total project costs comprise the qualifying

costs stated below and other costs that might be incurred in implementing

the project. The qualifying costs include manpower cost, equipment, and

materials and professional services.

NEA requires its staff to make financially responsible and

sustainable decisions in their day-to-day work. Staff are

expected to evaluate and weigh the short and long term

costs and benefits of their actions and policies that they

plan to put in place. NEA provides the necessary training

to impart essential knowledge which enables employees to

make financially prudent decisions.

Regular checks on the organisation’s fund utilisation rate are

conducted to ensure our financial soundness. Our financial

statements are made available together with our Annual Report.

Green Procurement

retrieve relevant procurement documentations, as well as

conveniently submit their bids online. The GeBIZ portal

ensures transparency in NEA’s procurement process.

Specially aimed at driving green procurement, NEA

encourages our potential suppliers to integrate sustainability

in their processes. We have thus included the requirement for

suppliers to declare their health, safety and green measures

in their quotation and tender submissions.

NEA seeks to proactively integrate sustainability considerations

in our procurement requirements. Performance, durability, energy

efficiency, recycled content and recycling ability are NEA’s

five key procurement criteria used in our product evaluations.

Staff are encouraged to word these accordingly in our tender

or quotation specifications, sending a clear message to our

potential suppliers about our sustainability expectations for

the product we purchased. This effort is in line with NEA’s

national campaigns promoting the use of energy efficient

products and environmentally friendly products.

To date, some of our green purchases include Energy Star

certified laptops, certified Green Label Cane Fields A4

paper made with alternative fibres, and Energy Star certified

printers with a duplex printing function (on rental basis).

Taking into consideration the life cycle cost of purchasing

energy efficient products, NEA has also installed energy

efficient lightings, refrigerators and four ticks inverter air-

conditioners at NEA’s training and knowledge division’s

– Singapore Environment Institute —new office space as it

moves from Environment Building to an existing building at

Kay Siang Road by May 2012. This new site is also designed

to minimise demolition and partition construction and where

possible, all major material purchases were Singapore Green

Label products, including flooring, carpeting, paints, high

pressure laminates, and flat pressed particle boards. Further,

reuse of large sections of carpeting after cleaning meant

that less new materials were purchased.

As a government agency, NEA has to comply with MOF’s

Instruction Manual (Procurement) for all its procurement

activities, including green procurement. The key principles

governing government procurement are: (a) Transparency,

(b)OpenandFairCompetition, (c)ValueforMoney.These

principles guide the execution of the procurement process to

ensure fairness and integrity.

To further strengthen the integrity of our procurement

process, in FY11, NEA internally requires the approving

authority for the award of quotation or tender to not be from

the buying department. This is to avoid conflicts of interest

and achieve clear segregation of roles for any purchases

carried out by the buying department.

All NEA’s invitation for quotations and tenders are required to

be posted in GeBIZ. Suppliers are able to conduct electronic

commerce with the government through this web-based

portal, search for government procurement opportunities,

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4 The Total Factor Productivity concept was adopted by DSTA and Ernst

& Young. It refers to the increase in output that is brought about by

improvements in the technologies, skill levels of workers, or research and

innovation capabilities in an economy. Two key contributors are service

quality and resource optimisation.

The traditional definition of productivity is output per unit of

input.However, thiscannotbeappliedblindlytothePublic

Service as our outputs are often intangible or difficult to

measure. Thus, the best way to grow Singapore’s economy

sustainably is to raise Total Factor Productivity4, as highlighted

byMrPeterHo,HeadofCivilService,atthePublicService

Conference 2010.

3• To make NEA a more lean, efficient

and customer-friendly agency

• Discarding outdated rules,

regulations, and streamline

procedures

• Idea/projectswhichresultin

savings for the organisation

•Savings can be monetary or non-

monetary terms

AVOId / SAVE COSt

• To free up scarce resources to “do

the right things” and “do things

right” and achieve maximum

efficiency and value

• Results in less repeated work like:

- Centralisation

- Standardisation

- Defining clear accountabilities

CUt REd tAPE1 2 ELIMINAtE

dUPLICAtION

To support the national effort in boosting productivity and

innovation, NEA has formed different functional committees:

• Productivity Steering Committee (PSC) — Oversees

resource optimisation, sets overall productivity goals, and

acts as a platform to review and endorse initiatives

• Quality Service Steering Committee (QSSC) — Focuses

on driving service quality and staff engagement

Staff can submit their ideas/projects to MyiDeas or WITs

Online (as elaborated in the “Nurturing Operational

Excellence — Encouraging Innovation” section on page 59.

Variousincentiveschemeshavebeensetinplacetorecognise

staff’s contribution such as:

• Double points — Awarded to ideas that are related to

productivity through the enhanced MyiDeas system

since August 2011

E-AlertforIllegalHawkingatMRTStations

• Annual Best Productivity Project Award — Given to

projects that embody the three aforementioned focus

areas

As of today, 10 projects have been endorsed by PSC, with an

estimated savings of over S$1 million per year. One interesting

productivityprojectbyEHD-NEROistheE-Alertfor Illegal

HawkingatMRTStations,whichproposestodevelopavideo

analytics system that provides real-time surveillance and

intelligence of illegal hawking activities at identified hotspots.

The project is currently under development.

Illegal hawking activities are pressing challenges NEA faces in its operations. The current method of conducting

illegal hawking raids and monitoring through the public feedback domain is ineffective, as it requires NEA officers to

be physically present on-site to verify the validity of the cases. This contributes to the low yield of illegal hawking raids

as resources available for deployment are limited.

The successful development of the video analytics

system, which provides real-time surveillance and

intelligence on illegal hawking activities, would lead to

higher yield of raids and allow NEA officers more control

over public feedback on illegal hawking. Moreover, NEA

officers are able to:

a) Verify illegalhawkingeventswhencapturedevents

are pushed to their portable handheld devices in the

form of a SMS and video clip

b) Pull real-time information from the system to validate

public feedback on the occurrence of illegal hawking

activities at identified sites

By leveraging on technology, NEA officers would be able

to better assess the situation through real-time preview

and playback (e.g. number of offenders, items on sale,

to plan the next course of action, verify public feedback,

audit APOs contractors’ performances) and deploy

necessary resources only when necessary to the site. The

implementation of this project will greatly enhance NEA’s

productivity with an estimated cost avoidance amounting

to at least S$860,000.

NEA’s Drive for Work Efficiency

NEA’s ongoing productivity campaign, launched since Feb 2011, has three focus areas:

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OUR WORkPLACE

NEA recognises the risks associated with an aging populace,

thetighteningregulationsonWorkplaceSafetyandHealth,

along with increasing expectations from our staff for NEA to

meet their work and social needs.

As outlined in our materiality matrix, NEA seeks to

enhance our talent management initiatives, intensify staff

engagement, and inculcate a stronger sense of corporate

social responsibility. Having said so, NEA will continue to

sustainourongoinginitiatives—WorkplaceHealth&Safety

andWork-LifeHarmony,etc.

NEA seeks to meet our social responsibility and staff needs

through the following key programmes:

Promoting Social Sustainability — Our Key Initiatives

Workplace Safety NEA places great importance on the safety and health of

our staff and partners. As an organisation that is over 3,000

strong, we do the utmost to provide and maintain a safe

and healthy work environment, drawing references from the

Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA) — enacted on

1 March 2006, in replacement of the Factories Act. The

WSHAwasextendedtodifferentworkplacesinstagesover

a period of time. NEA has progressively complied with the

Act as shown in the diagram below.

NEA customised the workplace safety initiatives in NEA to

best mitigate risk for each situation, taking into account the

following:

• NEA staff are scattered across the island. Apart from

its corporate headquarters at Environment Building,

NEA staff are also located at the incineration plants,

laboratories, meteorological services offices, and our

regional offices.

• The varying nature of our work (e.g. ground staff checking

for mosquito breeding sites versus officers in a corporate

setting versus officers working in the incineration plants)

In accordance toWSHAphase1 and2 (refer to diagram

above), greater attention has been placed on operational and

high risk areas such as incineration plants and laboratories.

These workplaces now possess strong systems and

processes to mitigate potential risks.

PROgRESSIVE ExtENSION Of tHE WSHA ANd ItS IMPACt ON NEA

All other offices

and workplaces

Phase

3

1 Sep2011•Factories

•ConstructionSites

•Shipyards/Marine

•Airport

•Laboratories

•WaterSupply,Sewerage

and Waste Management

•F&Boutlets

•Healthcare

•Veterinary

•Landscape

•Serviceslinkedtogoods

transportation

Phase

2

1 Mar2008

Phase

NEAWorkplaces Impacted

• IncinerationPlants(alreadyimpactedbytheFactoriesActpriorto2006)• EHI(safehandlingofpathogenscoveredunderMOHBiologicalAgents&ToxinsAct,

AVAAnimals&BirdsAct,andMHAProtectedPremises)

• Other NEA offices includingENVHQandRegionalOffices

1

1 Mar2006

StAff LIkELy NEEdS (ReferencefromMaslow’sHierarchyofNeeds)

4NEA seeks to contribute to our community and undertakes numerous corporate social responsibility initiatives for our staff to get involved (see page 66).

SELf-ACtUALISAtION

To address needs from our staff as individuals and their relationship with their family/friends, community and work, NEA has put in place initiatives to encourage work-life harmony (see page 56).2 LOVE/

BELONgINg

1

EStEEM3NEA values each of our staff as talent. To develop our staff to their fullest potential, NEA has set up a comprehensive learning and talent management plan (see page 55).

SAfEty/PHySIOLOgICAL

NEA seeks to meet, if possible exceed, the requirements stated under theWorkplaceSafety&HealthActthroughourworkplace safety programme. To provide staff with a sense of security, NEA seeks to implement proper mechanisms to deal with grievances through our union membership arrangement. NEA's expectations on proper employee conduct are also clearly stated in the NEA Person Code.

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In September 2011, WSHA was extended into phase 3

(refer to diagram in previous page) to impact all other offices

and workplaces. NEA is now in the midst of levelling-up our

otherworkingenvironments,(e.g.offices),toextendWSHA

coverage organisation-wide. Many of these internal best

practices on workplace safety — adopted by the incineration

plants for example, are being studied for different applications

across NEA. Take for example, members of the Hawkers

Department Safety Committee and Corporate Development

Department (CDD) recently embarked on a study visit to

the Tuas South Incineration Plant (TSIP) to the Tuas South

Incineration Plant to learn more about TSIP’s ongoing work

safety practices, and to see if there are opportunities to

adopt them at the hawker centres.

kEy APPROACHESNEA has instituted several initiatives to put in place a robust

workplace safety system and cultivate a strong safety

culture. This is to ensure the well-being of all NEA staff

and to support the organisation’s vision of a zero-accident

workplace.

In summary, the workplace safety initiatives cover the

following:

• Managing risks at the workplace

• Building up a workplace safety culture (see page 63)

MANAgINg RISkS At tHE WORkPLACEThe NEA Safety Steering Committee (NSSC), a special

dedicated focus committee, is chaired personally

by the Chief Executive Officer along with the senior

management coterie. This strong showing by the very

top-level leadership is testament to the heightened

importance of workplace safety.

Plant Safety Committees

WRMD SC

EHDSC

PCD SC

CRPNS SC

MSS SC

HDSC

EHISC

NSSC

Secretariat

The NSSC’s work is aligned with the broader work on risk

management managed by the Enterprise Risk Management

Committee (ERMC).

The NSSC’s role is to formulate and review safety policies,

providing overall direction for workplace safety risk management.

On top of that, it promotes and supports the inculcation of a

workplace safety culture within NEA. Due to the different

nature of their work, certain departments have their own Safety

Committees, of which the NSSC oversees and approves

programmes from the initial planning to final inception.

At the helm of the NSSC is the Secretariat, which consolidates

information on safety and health practices from departmental

Safety Committees together with other business units. The

purpose is to share best practices and drive corporate-level

workplace safety programmes.

Measures in Place to Manage Risk

The first step towards accident prevention is in the

identification of potential work hazards. NEA requires all

its departments to compile a workplace safety risk register,

listing out key risks alongside corresponding control plans

detailing their probability, likelihood, and impact; done in

compliancewithWSHA.Theseriskregistersaresignedoff

bytherespectiveHeadsofDepartments.Thewholeexercise

allows for attention to detail and the dedication of focus to

higher priority risks.

NEA has gone a step further to insist on yearly updates,

as opposed to compulsory updates every three years as

mandatedbyWSHA.Itenablesustohaveinhandatalltimes,

an updated overview of hazards identified and addressed.

As of now, the incineration plants have a safety officer —

employed on a part-time basis — to assist in identifying

workplace safety risks on-site. Moving forward, NEA is

looking to arrange for supplementary staff training where

they will be groomed to manage and identify violations to

safety, culminating in an added robust process.

Monitoring of Safety Indicators

Regular reporting of accidents and workplace-injury

statistics is constantly monitored by NSSC, from the number

to the type of workplace accidents that have occurred. From

FY09 to FY11, NEA is pleased to note there have been no

work-related fatalities. Building on this, the organisation will

continue with its stringent checks.

Employee ConductNEA maintains a zero tolerance policy towards fraud and

misconduct. All NEA staff are informed of the NEA Person

Code — an internal guideline for ethical and professional

conduct – the moment he/she joins NEA. The NEA Person

Code, aligned with the Government’s Code of Conduct, is

availableonourIntranetandinourNEAHandbook.

During the reporting period, one of our staff was found guilty

of corruption during the period of May 2006 to August 2009

and was charged accordingly.

NEA constantly reminds staff to follow the NEA Person

Code in their course of work. In addition, under NEA’s

comprehensive whistle-blowing policy, NEA encourages all

employees and third parties to report any incidents of fraud

and serious misconduct.

union Membership NEA gives all its officers' free reign to join any recognised

union which may admit the employee under its rules of

membership; unless specifically disallowed as a preceding

condition to one’s appointment, transfer or promotion.

Currently, 98 per cent of NEA employees are eligible to join

a union.

The organisation has adequate channels in place to deal with

grievances on matters that affect the terms and conditions of

service. In addition, each individual is entitled to voice out their

concerns officially about their employment terms so long as

they do so to the appropriate departmental authorities and

not to external third parties with no linkage to NEA.

NEA also works closely with its valued partners — the

Amalgamated union of Public Employees (AuPE) and

the Amalgamated union of Public Daily Rated Workers

(AuPDRW) — to enhance management-union relations.

These are mostly based on mutual trust with the cooperation

of members, continually seeking new work methodology and

improvements in a bid to achieve higher productivity, quality

service and excellence. Information on this is made available

to our staff on the NEA Intranet and all new staff are informed

of their rights during induction courses.

Women currently account for 30 per cent of our employees.

The rights of women in Singapore are protected under the

Women’s Charter.

All NEA employees receive half yearly regular performance

and career development reviews. Remuneration and

promotion are meritocratic, i.e. based on their performance

regardless of gender.

Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers

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NURTURINGNEA believes that every staff is a talent with

unharnessed potential, and thus seeks to

groom and offers equal learning opportunities

to all. Alongside, NEA provides various staff

engagement platforms and encourages all to

innovate for sustainability, as part of our vision

to inculcate a strong eco-friendly and risk

management culture within the organisation.

INItIAtIVESTo encourage staff to practise the 8 habits, NEA implemented

a few initiatives to jump start the challenge:

• A signature block functioning as a reminder to all e-mail

recipients to print only when necessary

• A "No Styrofoam Cup"

policy for all internal NEA

meetings — Staff were

encouraged to bring

their own cups and avoid

disposables where possible.

Drink stall vendors assisted

in the implementation with

the provision of reusable cups. Reusable cups were also

distributed to staff at NEA’s 2011 Dinner & Dance to

provide staff with an alternative to styrofoam cups for

their daily office use.

• Circulars reminding staff to reduce food waste (i.e. not

over-cater), not consume catered food after the stipulated

period, and use melamine wares at NEA's events — These

circulars are in line with NEA's new national policy that

requires catered food to be time-stamped.

• Reminders reiterating the importance of switching off

power at the socket level organisation-wide to reduce

standby power usage

• Noticesencouragingstafftoswitch off the lights when

not in use

• General campaign stickers reminding staff of the 8

effective habits pasted at key locations where staff are

expected to practise the habits and at all workstations

• Consumptiondata inFY11sharedwithinNEAtoraise

staff awareness. Information compiled is used as our

baseline data for target setting

AN ECO-FRIENdLY CULTURE

ENCOURAgINg INNOVAtION tHROUgH StAff ENgAgEMENt Staff engagement has always been one of NEA's priorities.

Through engagement, NEA seeks to encourage innovation

and staff involvement so that they can eventually be active

environmental ambassadors who can further help spread

environmental messages to the community.

Circulars and NEA’s Sustainability Intranet are designed to

allow the interactive exchange of views and suggestions

among staff. Some examples of our interactive engagement

platforms in our Intranet are as follows:

• WhatourStaffSays?VotetoSupport!—Aplacewhere

staff can vote to support ideas raised by fellow colleagues

for implementation

• Be a Volunteer corner — A place where staff can

volunteer their time and expertise to champion projects

on sustainability within NEA

• Discussion Forum — A place where staff can share their

views on environmental issues with the Sustainability

Office and fellow colleagues

The 8 Effective Habits 10% Challenge drew some

encouraging responses and enthusiasm from staff. Some

interesting suggestions from staff included installation

of timers for our hot water dispensers to automatically

switch off after office hours as well as a greening of the

recruitment process through a more extensive use of e-mail

correspondences and technology aids such as the iPad.

The Sustainability Committee evaluates all suggestions and

would continue to implement some of these suggestions on

a larger scale in the future.

All these have been mere glimpses of the environmental

ownership NEA aims to inculcate among staff.

HARdWARE CHANgESPromoting the 8 habits would require hardware changes to

enhance the ease for staff to practise these habits. Staff

suggestions and opinions were sought in these aspects.

Adapting from and incorporating staff suggestions, NEA has

broadly adopted two forms of hardware changes: (1) the use

of technology and (2) the implementation of infrastructural

changes to further reduce consumption.

Please consider the environment before printing this email

Encouraging the community to take on greater environmental

ownership remains a key priority and challenge for National

Environment Agency (NEA). NEA initiates a number of

national 3P campaigns — Recycling Week that emphasises

onpromotingreducing,reusingandrecycling;10%Energy

Challenge where citizens are encouraged to adopt five

simple steps to conserve energy, etc. — which aim to inspire

the public to adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle.

As NEA continues to roll out more programmes and

initiatives to promote greater environmental ownership in the

community, there is a need for NEA to similarly intensify our

own staff outreach to encourage them to walk the talk.

In October 2011, NEA initiated the 8 Effective Habits

10%Challengetoraisestaffawarenessonenvironmental

issues, inculcate good environmental habits among staff,

and encourage innovation for sustainability. This challenge

was launched in support of Clean & Green Singapore,

a nationwide event, and would pave our way to be a truly

sustainable and resource-efficient office in the long run.

The five-year awareness movement hopes to inculcate eight

good environmental habits among NEA staff setting eyes

on an ambitious target of a 10 per cent reduction in NEA’s

electricity and water consumption from the business-as-

usual levels by FY16 and a 10 per cent reduction in paper

purchased from FY10 levels by FY16.

The habits mapped out in this challenge are as follows:

Through this challenge, NEA seeks to motivate staff to

think out of the box to embed sustainability in our work

processes, alongside initiating hardware changes that

would make it easier for one to practise these habits.

.

8EffectiveHabits10%Challenge

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ExAMPLE 1: PdAS IN NEA’S OPERAtIONSA part of the Operational Excellence effort, NEA has issued PDAs to our officers since

April 2011. The PDAs run on the Intelligent Surveillance and Enforcement System (iSES),

allowing wireless interface with NEA’s numerous backend operations systems, which are

used for enforcement management, public feedback tracking, licensing purposes, etc.

Such an initiative greatly reduces the amount of paper usage and enhances NEA’s work

processes, speeding up our response to the public.

More staff are coming forth with good suggestions on how

NEA premises can be more resource efficient. The following

are some of our infrastructural add-ons that incorporated

our staff suggestions:

From April 2012 onwards, NEA offices at the Environment

Building will be consuming less energy to light up. In a

collaboration with our parent Ministry of Environment &

Water Resources, NEA will be swapping all our 36W T8

lights in the office area to 19W LEDs. A cost benefit

calculation shows that such an initiative could bring a

potential long-term savings of about S$100,000.

The lift lobbies are not left out, with the existing lightings

to be replaced with energy efficient alternatives.

On the other hand, newly renovated toilets have checked

out in all requirements listed under the Singapore OK

public toilet criteria:

• Ensure that all sanitary pipes and fittings are in good

working condition

• Providesoapandtoiletpaper

• Providelitterbins

• Providesanitarybinsforfemaletoilets

• Provideaworkinghand-dryerorpapertowels

• Provideacleanerduringpeakhours

• Cleaningscheduletobedisplayedprominently

• Provideachannelforfeedbackthroughsigns

Acting upon a staff's suggestion, hot water dispensers

in headquarters and off-site premises are now installed

with timers that would automatically switch off for at least

nine hours a day after office hours. This would mean an

estimated cost savings of S$18,000 annually; a small

price to pay for the initial $300 investment.

Staff in our regional offices are also doing their part and

proactively going green. Take for example, at NEA’s North

West Regional Office, the management has agreed to

their staff suggestions to install solar films to dissipate the

solar heating effect, enabling staff to work comfortably at

a higher air-conditioning temperature. Another example is

our newly renovated South West Regional Office that has

incorporated energy efficient lighting in its own renovation,

in the bid to reduce their electricity consumption. All these

efforts contribute to the objectives of the 8 Effective

Habits10%Challenge.

The use of technology is already prevalent in some

areas of operation within NEA. One example is video

conferencing to reduce travel time and another, the

utilisation of iPads that does away with redundancies in

paper usage, and the use of PDAs in our operations. All

these culminate in increased efficiency and productivity,

benefiting both the organisation’s bottom line and

carbon footprint.

Technology in Action — Go Green while Improving Productivity

Sustainable Infrastructural Add-ons

ExAMPLE 2: LIVE StREAMINg tECHNOLOgy fOR StAff ENgAgEMENtTo further engage our staff, since early 2012, NEA had

employed live streaming technology to broadcast NEA’s

quarterly CEO Townhall to employees located at off-site

premises (regional offices, meteorological service office

at Changi, etc.). This saved precious man hours, which

would otherwise be spent on commuting between offices,

and reduced greenhouse gas emissions associated with

such unnecessary transportation.

ExAMPLE 3: ELECtRONIC fILINg SyStEMAlso, in the midst of implementation is NEA’s electronic

filing system, aimed at easing the burden of paper filing,

reducing paper usage, and introducing convenience for

staff to file, search, and retrieve documents electronically.

Works are also ongoing to digitalise our existing

hardcopies. This will further reduce manpower required

to manage the hardcopy files, thus freeing up resources

for other tasks.

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OUR PEOPLE SUStAININg EffORtSNEA will continue to put in place and maintain various

engagement channels to further motivate our staff to innovate

for sustainability where consumption habits are concerned,

whether through the form of inter-departmental/inter-site

competitions, reminder circulars reinforcing the message of

the8EffectiveHabits10%Challengeorinitiativespromoting

the8EffectiveHabits.

The next five years will also be focused on increasing the

efficiency of our offices and creating ease for our staff to

practise the 8 habits, with implementation of more structured

hardware changes and technology adoption.

Among the numerous pushes that have been laid on the

table, NEA is studying the feasibility of the following:

• Infrastructural deep retrofit at NEA’s regional offices to

further reduce energy consumption

• use of renewable energy (e.g. solar) at suitable off-site

premises

• use of NEWater (recycled wastewater) for non-potable

utility

• Technology adoption whenever possible to reduce our

consumption

Sustainability Office will also work closely with the various

departments within NEA to track consumption levels and

make progress towards the final 10 per cent reduction goal

within the stipulated five-year period.

At the heart of nurturing and bringing out the best in our

staff lies a delicate balance in creating and maintaining a

quality of life that takes into consideration:

• Our staff’s mental and physical health

• The need to reinforce their sense of belonging in NEA

• The need to encourage mutual respect through proper

staff engagement within NEA

Furthermore, to be NEA’s ambassadors, NEA employees need

to do more than contribute to the functionality of the organisation

and walk the talk. They will need to embody our core values in

their day-to-day conduct both in and out of the workplace.

Thus,inNEA,ourlong-termHRstrategiesareasfollows:

• Attract, develop and retain talent with a passion for the

environment

• Build work environment where staff are highly engaged

and feel cared for

• Nurture a cohesive workforce with high ethos

Staying on this positive trajectory requires us to enhance and

sustain efforts in several areas which will be highlighted in

this section.

In NEA, every staff is a talent to be developed to their

fullest potential. We seek to provide a learning culture and

environment to enable our people to grow their potential and

build a forward-looking, innovative and vibrant organisation.

Learning starts from the moment staff enter NEA. All new

staff go through the employee orientation, departmental

induction/buddy scheme, e-induction, formal induction

programme, and a two day PEEL trail in which staff visit

NEA operational sites.

There are also many opportunities for officers to learn, be it

soft skills or functional skills to help them build confidence

in their work and enhance their professionalism. All staff

plan their own learning roadmap in consultation with their

supervisors as part of their annual performance appraisal

process before the start of each year.

In June 2011, NEA implemented the Enhanced Talent

Management Framework to provide greater focus in

developing key domain expertise and leadership training. Other

than equipping officers with skills and knowledge required

to perform well on their jobs, we seek to broaden our staff

exposure to facilitate whole-of-NEA thinking through job

rotations and cross-functional developmental assignments.

NEA is also providing more learning and upgrading

opportunities to raise the educational profile of staff,

improve employees’ competencies, and maximise potential

for career development. Such opportunities are extended to

staff of all ages including our older workers. One example

is our expansion of our sponsorship schemes to allow older

officers with secondary education, who are not confident or

keen on furthering their studies, the option to attend specific

skills bridging courses.

We also seek to tap on the experience of our older workers beyond

their retirement via the Adjunct Appointment and Consultant

Schemes. These schemes enable these retired staff to return

to contribute to NEA according to their post retirement needs,

be it on short-term or part-time basis. This is a good avenue

for senior retired staff to continue to mentor and share their

expertise with younger or international colleagues.

Learning & Talent Management

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Zest! for Life

under this initiative, new batches of inductees (new hires)

are given time off work to share their ideas and enthusiasm

for life along with nature by organising a leisure activity for

existing staff. To date, excursions to the beautiful trails of the

Southern Ridges, Botanical Gardens and Bukit Timah Hill

were conducted. Zest! for Life draws approximately 80 to

140 participants each time.

Affordable in-house fitness classes and workshops are also

offered on a weekly basis. The popular classes include Tai Chi

and line-dancing which have been ongoing for 5 years. On

top of these, NEASRC organises a wide range of recreational

activities from terrarium workshops to movie screenings.

Health Screening and Roadshows

Our employees’ health and well-being are important to us.

Thus, complimentary basic health screenings and awareness

programmes are organised biennially for all staff at NEA’s

headquarters and off-site installations.

Leave Benefits and Time-Off Policies

As an advocate for pro-family and work-life balance, NEA

has provided leave benefits and time-off policies in line and

at times beyond standard industry practices:

• Adoption Leave — Allows for staff intending to adopt a

child to take up to four weeks off work

• Child-Care, Child-Sick and Parent-Care Leave Schemes

— Enable employees to fulfil their personal obligations as

parents and to their parents

• Birthday Leave — Offers the privilege of an additional

day-off within a week before/after the officer’s birthday

• Study and Exam Leave — Applicable also for non-

NEA sponsored courses; to staff who are interested in

upgrading themselves academically and technically

• All officers are permitted to take one hour off each week

to exercise and unwind

Flexi-Benefits Scheme

Each year, all NEA employees are entitled to a specific

amount, regardless of job title and qualifications, under the

Flexi-Benefits Scheme (FBS). This scheme covers purchases

related to health and wellness, pro-family or continuous

learning courses such as (but not limited to) health insurance,

family travel expenses, and club/society memberships.

ACtIVItIESMany factors contribute to staff morale and we believe that

a vibrant work-life programme is one such example. These

work-life activities aim to develop a healthy, caring and pro-

family culture in NEA whilst encouraging team-bonding

among employees.

Some of our work-life programmes and activities include:

Fitness and Recreational Classes/Workshops

A Sports Convenor is engaged to conduct monthly fitness

activities. Staff are introduced to different forms of exercise

at no cost, so they may discover an activity they enjoy doing

on their own. Some of these are yoga, dance aerobics, and

hi-lo training.

vision of

Work-Life

SELfAchieving personal

well-being encompassing body, mind and spirit

COMMUNItyDeveloping a whole person

through corporate & personal contributions to society by

helping the less fortunate, caring for the environment, and making

a positive difference to society

fAMILy & fRIENdSDeveloping and strengthening significant relationship that include family, friends, and signifiant others

SRC

• Personal Work-Life Effectiveness

• WorkplaceHealth

• Resilience

(InconsultationwithHR,where necessary)

• Quality Leadership

• Conductive Organisational Climate

• Structural Changes in Workplace

• Flexible Work Arrangements

• Family-Friendly Work Environment

• Opportunities to Socialise

• Interpersonal Effectiveness

• CorporateCommunity Involvement

• Platforms for Sharing

• Recognition

WORkHavingpurpose,meaningandchallenge at work. A career that provides:

• Recognition / Reward

• Professional Development

• Continuous Learning

PEER (Charity)

Cdd (CaringforENV)

WORk-LIfE AMBASSAdOR(Family)

INtERACt POINt (Singles-Friends)

Work-LifeHarmony

A ROBUSt WORk-LIfE fRAMEWORkNEA has set up a work-life framework that addresses the

needs of the staff as individuals, and their relationship

with family/friends, community and work (see diagram

below). The Human Resource Division (HRD) works

with other committees to coordinate work-life schemes

and programmes that execute the various aspects of this

framework. These committees include the NEA Sports and

Recreation Club (NEASRC) and the Panel of Employee

Engagement and Recognition (PEER).

SUPPORtIVE HR POLICIESFlexible Working Policies and Practices

As part of NEA’s work-life harmony initiatives, flexible working

arrangements such as part-time work, telecommuting, and

staggered working hours — that help officers to better manage

work and personal responsibilities — have been implemented.

Since being introduced, four per cent of our Monthly Rated

Employees have participated in these schemes; balancing

their commitments, in and out of NEA.

TOP: NEA’s Fitness Tryouts at The Aerobics StudioBOTTOM: Making terrariums with colleagues during lunch

“I like to keep an active lifestyle and with this

(arrangement) I find my current work meaningful

as I get to share knowledge to the younger

officers and continue to contribute to the

healthcare community.”

To improve progression and encourage our lower educated and

older workers to upgrade themselves, NEA has been and will

be re-designing some of our jobs. Take for example, in FY11,

NEA undertook a Daily Rated Employees (DREs) Job Redesign

project in which DRE jobs were upgraded and upskilled so that

those affected could enjoy better remuneration prospects. Our

DREs underwent over 100 hours of customised training to

provide them with the necessary skills for their new job scope.

NEA will continue to focus on raising the skill levels and

competencies of its workforce to better tackle the strategic

challenges ahead.

Mr Tan Joo Thai, a 66-year old Medical Inspection Specialist,

who was re-hired in 2011 as a full-time consultant

WORk-LIfE AMBASSAdOR

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Corporate Events and Celebration

NEA’s annual Family Day encourages staff to experience

bonding time with their families and colleagues, away from

the office. NEA’s Family Day @ The Zoo subsidised 50 per

cent of the park’s entry fee for staff and saw more than 400

employees turn up in support. Citing another, our Dinner &

Dance allows for staff to enjoy a fun night out with up to 90

per cent subsidy on the cost for the dinner party.

In NEA, major festivities are celebrated with food,

performances, workshops, and best-dressed competitions.

These festivities include the Lunar New Year, Hari Raya,

Deepavali and Christmas, with free admission for all staff

and their family members.

NEAt Kids’ Club

The NEAt Kids’ Club organises activities for children and

grandchildren of NEA staff during the school holidays at

very affordable rates. NEA staff whose children are enrolled

can sign up as parent volunteers and enjoy time off work to

spend with their children.

Staff Engagement on Social Sustainability IssuesNEA believes that highly engaged employees are motivated

to be the best in their work so as to contribute to NEA’s

success. Our employee engagement strategies to build a

work environment where staff are highly engaged and feel

cared for are to:

• Share & Listen More — More 2-way, bottom up

communication

• We’re in This Together — Profile, personalise, and

celebrate teamwork

• We Care — Show support, feed the soul and live the spirit

In FY11, NEA ramped up staff engagement to further

reinforce our staff’s sense of belonging in NEA, create

more 2-way communication channels, and involve staff in

co-seeking innovative solutions to NEA’s challenges and

opportunities. Some new engagement initiatives included

quarterly CEO Townhall, 6 monthly HR roadshows, the

designofanEmployeeValueProposition,SupermanForum

for the Middle Management, biannual Senior Management

Get-To-Gather Sessions, etc.

NEA will continue to build on our initiatives to create a

first-class, engaged workforce, and a workplace where

passionate environment advocates strive together in this

dynamic, challenging field to serve Singapore.

OPERATIONALExCELLENCE

Encouraging Innovation

In NEA, innovation means the following:

• Workingsmarter

• Findingbetterwaysforengagement

• Improvingeffectivenessandefficiencyofoperations

• Meetingcustomers’risingexpectations

• Generating impactful ideas (big and small) to achieve

value creation for our stakeholders

As one of NEA’s core values, the organisation strives to pursue

new ideas and creative solutions in safeguarding, nurturing,

and cherishing our environment.

NEA has a systematic process through which staff can submit

their suggestions in NEA’s Intranet through our Operation

tAPPINg IdEAS fROM StAff

IdEAS EVALUAtIONAWARdS &

RECOgNItION SCHEME

•MyiDeas

•WITsOnline

National PS21 ExCEL Awards•BestIdeator,BestPS21Projects,OutstandingActivists

NEA ExCEL Awards•BestMyiDeas,BestIdeators,

Best PS21 Projects, Outstanding Activities

Recognition by DIP Members•4BestMyiDeas(outof9nominations)

•5BestPS21Projects(outof19nominations)

Nominations•BestMyiDeas

•BestPS21Projects•OutstandingActivists

National PS21 ExCEL Convention

NEA Innovation Steering Committee

Div Innovation Panel

Div Innovation Committees

Individual Department Evaluators (on going)

Excellence systems (i.e. MyiDeas and WITs Online) before

they are evaluated at the various platforms.

under the MyiDeas scheme, rewards are given as a token

of appreciation to staff who put forward their suggestions.

To encourage implementation, the implementers are further

granted half of the points awarded for the ideas accepted.

Special incentives are given to the top five quarterly Best

MyiDeas selected to be presented to NEA’s Infocomm

Singapore Centre (ISC).

under WITs Online, project teams that complete their

projects during the first half of the Financial Year will be

rewarded. In addition, the top five half-yearly Best Public

Services 21 (PS21) Projects selected for presentation to

NEA’s Infocomm Singapore Centre (ISC) will be awarded

with S$100 per project.

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Innovation and Learning Fiesta 2012

Every year, deserving staff and projects are recognised

during NEA or national events. Over past years, recipients

of the NEA Best PS21 Awards were duly acknowledged

during NEA Staff Conferences. To emphasise the

importance of innovation in NEA and provide greater

recognition to staff, the NEA’s inaugural Innovation and

Learning Fiesta (ILF) 2012 was recently launched by the

CEO on 14 February 2012.

The Fiesta showcased eleven of NEA's best innovative

and learning projects in recent years. It began with an

awards ceremony to recognise NEA staff's efforts

towards innovation, followed by an inspirational sharing

session by our three NEA Best PS21 Project Gold Award

Winners on their journeys.

One interesting project by Team Optimus was showcased

during ILF: the Mobile Mozzie Microscope (M3) and

Mosquito Identification System. M3 consists of a mobile

microscope with LED light capability attached to a

smartphone casing to capture the image of the larva’s

tiny features which are too small for the naked eye.

Complementing the microscope is the Mosquito

Identification System. This technology comprises the use

of the M3 and mosquito larvae identification software,

leveraging on NEA’s knowledge on the anatomy of the

larva in an effort to lend identification to the specimen.

That being said, this not only revolutionises mosquito

monitoring in Singapore but increases staff productivity by

46 per cent — reducing the time required for monitoring

a particular area.

Over 800 officers turned up for ILF and were treated to

a fun-filled journey of discovery and inspiration, learning

about real-life success stories from our exhibitors whilst

collectingstampstofilluptheircarnivalpassports.Hallsof

excellence, our idea generation stations, were also set up

to raise awareness of the Business Excellence Framework

that NEA has adopted since 2006 — where more than 100

ideas were generated by staff.

In addition, there were two workshops — Innovation@

The World Café and Activity-Based Learning Workshop

— conducted at Singapore Environment Institute Training

Rooms to stimulate creative thinking and encourage

learning along with the exchange of ideas. Many of the

participants lavished praise on the workshops as they

picked up tools to stimulate innovative thinking and gain

better understanding on present modes of learning.

RECOgNISINg ExCELLENCE

Best PS21 Ideator Award

The Best Public Services 21 (PS21) Ideator Award recognises

individuals who have made significant contributions in terms

of ideas and suggestions for improvement.

Mr Nasir K.K Maideen (South West Regional Office) clinched

the prestigious Gold Award for the Best PS21 Ideator Award

at the national PS21 ExCEL Awards and Exhibition held

on 11 November 2011 — for conceptualising the Mobile

Mozzie Microscope and Junction Eyes Terminal. Impressed

withMrNasir’ssimpleyeteffectiveidea,theHeadofCivil

Service, Mr Peter Ong, complimented Mr Maideen in his

opening address at the Convention.

ICQCC

Besides showcasing NEA’s innovative achievements at

national competitions, another of NEA’s project, Operation

M.A.C.E. (Monster Annihilation and Control Enforcement),

which won the Best PS21 Project Silver Award in 2010, went

on to grace the international arena, clinching the Distinguished

Silver Award at the International Convention on Quality Control

Circles (ICQCC)5 in 2011 in Yokohama, Japan. Operation

M.A.C.E uses gaming to communicate dengue prevention

tips to young gamers. The innovative concept drew inspiration

from RPG (Role Playing Games) and anime.

In our continual pursuit for excellence, we have shortlisted

and submitted three projects, namely (i) Mobile Mozzie

Microscope, (ii) Optimisation of Closed Circuit Cooling Water

SystemOperation(IncinerationPlants)and(iii)Verificationof

Weighbridge Accuracy, with great potential to bag the Gold

Award in this year’s ICQCC held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

5 The ICQCC is an international convention/competition held annually which

provides opportunities for members practising Quality Control Circles

(WITs in our context) and quality concepts to share their successful

projects and knowledge.

StRENgtHENINg OUR INtERNAL INNOVAtION fRAMEWORkKey enhancements in recent years include aligning innovation

evaluation criteria to the National PS21 awards (since

2010), and making enhancements (including streamlining

processes and introducing new/enhanced features) on

MyiDeas systems to improve its system usability.

NEA will continue to review and revamp our innovation

framework in the areas such as culture, strategies, processes

and talent.

Seeking Innovative Eco-Friendly Alternatives—TestbeddingElectricVehicleinNEA

NEA is on the lookout for ways to green our vehicle fleet.

NEA currently has two hybrid vehicles for both NEA and

MEWR senior management’s use.

At the moment, NEA is participating in a multi-agency

ElectricVehiclesTaskforce(EVTF)projectsetuptotest

outelectricvehicles(EVs)andassessthebenefitsand

applicabilityofintroducingEVsinSingapore.

AnEVwaspurchasedandwill bedeliveredon9April

2012 with a charging station also installed at the

Environment Building. It will be used by our Pollution

Control Department officers to travel to various remote

monitoring sites in Singapore for routine work. Data on

the usage of the EV will be collected and analysed in

accordance to the project’s experiment protocols.

After a full charge of over eight hours, an EV has the

potential to run for about 90 to 160 kilometres. This

is notably about twice the daily driving distance in

Singapore, which is around 55 kilometres.

We believe our support can help the taskforce better

evaluate infrastructure requirements and new business

modelsarising fromEVs,aswellas to identify industry

and R&D opportunities.

Through participation in this project, NEA also aims to

evaluatefirst-handtheenvironmentalbenefitsofEVs.

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NEA has embarked on the risk management journey since

2006.Havingestablishedbasic riskmanagementsystems

and processes as mentioned in the earlier chapter, there

is still much to do to build up an active risk management

culture in the organisation.

The effectiveness of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)

in NEA is very much dependent on the strength of its risk

culture. To strengthen our risk culture, we have conducted

numerous trainings and customised briefings over the years

to progressively intensify our efforts.

RISk tRAININg In FY11, a series of risk management awareness training

sessions, known as Know Your Job, Do It Right, were

organised for staff and conducted by external experts on

risk management.

To promote greater understanding of ERM and acquire

additional knowledge to build our capabilities, seasoned ERM

practitioners have been invited to share their experiences

and best practices with us. Last year, NEA had the honour

of gracing Mr Abhijit Sinharoy, Head of Enterprise Risk

Management at VISA Inc., who oversees the Asia Pacific,

Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions.

Risk management talks are also conducted at NEA Milestone

Programmes for young officers who have been in service

for a few years. The purpose is to create greater awareness

and understanding of risk management and its importance

to NEA’s role and functions.

RISk COMMUNICAtIONSince July 2009, NEA has been updating staff biyearly on

the latest risk management issues and happenings through

an internal risk management newsletter, the Risk Digest.

Enhancing the Risk Culture in NEA

There is also a risk management Intranet site allowing

staff to access risk management matters in NEA. It serves

as a source of risk management information that includes

speeches and videos featuring past risk management

training sessions and external speakers.

On top of that, NEA proactively collates risk-related news

from the mass media and disseminates it to employees.

Lessons learnt can then be applied in NEA.

REWARdS ANd RECOgNItIONNEA recognises staff for their efforts in promoting risk

management through the NEA Risk Ambassador award. The

award was first introduced in January 2011.

Building a Workplace Safety Culture

One of the key operational risk areas that management places emphasis on is workplace safety. Other than having a robust system to manage workplace safety risk as mentioned in the earlier chapter, NEA also emphasises on building a workplace safety culture.

Dedicated workplace safety courses, staff briefings and communication messages are implemented to build up a workplace safety culture across NEA. The information disseminated is customised to cater to different natures of work as well as different levels of workplace safety awareness required. Below are some of our initiatives.

Training and Staff Briefings Instilling the importance of workplace safety into newcomers from day one is paramount, especially to those working at high-risk premises like incineration plants where a safety orientation is mandatory. The induction briefing programme for all new employees of NEA incorporates a segment emphasising the importance of workplace safety, a right step towards an accident-free organisation.

For existing staff, safety education is included as part of NEA’s overall training and learning plan. Regular safety training and refresher training have also been conducted. Some topics covered in the training courses include Risk Assessment Awareness, First Aid Training, Safe use of Cranes and Lifting Equipment, Oil and Chemical Spillage Training, Proper use of Personal Protective Equipment, Fire Safety, Chemical Safety, Biosafety Briefing, etc.

Key external contractors also have to undergo training on our workplace safety issues.

Efforts are currently underway to put in place a more structured workplace safety training plan for all staff, involving both general workplace safety training and awareness, and specialist workplace safety training for a selected few who have job responsibilities in workplace safety.

Site-Specific Briefings to Build Safety Culture Toolbox meetings and safety briefings are regularly led by field supervisors to inform staff, including all DREs, on safety rules and practices. Taking it a step further, some DREs are sent for courses on WorkplaceSafety&Health.

High-riskworkareassuchas incinerationplants requiremanagementto conduct walkthroughs of the site to ensure full compliance to safety regulations, risk identification, followed by the rectification of any safety hazards. A registered safety officer (RSO) is always at hand to guide and advise staff on safety procedures while conducting safety audits on a weekly basis.

Preventive LearningNEA studies and analyses the results of near-misses, incidents and accident reporting to facilitate learning. This allows us to weed out root causes, identify potential hazards, and correct the problem’s origin.

For their contributions, departmental Risk Champions

are granted due recognition in their personal HR records.

The Director (Corporate Services) meets with these Risk

Champions on a regular basis to understand their needs and

obtain invaluable feedback.

Moving forward, while NEA continues to place emphasis

on managing operational risk in NEA and engaging staff to

build a robust risk culture within NEA, more needs to be

done to link risk management to NEA’s business continuity

and emergency planning efforts. Risk management is useful

for identifying potential events that may impact NEA’s

processes and operations by highlighting key areas of

caution in business continuity projects.

Drills and ExercisesDrills and exercises are put into action to test the readiness of staff in dealing with crises or incidents at the workplace. For example, a large-scale emergency evacuation drill is held at each NEA office annually.

Workplace Safety & Health Communication Messages To remind staff on the importance of workplace safety, workplace safety messages in the form of posters are placed across offices to promote awareness. NEA tries to incorporate workplace safety messages in other events held within NEA. A good example would be the Innovation & Learning Fiesta heldinFebruary2012.There,weinvitedtheWorkplaceSafety&Health(WSH)Counciltosetupaboothtopromoteworkplacesafetymessages.In addition, we arranged for WSH messengers to perform skits in aneffort to communicate workplace safety issues to staff in a fun and easy-to-understand manner. Talks by External ExpertsExperts from DuPont and the Ministry of Manpower had on two separate occasions shared with NEA their experience and advices on how to build a Sustainable Safety Culture.

On 13 June 2011, Mr Srinivasan Ramabhadran, Global Leader of Process Safety and Risk Management Offerings, DuPont Sustainable Solutions, shared with 100 staff from NEA and the Public utilities Board DuPont’s strategies for creating and sustaining a culture of safety, the benefits of doing so, and highlighted the progressive journey in DuPont’s culture shift to achieve safety excellence — requiring involvement and ownership by all employees.

On 6 January 2012, officers from Ministry of Manpower shared their advice and tips on how to play a proactive role in achieving good office ergonomics at their desks, avoiding trips, slips and falls, together with preventing sprains and backaches while carrying heavy items.

Annual Safety Week / Safety DayA safety week or safety day is organised at workplaces with higher levels of risk (e.g. incineration plants). During this period, a line-up of safety skills are taught, including training, practical safety sessions, practice drills, safety talks by external experts, exhibitions, and not to mention, quizzes for staff.

HereatNEA,lifeisprecious.Assuch,westrivetobuildupastrongworkplacesafetycultureamongststafftoensurethatnotragediesbefallemployeesunder our watchful eye. There is no room for complacency as we continue on the journey to fully eliminate accidents from the workplace.


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ChERIShINGIn line with our mission and core values, NEA seeks to contribute to the community

and build a caring culture within NEA through activities that promote corporate social

responsibility. Through collaborations with key partners, NEA also seeks to motivate the

business community to similarly adopt sustainability practices within their own organisation.

TOdAY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

kEy CSR INItIAtIVESOne of our key CSR initiatives is our annual Semakau Run.

The concept of the Semakau Run was conceived in 2007

for the purpose of encouraging the business community and

public to support environmental protection and social causes.

The Semakau Run is a platform to consolidate donations

from interested parties to environmental non-governmental

organisations (NGOs) and social service charities so that

they can continue to develop, improve, and maintain their

community outreach, environmental programmes and social

services for the better of the environment and society.

Having the event organised at our one and only landfill

shows participants first-hand the importance of sustainable

waste management in Singapore, and indirectly educates

the public on the need to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

In 2011, the Semakau Run received support from 24 donors

who pledged a total of S$280,000 to environmental NGOs

and our adopted charities — Singapore Children’s Society

and Children’s Cancer Foundation. The annual Semakau Run

symbolises the close partnership NEA has built over the years

with businesses and the public to work towards long-term

sustainable development for Singapore.

The Eco-Music Challenge is another example of NEA’s

continual effort to give back to the community while

promoting environmental sustainability. The Eco-Music

Challenge (EMC) is an online song-writing competition for

individuals to express their appreciation and support for the

environment through music. Through Facebook, YouTube

and Twitter, NEA reaches out to the youth community. The

EMC received wide support with more than 300 songs

submitted in 2011. The top finalists’ entries were compiled

into an album and its sales proceeds, amounting to about

S$10,000 was donated to the Nature Society.

NEA has also organised a number of CSR activities to

engage staff and allow them to contribute to the social

causes they believe in:

• In the wake of the Fukushima crisis in March 2011, NEA

staff pledged more than S$10,000 for the victims

• InJanuary2012,NEAorganisedtheVerticalChallenge

in which 344 staff members participated and donated

more than S$12,000 to the Community Chest

• In July 2011, invited guests from Children’s Cancer

Foundation (CCF) joined us for NEA Family Day at the

Singapore Zoo. Staff and CCF guests had a wonderful

time enjoying our planned activities, as well as the various

carnival games and booths that were set up at the zoo

• In October 2011, NEA adopted two charity organisations,

namely the Singapore Children’s Society and the

Children’s Cancer Foundation as we believe that the

next generation holds our future in their hands. Some of

the activities organised by NEA to raise awareness and

funds for them are as follows:

- In December 2011, NEA organised a Christmas party

for staff and invited Children’s Cancer Foundation

beneficiaries to join us. NEA’s giving spirit shined

brightly that day, presenting a total of S$5,000 to the

Foundation.

- In our 2012 Chinese New Year Recycling Drive, a

total of 170 kilograms of newspapers and 130

kilograms of old clothes were collected. On a one-

off special arrangement with our recycling company,

these recyclables were exchanged for cash, which

was subsequently donated to our adopted charity,

the Singapore Children’s Society. Through this

meaningful CSR initiative, NEA not only gave back

to the community but also imparted a valuable lesson

on recycling to staff.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a social investment

that National Environment Agency (NEA) is committed to

as we believe that a socially responsible workforce is an

asset that creates long-term value for both NEA and the

community of which we are a part of.

In FY11, NEA has set up a more structured approach to

drive corporate social responsibility within the organisation,

intensifying staff engagement and arranging CSR activities

(e.g. Semakau Run, Christmas party) to draw in staff and

partners alike to contribute to the community.

Our CSR efforts, in line with NEA’s mission and core values,

encourage a caring culture within NEA as well as embrace

inclusiveness and sustainability. NEA’s structured approach

on CSR is shown below.

StRUCtUREd APPROACHDevelop an engaged, socially responsible workforce that gives back to the community, leveraging on

StRAtEgIES

OUtCOMES ANd kPIS

HEIgHtENEd PUBLICItyFor greater staff awareness of community

needs and opportunities to serve

Publicise needs and opportunities to encourage

staff volunteerism

Percentage of staff volunteers / total staff

ORgANISAtION SUPPORt To enable staff volunteerism and embed CSR

as an integral part of NEA’s culture

Put in place systems (education, recognition) to

support CSR

No. of community hours logged by staff volunteers

CLOSE PARtNERSHIPSWith adopted charities that align with NEA’s

mission and core values

Programmes that match staff skills and interests

with charity needs for deeper engagement

Total corporate-wide cash or in-kind contributions

NEA’S CSR APPROACH

Corporate Social Responsibility: Inculcating a Caring Culture within NEA

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A number of NEA’s off-site premises have also organised

their own CSR activities. Take for example, in 2011, North

West Regional Office ran a donation drive for soft toys and

old textbooks. The items were subsequently donated to

charity organisations.

NEA will continue to weave CSR components into our

celebrations and provide platforms for staff to care for the

community and environment. In 2012, NEA turns ten and

whilst we celebrate how far we have come, we will also

reach out to do our bit for our adopted charities. We will be

raising funds at NEA’s 10th Anniversary Dinner & Dance for

the Singapore Children’s Society, and organising a Charity

Run cum Sustainability Tour at Gardens by the Bay for the

Children’s Cancer Foundation. The Charity Run will not only

engage our staff and their families, but also those of our

partners’ as well as members of the public to raise awareness

on our twin messages — Environmental Sustainability and

Social Responsibility.

On 26 November 2011, NEA’s officers displayed a

great spirit of volunteerism while walking along Orchard

Road, en route to Scape. As they walked to their

destination, Team NEA, consisting of staff, family and

friends, cheered enthusiastically, “NEA, We Care”, at the

InternationalVolunteerDay.Thiseventwasorganisedby

theNationalVolunteerandPhilanthropyCouncil(NVPC)

to raise awareness on the plight of the less fortunate.

Team NEA was the largest organised group at the event

and the huge turnout demonstrated NEA’s commitment

towards CSR. Moreover, it was a great opportunity for

family and team bonding, as well as instilling the values

of caring for the less fortunate.

NEA PEER members also helped out at the booths

of our adopted charities. The interactive experience

at the exhibition — part of NEA’s Year-End Giving

Programme to promote staff engagement and the spirit

of volunteerism — left a lasting impression on NEA

volunteers, strengthening their resolution to do more for

the community.

Ms Saadiah Imbramsah,

South East Regional Office

“you feel great when you’re doing something like this, I am happy to walk with my family, as well as friends from HQ and other ROs for such a good cause. Such events really open my eyes and I’m looking forward to more volunteer opportunities like this.”

Mr Yeow Yhee Choon,

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Department

“Experience with Me is an insightful and hands-on programme where we got to take on the roles of the needy. through this activity, I got a sense of what they have to overcome in their daily lives and how we can help to alleviate their difficulties.”

“NEA,WeCare”atInternationalVolunteerDay2011

COLLABORAtION tO PROMOtE SUStAINABILIty AdOPtION NEA works with and supports various entities like

Singapore Compact and Singapore Business Federation

to promote sustainability to the business community

in the hope of getting more organisations to adopt

environmental sustainability within their organisation and

track their performance through sustainability reporting.

Some of the events that NEA supports our partners in

are the Singapore Compact Awards for Corporate Social

Responsibility, ACCA Singapore Awards for Sustainability

Reporting, Singapore Business Federation Singapore

Sustainability Awards, Singapore Environment Council

Environmental Achievement Awards Green Summit, etc.

The Training & Knowledge Division of NEA, Singapore

Environment Institute (SEI), also supports Singapore

Compact’s and ACCA’s efforts in organising workshops on

sustainability reporting to raise the business community’s

awareness on the importance of embracing sustainability

and to build up their capacity for future implementation. To

equip practitioners in the public and private sectors with the

skills and knowledge on various sustainability issues, SEI

also conducts specialised training programmes in subject

areas covering environmental pollution control, waste

management, resource conservation and efficiency and

environmental public health management. In addition, the

institute organises a variety of knowledge sharing initiatives

ranging from conferences, workshops and public lectures

to advanced thought leadership seminars to deepen local

expertise in the practice of sustainability.

LEAdINg By ExAMPLENEA's effort to publish a sustainability report has created

some interest amongst the sustainability reporting

consultancy industry. Our call for proposal to produce our

sustainability report through the GeBIZ — an online platform

where suppliers conduct e-commerce with the Singapore

Government — has led to more companies joining the GeBIZ

in view of potential future assignments on sustainability

reporting and consultancy work. The confluence of a pool of

sustainability reporting consultants will be useful for other

public organisations to readily tap on should they require

similar service in producing their sustainability report.

In addition, we hope that our sustainability report can help

to create the first ripple among Singapore public agencies,

and motivate more public agencies to embark on their own

journeys of sustainability.

Together with our partners, NEA hopes to jointly shape

Singapore’s business community and societal attitude

towards environmental ownership and sustainability

adoption, thereby moving a step closer towards achieving

our national environmental goals under the Sustainable


Collaboration & Promotion Work for Sustainability

Ms Audrey Chan,

EnvironmentalHealthDepartment

“I’m really glad that I turned up… with the other NEA staff. It gave me an opportunity to be in the shoes of the needy and understand what they are going through. At one of the stations, I tried manoeuvring myself around on a wheelchair and only then I realised that you actually need to use a lot of energy to move around.”

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GRI INDICATORS REPORT PAGE

STRATEGY AND ANALYSIS

1.1 2 - 3, 6 - 7

1.2 2 - 3, 6 - 7, 22 - 25

ORGANISATIONAL PROFILE

2.1 4 - 5

2.3 4 - 5

2.3 4 - 5

2.4 4 - 5, 26 - 27

2.5 Not applicable for our specific business

2.6 4 - 5


2.8 4, 13, 26 - 27, AR Financial Statement

2.9 26 - 27

2.10 28 - 29

GOvERNANCE, COMMITMENTS, AND ENGAGEMENT

3.1 26 - 27

3.2 Not applicable

3.3 26 - 27

3.4 26 - 27

3.5 22 - 25

3.6 26 - 27

3.7 26 - 27


3.9 30 - 31

3.12 70 - 71

3.13 Report has not been externally assured

GRI INDICATORS REPORT PAGE

GOvERNANCE, COMMITMENTS, AND ENGAGEMENT

4.1 8 - 11

4.2 8 - 11

4.3 8 - 11

4.4 10 - 11, 47

4.6 8 - 11

4.7 8 - 11

4.8 6 - 7, 16 - 17

4.9 8 - 11, 12 - 15, 17, 18 - 19, 22 - 25

4.10 8 - 11, 12 - 15

4.11 12 - 15, 18 - 19, 23 - 25, 28 - 29, 35

4.12 28 - 29

4.14 24 - 25, 26 - 27

4.15 24 - 25

4.16 10 - 11, 12 - 15, 24 - 25

4.17 17, 11, 24 - 25, 50 - 54

ENvIRONMENTALMaterials

EN1 30

EN2 35, 40 - 41, 53

Energy

EN3 30

EN4 30

EN5 30, 34 - 39, 50 - 54

EN7 35, 36 - 39, 40 - 41, 52

Water

EN8 30

Biodiversity

EN11 35

EN12 35

EN13 35

EN14 35

GRI CONTENT INdEx GRI INDICATORS REPORT PAGE

HUMAN RIGHTSNon-Discrimination

HR4 47

Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

HR5 47

SOCIETYLocal Community

SO1 31, 66 - 69

SO9 66 - 69

SO10 66 - 69

Corruption

SO3 47

SO4 47

GRI INDICATORS REPORT PAGEEmissions, Effluents, and Waste

EN18 34 - 39, 50 - 54

EN19 35

EN20 35

EN21 35

EN22 35

EN23 35

Products and Services

EN26 35, 52

EN29 52

PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITYProduct and Service Labeling

PR5 24 - 25

PR6 12 - 15, 69

SECTOR SUPPLEMENT INDICATORS( In accordance with public agencies)

PA1 12 - 15

PA2 12 - 15

PA3 12 - 15

PA4 12 - 15

PA5 12 - 15

PA6 12 - 15

PA7 12 - 15

PA11 40 - 41

PA12 40 - 41

PA13 38 - 39, 40 - 41, 53

PA14 38 - 39, 40 - 41, 53

Sector Supplement Parameter on Administrative Efficiency

42 - 43, 52, 59 - 63

LABOUR PRACTICES AND DECENT WORKEmployment

LA1 31

LA2 31

LA3 56 - 58

Labor/Management Relations

LA4 47

Occupational Health and Safety

LA6 45 - 46, 63

LA7 31, 45 - 46, 63

LA8 63

LA10 31

Training and Education

LA11 55 - 56

LA12 47, 55 - 56

Diversity and Equal Opportunity

LA13 8 - 11, 31, 47, 55 - 56

Equal Remuneration for Women and Men

LA14 47

LA15 56 - 58

ECONOMIC (Refer to AR Financial statement for more information)

Economic Performance

EC1 31, 66 - 69, AR Financial statement

EC2 23 - 25, 28 - 29, 55 - 58

EC3 66 - 69

Market Presence

EC6 40 - 41

EC8 41

Indirect Economic Impacts

EC9 12 - 15, 41, 66 - 69

gRI CONtENt INdEx


gRI CONtENt INdEx

7170


72

NatioNal ENviRoNmENt agENcY

40 Scotts Road

Environment Building #19-00

Singapore 228231

Tel: 1800-2255 632

Fax: 62352611

The report is printed on environmental friendly paper

Sustainability Report FY11 - National Environment … Sustainability Report Card Inside NEA 02 Foreword by CEO 04 Preface 06 Our Mandate 08 Our Governance Structure 12 Sustainability

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