Pantry, take away, delivery are integrated in our office’s routine and whether on an individual level or an organisation level, we can limit our environmental impact with minimal effort.
This section is mostly about raising awareness and reducing waste, including single-use items - such as but not limited to plastic: bags, cutlery, packaging...
Check out the BYO (Bring Your Own) Campaign launched in 2017 by Zero Waste SG. So far, 2.5 million pieces of plastic disposables were avoided through the campaign.
If you don't measure it, you can't manage it!
- Start recording your food and drinks consumption/ waste
- Implement a proper procedure to measure across all departments
- Set annual reduction targets of food and drinks consumption/ waste to achieve environmental sustainability, economic outcomes and food security
Target a Zero Waste objective. Among other ideas to decrease your F&B consumption:
- Avoid over-ordering F&B for meetings, workshops, trainings, events. It is usually sufficient to order for 10–15% less than the number of guests attending.
- Serve tap-water in reusable glass bottles
- Make sure to share the leftovers with others or offer to take them home.
Singapore's tap water is perfectly safe to drink without any further filtration. You can add a filter to the tap water if you wish.
Use reusable cups!
Prefer pipe-in Water Dispensers. Direct piping dispensers are plastic bottleless and typically connected to the water source (piped-in) in the office, with/ without filter.
- Reuse plastic, paper, tissue bags
- Create a "bags box" for employees for their take-away lunch or other purchase. To do so, collect existing bags from home or the community, instead of producing new ones
Get rid of single-use plastic/ styrofoam cups, plates, cutlery, boxes... Replace them with reusable in the pantries.
Consider investing in reusable compartmentalised trays and crockery instead of disposable ones. If you contract your canteen, take a look in the General section at the "Choose sustainable food service contractors" solution.
Use dispenser for sauces, soft beverage, ice cream, coffee and tea instead of single dose packaging. Allow self service for napkins, bread, sugar, etc.
If reusable is REALLY not an option, consider using compostable dining ware suitable for a food waste digester if used. Otherwise, use disposable ware with first lower carbon footprint and then from sustainable sources
- For take-away meals, encourage your employees to refuse single-use (bag, box, cutlery,...), to bring their own (BYO) reusable containers or use reusable containers app solutions such as Muuse.
- Refuse plastic carriers if packed food can be held in the hand.
- For BYO, glass, stainless steel or BPA-free plastics are some recommended material options from a safety standpoint.
- Some products can be found in bulk to limit transport and packaging: coffee, tea, sugar, fruits...It can be the opportunity to promote healthier/ better quality of products, such as organic nuts and dry fruits.
- Make sure you don't over-order and waste. It is usually enough to order for 10%-15% less attendees than planned.
- Use proper containers to avoid wastage (e.g. airtight boxes, resealable packaging...)
Herbal tea has been used for centuries and has many proven health benefits, depending on the plants used. Mint, chamomile, lemon balm, dandelion etc. can be grown indoor or outdoor in Singapore. Herbs are easy to work with. Once harvested, they just need to be dried and enjoyed. Use this garden to raise awareness about food production.
Learn more on how to grow different herbs here.
Obviously, growing your own produces will not cover all your needs in terms of fresh supplies. However, it has several benefits:
In addition, partnerships will support local community gardens and local urban farmers.
You do not need much space to get started:
Alternatively, a specialist can help you start your own garden.
If you cannot grow your own produce, prioritize local produces (labelled if possible). See above solution "Source Responsibly"
Provide fresh fruits to your employees once or twice a week (prefer package free, chemicals-free, local products)
Meat consumption contributes to climate change. Encourage your employees to learn more about this issue, and adopt a vegetarian-diet-day once a week.
Take a look at Green Monday.
Hold an optional monthly or quarterly potluck to encourage people to eat a healthy, home-cooked lunch. Employees will have the opportunity to share a good meal, strengthen relationships and meet people they don’t usually interact with. Check this example.
If you need to order food delivery:
When you order food via delivery platforms or directly from your favourite restaurants & stalls, don't forget to specify you don't need disposables such as plastic cutlery, tissue, cups...
Reuse / Donate / Compost used coffee grounds. Coffee grounds are 100% natural and have various practical usage related to gardening, cleaning or technological usage such as fire retardant material. Contract with a specialist to collect them.
If you want to compost it by yourself, be aware that used coffee grounds must be detoxified by composting for a minimum of 98 days for plants to benefit from the potassium and nitrogen contained in the roasted beans.
The « sustainability journey » may feel overwhelming sometimes, but you are not alone.
Our Buddies have tried, succeeded, failed to implement change in their companies. They share their experience so you can learn, take shortcuts, get inspired and ask questions.
Everybody can become a Buddy and give back to the community; if you are keen, get in touch with us.
Alya is a multi-passionate entrepreneur working at the intersection of sustainability and personal growth. She founded GreenPush to help companies raise sustainability awareness in a fun and engaging way. Following her passion for personal growth, she founded Positive Push to empower women to take action on their vision & goals.
An Earthshot Prize Official Nominator and Ambassador for Unstoppable, Alya is also a dynamic public speaker and community builder. Her mission is simple: to inspire action and create spaces where individuals can grow, connect, and make meaningful change happen.
With 20 years of experience in IT across different sectors and industries, Benoit had managed teams focusing on project management and production and now is responsible for IT projects accross departments. Benoit is a strong sustainability advocate: in 2017, he was one of the founders and, later on, leader of Credit Agricole CIB's first green team in Singapore. In 2024, Benoit was an ECODESIGN Coach within Credit Agricole Assurances (CAA) where he contribute to create and deploy a framework for all IT projects to add a sustainability dimension to reduce their environmental footprint. This will help managers and management to understand both financial and carbon impacts and take decisions with wide insights.
Coming from a background of digital media, film-making, and digital marketing, Yen-Lyng fell into the sustainability field when she joined a waste management company as a Recycling Ambassador. During that time, she saw the many intricacies and challenges facing the very overlooked and underappreciated world of waste. So, when given the opportunity of working on a coffee recycling project, Yen-Lyng jumped at it. She will tell you more about her why and what of coffee recycling in her sharing and the challenges of lauching sustainable projects, working with A1 Environment.
A1 Environment started in 2012 as a general recycling and paper trading company. Sustainability IS the core of the company - it is what we do. A1’s founders combined have been in the waste management industry for over half a century and the business is based on sustainability and creating a circular economy.
Mary has founded Journey Makers to support organisations in their online presence blending customer experience and employee experience. She was previously in charge of Customer Experience for Lyreco Asia and worked on accelerating Digital and Marketing activities. In 2020, she was appointed sustainability ambassador as well for the region, as the topic was becoming a strategic one for the company. Thriving to drive the change internally and externally, she launched a Green Team that she co-led with her colleague.
Prior to this role, Mary had made her career essentially in the hospitality industry at global and regional role, from trade marketing, sales to Digital marketing. Before moving to Singapore in 2015, she was based in Dubai, UAE and France.
Before joining Chanel, I was General Manager of BSI Singapore for 2.5 years. Prior to joining BSI, I held different job assignments for the international retailer Carrefour. For them, I oversaw Quality, Food Safety and Sustainability in China and then at the Group level.
I spent most of my career working in Asia: in Shanghai, Hong Kong and I have been happily settled in Singapore for 8 years now.
I have a real passion for sustainability and nature conservation and I love to share the knowledge and experience I gained in this field. I am also a volunteer for the Singaporean NGO called Climate Conversation which aims to raise awareness on climate change.
Virgile is an academic researcher who works for the CNRS (France). For 13 years, he headed an international collaborative lab between CNRS and NUS (National University of Singapore) at the mechanobiology institute. He was in charge of the transition towards more sustainable laboratory practices in the institute. He implemented various actions covering CO2 emission monitoring, energy efficiency, reduction of consumables usage, waste management and awareness.
I am Naomi, currently co-founder & director of givvable. I started my career as an Australian diplomat with postings in East Timor, Thailand and Switzerland then moved into private banking where my interest in ESG and sustainability was seeded.
Today my company helps businesses screen and track the sustainability profile of their suppliers to help them achieve their goals and targets.
I run a business called Bright Green where I work with corporates to engage employees in impact projects in the areas of environmental and social impact. I also facilitate sustainability learning programs to educate employees on developing an eco-friendly mindset and high impact actions they can take in their homes and daily lives.
Before founding Bright Green in 2020, I have been working in Project Management, Change Management and Continuous Improvement roles within Human Resources and Recruitment. I love that I get to work with organisations that are making commitments to net-zero and inspire employees to make an impact!
I was born in Vietnam and grew up in France in Paris’ low income suburbs. My parents used to bring us to the park to have some outdoor activities and that’s where my father taught my siblings and I to observe, love and respect nature. He gave us perspective on our place in a much bigger ecosystem.
At that time, we didn’t describe our family as “sustainable”. It was very pragmatic, we didn’t waste anything, we mended everything, saved and reused, because we just couldn’t afford not to :)
In 2018 in Singapore, after what felt like a long, unfulfilling professional tunnel on autopilot, I was forced to make a pause and took the opportunity to consider what I really wanted to do with my life (I know this resonates with many!)
Then I really realised how passionate I was about sustainability and for the first time, I considered making it my job. Nothing is easy when you don’t hold the right degrees or the right amount of money, so I co-created The Matcha Initiative to jump into action instead of procrastinating. That’s how you start an amazing experience with amazing people :)
Cherry on the cake: TMI helped me land my current job at Handprint, where we help businesses embrace the next step - Regeneration.
I am a social impact cum sustainability professional and a writer. I am driven by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy that "the difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems". My work through my company Sustainpath is at the intersection of People, Planet and Profit – the Triple Bottom Line (TBL).
I am the Co-Founder of Sustainable Gaia, a Singapore based sustainability consultancy, focusing on sustainability reporting using GRI, TCFD, UNSDGs, ISO 14064 and other frameworks. I also help companies through sustainability consulting, training and research to help them meet and go beyond ESG compliance needs, to manage risks and to unlock opportunities while transitioning to a net zero world.
I have a background in Finance (MBA from IIM Calcutta), Financial Economics (M.Sc from University of London) and ESG (through various certifications and sustainability experience). I have done curriculum development and training for a wide range of companies, and agencies like National Environmental Agency and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy around Systems Thinking and Social Entrepreneurship respectively.
I am a Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) humanitarian and development professional who worked for more than 20 years in Indonesia for International NGOs and UNICEF. I founded my consultancy firm 7 years ago to support private sector to develop their strategy, engage stakeholders and implement in the field their sustainability projects/programs. I have a extensive network in Indonesia, from the local community/NGOs to several ministries. I am also GRI copywriter.
I founded Liberty Society, a social enterprise of eco & impactful B2B merchandise & hampers that empowers marginalized women. Because of my passion to combine profit and purpose, my previous experiences in the intersection of corporations and nonprofits include being Head of Acquisition at Yuna&Co, Partnership manager at Digitaraya, a Google for Startup Accelerator, and Director of Second Chance, a non profit initiative focusing on child sponsorship & micro financing poor households.
I graduated from Biola University, double majoring in Sociology (Social Justice emphasis) and Communication Studies. I also mentor & consult for youth-led NGOs and social projects working for refugee groups, disaster relief, and rural community development.
Liberty Society was named #1 winner of Women Empowerment Principles award 2021. Most recently, i was one of the 14 Global Young Leaders for Generation 17, a program by Samsung & UNDP to advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals.
I hold a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Geography from Universitas Gadjah Mada. During my college years, I was interested in urban studies (infrastructure, urban planning, and public transportation). I believed that businesses always harmed the environment and believed in the power of research. Yet, I was not satisfied with the impact it had. It was then that I began to think about how to 'change' the business system: profitably, benefitting the communities, preventing damage to the environment, and restoring it.
'Sustainability in business' became my cause. While research has its value, it is businesses that truly implement change and have a direct impact on the environment and society. And I want to make a real impact.
I'm an experienced business professional with 17 years of commercial experience across various industries in developed and developing Asian markets. I have held senior positions in multinational corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises, and startups, with a strong focus on GTM, B2B sales and expertise in venture building.
In one of my recent circular economy startup roles, I helped Nextevo launch the world's first pineapple leaf fiber denim jacket and jeans with Bershka (Inditex Group) in October 2022 and developed successful partnerships/showcases with the Singapore Design Council and the Singapore Fashion Council. Earlier in my career, I was part of the pioneer team in Singapore at one of the world's largest vertically integrated solar manufacturers, REC ASA, and separately at EPURON, where I supported the management team to launch the first Renewable Energy Trust in Asia with GE Energy Financial Services in 2008.
On the side, I am actively engaged in mentoring startup founders and young changemakers in Asia, participating in programs such as Bridge For Billions, the Singapore International Foundation's Young Social Entrepreneurs, and the National Youth Council Singapore’s Youth Action Challenge.
I leverage my entrepreneurial knowledge and extensive network to empower the next generation of impact-driven entrepreneurs in the region.
I am currently working as Managing Director of Green In Future Pte, a media company promoting sustainability through engaging content, workshops and trainings to inspire and empower individuals and businesses to adopt sustainable practices and contribute to a greener future.