The South West Community Development Council (CDC) provides local administration for 763,000 residents, and initiates, plans and manages programmes to promote bonding and social cohesion in the district. South West District occupies about one third of Singapore's land mass and is thus the largest among the five districts in terms of land area. It houses Singapore's largest industrial estates comprising Tuas, Jurong and Jurong Island. Sentosa Island is also located in the district.
Led by its Mayor, Dr Amy Khor, and through its Environment & Health Functional Committee South West CDC has produced a stellar report card for its efforts in promoting environmental sustainability and encouraging residents in the district to adopt environmentally friendly habits and lifestyles. South West CDC has received a number of local and regional awards including the Singapore's OK (SOK) Best Community Award for three consecutive years (2003, 2004 & 2005), the Clean & Green Singapore Best Community Award in 2007 and 2008, the President's Award for the Environment 2008 and inaugural ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable Cities Award 2008, in recognition of these efforts.
In order to reinforce its commitment to environmental sustainability and to lead by example, the South West CDC applied for the Green Office Label this year. It envisions that this will help to instil ownership among its staff for the community and the environment. Key milestones achieved by its 97-strong staff under the Green Office label include:
* Establishment of an ECo Office Policy – “South West CDC is committed to nurture its staff to care for the environment. Together, we will create a cleaner and greener office by making continuous efforts to Think Green, Practise Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, and be Energy-Efficient at all times!”.
* Adherence to sustainable Eco Office Guidelines – Spanning human resource, procurement, administration, recycling, energy and water conservation and environment, such as 100% configuration of all PCs and laptops with blank screensaver settings, recycling used single-sided paper by reprinting, having pedal bins at each office to collect unwanted and used plastic, paper and cartridges, going electronic for all communications, etc.
* Regular staff involvement – Based on survey, 100% of staff practises eco-friendly habits in their daily lives. Staff also shares best practices on a monthly basis and take part in staff-driven environmental competitions.
South West CDC endeavours to build sustainable and engaged communities in the South West district with the ECo ( E nvironment & Co mmunity) Plan South West, which was piloted in July 2008. Themed “Tomorrow Starts Today”, the ECo plan brings South West CDC's different environmental and community programmes under a coherent 10-year master plan, and consists of three environment-focussed goals (Cool, Green and Clean), two community-specific goals (Caring and Proactive) and a set of proposed action plans for the district and its stakeholders to adopt to have a more liveable, vibrant and caring community.
South West CDC is honoured to be the first community organisation to attain the Green Office Label certification (2008 – 2010). South West CDC looks forward to a sustainable South West district and is happy to have the Singapore Environment Council as a supporter of its ECo Plan South West.
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