News

Letter of the week: Flyers fly against green ambitions

There has been a lot said of Singapore’s Green Plan, including many ministerial speeches related to this subject. Corporations are also touting their support of Sustainability. On the other hand, it is disappointing to not see things that are relatively simple to change match these proclamations.

There has been a lot said of Singapore’s Green Plan, including many ministerial speeches related to this subject. Corporations are also touting their support of Sustainability. On the other hand, it is disappointing to not see things that are relatively simple to change match these proclamations. One such example is the huge amount of paper flyers that are being distributed into mailboxes or pushed into the hands of pedestrians each day. In fact, there is a company that is sending flyers to solicit business in flyer distribution! Each day, thousands of these flyers are thrown in trash bins (not even recycle bins), even as we are aiming to reduce landfill. Another company has sent out flyers titled “A Greener Tomorrow” to advertise “Eco Deals” at its mall. This smells of greenwashing on the part of that company. In addition, each year, companies send out huge volumes of annual shareholder reports even to those who own a few shares in their companies. Of course, there are also those that minimise the amount of paper used through a simple letter and advising shareholders to access reports online. Kudos to them. Mindset change starts with the smallest act. We have a long way before we can expect traction of Singapore’s Green Plan.

News Clusters