Category: Personality

Interview with Ms Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer, City Developments Limited (CDL)

Tell us about your role as Chief Sustainability Officer at CDL.

As CDL’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), I report directly to our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Board Sustainability Committee (BSC). Strategic thinking, anticipating trends and planning as well as effective implementation of ideas are key to my role. With the fast-changing business and sustainability landscape globally and locally, the biggest challenge is to uphold CDL’s sustainability leadership in Singapore and the region as well as maintain CDL’s high profile in global sustainability rankings. Referenced by many global institutional investors, these rankings reinforce our brand reputation and trusted track record.

To complement my role as CSO, I lead the company-wide Sustainability Committee, which drives sustainability across all corporate and operational units of CDL. Set up in 2008, the committee supports the Sustainability department in implementing initiatives, drives and monitors various aspects of CDL’s sustainability practices, and ensures effective integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives into our business operations and corporate objectives. Today, practicing sustainability alone is not sufficient, and communication is another key role that I play.

At CDL, we have been advancing our sustainability reporting in line with global reporting frameworks over the last decade. In 2008, CDL was the first Singapore company to publish a Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Application Level checked sustainability report. In 2012, we became the first developer in Singapore to receive GRI Level A+ for our report. In 2015, CDL became the first property developer in Singapore to adopt the International Integrated Reporting Council’s Integrated Reporting framework and published our inaugural Integrated Sustainability Report (ISR). This has helped us make stronger business and financial sense of ESG integration. Most importantly, it has enabled us to articulate our ESG strategies and key performances with investors effectively. The dedicated report provides details on CDL’s ESG activities and performance, addresses the social and environmental impacts that are pertinent to the company’s business, and shares the company’s engagement with stakeholders.

Many global investors, in particular Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) funds, have been referring to our sustainability report as a key source of information on our performance for their investment evaluation. Beyond our annual Integrated Sustainability Report, CDL has also taken the initiative to create a dedicated sustainability microsite and provide quarterly updates on our sustainability-related initiatives and key ESG performance in a timelier manner.

Being in the sustainability scene for over 20 years, you have seen the evolution of the industry. What do you think caused the paradigm shift from economic development to sustainable development?

In the mid-1990s, sustainability and climate change were not familiar concepts to many in this part of the world. However, greater global awareness of the impact of climate change and increasing recognition of the strategic connection between sustainability and business performance has been the driving force for companies to be proactive rather than reactive in sustainable development. For instance, businesses can no longer ignore the impact of climate change risks on their bottom line.

In Singapore, businesses that do not adopt sustainable practices may face reputational or operational risks that will impact their license to operate, and be exposed to higher operating costs, with the water price increase and impending carbon tax. Furthermore, with green consumerism on the rise globally and greater investor demand for ESG data which influence investment decisions, adopting sustainable practices also presents tremendous opportunities for companies to grow their business. Indeed, the paradigm shift to sustainable development was accelerated with the landmark Paris Agreement and the United Nations (UN)

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As governments align their policies with the Agreement and UN SDGs, businesses must act fast to integrate sustainability into their operations. Besides potentially enhancing their license to operate, this will enable them to create sustained value for their business, investors, stakeholders and the community.

Do you think sustainability has been well adopted by the built industry in Singapore?

In the 1990s, the building industry was considered to have caused a negative impact on the environment and perceived as destroying before constructing. However, CDL believed that we could build and manage with sustainability in mind. We established our ethos of ‘Conserving as we Construct’ and have been committed to future-proofing our business through a three-pronged strategy as a developer, an asset owner and a corporate citizen.

We develop green buildings, manage them in an energy- and resource-efficient way, and engage stakeholders on sustainable development. Being a pioneer in green building and sustainability has its opportunities and challenges. While there was much room for us to innovate and achieve many ‘firsts’ since 1995, there were also challenges. Along the value chain, in particular, there was a lack of awareness and knowledge about the benefits of green products and practices in the early days.

To help stakeholders understand and support our sustainability vision and mission, we devoted much time and effort to communicate our goals and plans. We introduced several key platforms to engage with and get the message across to our contractors and suppliers. These included the CDL Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) policy, CDL 5-Star EHS Assessment System and Green Procurement Guidelines. As one of Singapore’s largest landlords, we also launched several eco-outreach initiatives to influence tenants to adopt the good habits of reduce, reuse and recycle. Key programmes include Project: Eco-Office, a first-of-its-kind green office campaign with Singapore Environment Council since 2002, “1°C Up” Programme since 2007, and the CDL Green Lease Partnership Programme in 2014.

With consistency and tireless efforts to engage, educate and empower our stakeholders, they have recognised the benefits of sustainable practices. Today, contractors support our approach and extend the same good EHS practices to other developers, which has helped drive change in the entire built industry. Besides reducing their carbon footprint, our tenants also saw the benefits of sustainable practices as they achieved savings in their utility bill. Looking ahead, the Singapore Government targets to green at least 80% of the country’s building stock by 2030, which could potentially be the lynchpin of Singapore’s climate pledge to reduce its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. There is thus room for greater adoption of sustainability by the built sector to collectively mitigate climate change and contribute towards Singapore’s greening and GHG emissions reduction goals.

What are the types of events that Women4Green organise?

To further support the international and national climate actions, we initiated the development of the zero-energy Singapore Sustainability Academy (SSA) with a vision to contribute to a green and sustainable future. It sets out to be a hub for capacity building, knowledge sharing, collaborations and networking.

Women4Green was established at the same time to support CDL and the Academy’s vision. Having worked in the building and sustainability arenas for over two decades, I would safely say that industries related to green building, technology, engineering and energy are in general male dominant. Being the first network in Singapore for women in sustainability, Women4Green aims to bring together women executives in the various green industries to contribute towards climate action, sustainable business and social change. It hopes to harness the collective knowledge and expertise of successful female leaders to empower other women to incite meaningful change in their respective industries. Women4Green initiatives and activities will be designed to support the UN SDGs particularly Goal 5 — achieve gender equality and empowerment of women.

We strongly believe that creating and expanding opportunities for women are fundamental to sustainable growth and will further advance our stakeholder engagement to build a sustainable future, at home or at work. It is our privilege to have successful female leaders from various industries to voice their support of Women4Green’s mission. It is not a rigid society but a platform to enable knowledge sharing about sustainability through online sharing and regular events.

By attending Women4Green events on topics related to sustainable lifestyle and business practices, participants will benefit from the collective knowledge and expertise of selected subjects and female leaders. The learning and exchange of knowledge and expertise will inspire participants to drive change through adopting and promoting best practices, innovations and engagement in support of the UN SDGs.

Through your role in CDL, you spearheaded various community engagement initiatives like E-Generation Challenge and EcoBank. Which is your favourite and why?

I am glad to have the privilege to create exciting community outreach initiatives. My favourite initiatives are My Tree House, world’s first green library for kids and the zero-energy CDL Green Gallery@Singapore Botanic Gardens Heritage Museum. Both were set up as our gifts to the nation when CDL celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2013.

The two projects demonstrate a high standard of green building commitment and innovations. Most importantly, the two platforms reach out to millions of visitors, local and overseas, to learn more about the appreciation of the environment and the beauty of nature. No single entity can tackle climate change or save the planet alone, these platforms have effectively reached out to and educated the public and young children to do their part for our planet.

Where do you think Singapore stands in the international arena in terms of sustainability?

Despite being island-state with limited land and resources, Singapore is ranked the most sustainable city in Asia and second in the world after Zurich according to the Sustainable Cities Index 2016 from global design and consulting firm Arcadis. A white paper by Solidiance in 2016 ranked Singapore amongst the top 10 global cities in green buildings and the country has been highly regarded as a garden city with high green coverage of almost 50%. Strong government commitment has played an instrumental role in setting the sustainable development agenda and direction through the introduction of the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint, Climate Action Plan and Public Sector Sustainability Plan.

These entail policies to steer the people, public and private (3P) sectors towards a concerted effort and greater impact to achieve our national goals on tackling climate change. For instance, SSA, a joint collaboration between CDL and the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, is the nation’s first major 3P initiative in support of global and national sustainability goals. The SSA is supported by six government agencies – Building and Construction Authority, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, National Climate Change Secretariat, National Environment Agency, National Parks Board, and Urban Redevelopment Authority.

This is also the first time a local private-sector property developer and non-profit organisation teamed up to create a major training and networking facility on sustainability. The SSA aims to promote a low-carbon economy, resource efficiency, and sustainable practices among businesses and the community, in particular, youths. It will focus on thought leadership and advocacy; capacity building through education, training and mentorship; networking and collaborations; information, resource and solutions sharing; as well as stakeholder and community engagements.

At the same time, Singapore has continued to learn from other countries in the adoption of best international practices and game-changing technology for sustainable development. In the context of the building and construction industry, this is crucial as we need to continuously push boundaries for a better, cleaner and greener way to build. In 2014, CDL became the first property developer in Asia to adopt the advanced Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) method for The Brownstone, a 638-unit Executive Condominium located next to the upcoming Canberra MRT station in Singapore. In 2016, CDL also became an early adopter of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glued Laminated Timber (Glulam) in Singapore. The SSA was built using CLT and Glulam which have been used in Europe. PPVC, CLT and Glulam support the concept of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly that significantly boosts construction productivity, ensures quality and enhances worksite cleanliness and safety.

Interview with Mr Tai Lee Siang, Chairman, World Green Building Council:

An Architect, Landscape Architect, Town Planner and Urban Designer.
She has planned Tampines Town and Paris Ris Town. Tampines won the World Habitat Award in 1992 for Housing and Development Board, Singapore. She and her Architects designed most of the housing development in Neighbourhoods 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9 forming a network of Green Connectors within the town.

She is formally Hon. Sec.  for the Singapore Institute of Planners and held other Executive posts for a decade. She is President of the Institute of Parks and Recreation, Singapore and Second Vice-President of Singapore Institute of  Landscape Architects presently. She is a Rotarian and Soroptimist who donates generously to Lions Homes for the Elders, Lions Befrienders, Singapore Planned Parenthood Association and Henderson Senior Citizens Home and other charities. She is a Distinguished Toastmaster who helps people in communication.

Qn1: Tell us Briefly about your career as a Landscape Architect?

I really enjoyed my career as a landscape architect because it is such a wonderful thing to create landscaped spaces for the people to use. You can see plants grow in a short moment and encourages bio-diversity in attracting birds and butterflies to the selected plants. I have 26 years experience in planning, designing and implementing from concept to completion in public housing of Singapore HDB (Housing Development Board). I lead a team of architects in planning of housing precincts which is a breakthrough in the housing design as we provide a central space for social interaction of the residents with green linkages to surrounding neighborhoods.

As an Architect, I have designed thousands of flats, a few neighborhood centres, a mosque and some neighborhood parks. As head of HDB Landscape Studio, I set standards for landscape. We researched into different types of plants we should plant. For example, if you want fragrant plants there are lots of fragrant plants you can choose from. There is also the edible garden that we would like to plant especially fruit trees. Many new design concepts were introduced which I am part of like the recreating waterbodies in SungeiApiApi and Bukit Panjang Neighborhood Park, which is a storm water retention pond. I left HDB in 2003 to join Surbana International Consultants Pte. Ltd. where I continued as a landscape architect. We worked in team in landscape design and implementations. I was involved in the Institute of Parks and Recreation(IPRS)for many years and now I am the President since 2008.

This has helped me to contribute to the community in terms of landscape. For example, I promoted community garden in our public housing. Community Gardens is a nationwide gardening movement known as Community in Bloom initiative by NParks, to provides a platform for people to bond with the wider community while drawing them closer to nature in our cityscape!

Qn2: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job as a landscape architect?

As a landscape architect the biggest reward is to see people enjoy themselves in the HDB Parks and Gardens that I designed individually or in a team. The latest project that I helped to implement was Eco-Park at Rumah Tinggi. This linear park is part of the KTM railway providing cargo access to Brickworks. Here, we use water retention tanks and swales for this ABC (Active, Beautiful and the Clean water) project, encouraged by Public Utility Board.

In Kallang Trivista Housing near the Kallang MRT station,we implemented what is best for the environment with fruit trees, edible plants and flowering plants for butterflies and birds. Here  we use the ABC concept of planting with rain gardensand swales which means that the rainwater will be collected underground, through the drain and  plants on top of the drain. It is very beautiful scheme by integrating the drains, canals and reservoirs with the surrounding environment in a holistic way

Qn3: Tell us briefly about one of your favourite project and why ?

Not many know about a dinosaur park in Woodlands. A decade back, this park was a very popular attraction located in Woodlands street 81. I was inspired by the Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England and bought a small model with Stonehenge footprint to create the park entrance. This park is called Fu Shan (Fortune Mountain) Garden. We used mostly natural stones to form the waterfall. Leaves from the existing trees were sculptured into green petals fallen into the waterfall as part of nature. At that time we didn’t have many proprietary playgrouno ds so by designing a set of dinosaurs I have to use my creativity how would the children use it. Mainly because there are different types of dinosaurs, we have a number of slides, sunken into the the sand pits. As there were much publicity about this park, many parents brought their children from all parts of Singapore to play in this park.

Qn4: What were the challenges arise and how did you manage that ?

The challenges arise basically when we have areas that we have to plant without enough sunshine as we need sunshine for six hours for a plant to grow effectively. And there will be areas with too much water so we have to think first about what types of plants we can plant. These days,  there are  roof gardens which are of intensive and extensive use. The extensive roof garden has no public access but planted with simple species which are durable and has little maintenance. The intensive roof gardens are furnished with  shelters, 3 generations play and exercises equipment. Due to its limited space, planting are limited to small trees and away from the housing units.

Qn5: What advice do you have for young landscape architects and designers?

I think  for any designer whether  it is graphic design,  architecture or landscape , a person must have a passion and love what they do. It becomes more an enjoyment when you combine  work and the passion for what you are doing. The ability to create great things for the people is what we should focus on to do. Care for the people and the environment. With lots of trees, animals like squirrels, Butterflies and birds will just appear. Birds can benefit from trees yielding berries. So let’s ensure we keep architecture and landscape related together for a better environment and ecology.

Qn6: What are the do’s and don’ts of Architectural Designing ?

Do everything that is right and don’t do anything that is wrong because in the process of landscaping we are actually learning as well. So there are things that we have to do right is like planting the right plant to the right environment. For example you don’t plant a water plant on the dry ground. You have to plant it in water. You must not work alone, work as a team . Work with the licensed contractors and the suppliers, that way new products keep coming out. So it’s good to know the industry as well. We must learn and improve ourselves further to make the world a better place.

Qn7: Say something you would like to share on sustainability and landscape design?

Sustainability is a very wide field . It extends from plants to building. As a president of IPRS, I promote edible planting and insist on growing your own plant. We have a book authored with Vegetarian Society, Singapore called At Home from Pot to Pot to encourage families to plant their own vegetable and eat them. This book is especially to encourage children to eat more fruits, herbs and vegetable in their own home.

Qn8: What are the points to be noted while designing parks for recreation ?

There are many types of parks in Singapore . For public housing, it was neighborhood parks and now known as “common green’ due to its smaller housing precincts. For the children, it is the proprietary playground and for the (NS) National Service, we have the exercise station and for the Elderly we have the exercise equipment. There is a jogging track which doubled up for brisk walking. We have shelters and seats for all. We should design according to the park’s size and what facilities the budget have proposed. Big parks like Singapore Botanic Garden which is an UNESCO site requires more conservation and protection.

Qn9: Tell us about your current role as the president of IPRS and your future plans and goals?

The Institute of Parks and Recreation Singapore (IPRS) is a professional body dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of the country’s parks and other recreational facilities. We are inspired by the beauty of natural surroundings in contrast with the modern backdrop of the city. As part of our core values, we spearhead several fundraising projects that have green initiatives. We work with people who have a similar vision as ours, one that involves a sustainable future through a lively environment.

We have organized cycling events and even workshops and we are organizing a conference in July. International Greenery, Recreation, Infrastructure Park Conference 2017 and World Urban Parks AsiaPacific Congress 17-20 July 2017. For the goals, we should have more members locally and internationally. We have plans to expand overseas and planning to have upcoming overseas conferences in future. Tentatively one in Japan next year.

Tell us briefly about your career as an Environmental Design Educator?
Currently, I teach for the ‘Diploma in Environment Design’ programme, a course that integrates architecture, landscape architecture and urban design at Temasek Polytechnic School of Design. I help to front the landscape architecture and sustainability side of the programme
for the team. The journey has been great so far as I know I am playing my part in moulding future landscape architects and architects who care for the environment.

Tell us about your current role as the president of SILA and your future plans and goals?
Being the president of SILA, I fill a multitude of roles. Firstly being a representative for the Landscape Architecture profession in Singapore and as the national delegate to the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA). I chair the Landscape Architects Accreditation Advisory Committee and am also a member of the Future Economy Council (FEC) Built Environment (BE) Cluster Sub- committee.
In my capacity as an educator, I also chair SILA’s Education and Research Strategic Thrust. The other thrusts, Business Development and Professional Development, are chaired by my Vice-Presidents respectively.

In Photo: Sustainable landscape architecture

SILA is currently consolidating our growth in preparation for the IFLA World Congress that will be organized on our shores in 2018. This will be the major event in SILA’s calendar where we welcome fellow practitioners, academics and friends from all over the world to the island for a unique Singapore experience and hearty discussion.
I also envision the continued growth of LA Future. It is our youth arm independently run by our young graduates and students. They regularly conduct programmes such as networking sessions, talks by senior landscape architects and they now organize the international SILA Student Design Awards too. This is the group to watch out for as they will form the future core of the profession.

In Photo: City in a Garden