From: Press Release (Singapore, October 20, 2011)

Fifty lucky taxi drivers and their passengers can look forward to more comfortable rides, while at the same time, participate in an exciting initiative to reduce carbon footprint and contribute to environmental sustainability. 3M is sponsoring the installation of 3M™ Crystalline Solar Films in a fleet of 50 taxis, which will result in a natural reduction in temperature of up to 2.8 degrees Celsius in the vehicles.

“3M™ Crystalline Solar Films feature a proprietary, multi-layer optical film technology that combines over 200 layers in a film that is thinner than a Post-it® Note. Each optical layer is specially designed to reflect the infrared and UV rays while allowing visible light to pass through. This technology is the reason a clear film can reject more heat than darker films, without changing a car’s appearance. The premium product combines technology with clarity and is eco-friendly too,” said Mr Edmund Tan, General Manager of 3M Singapore’s Industrial & Transportation Business.

Solar heat comes from two primary sources, the visible light that one sees and the infrared light that one feels. Crystalline solar films reject up to 97% of the sun’s heat-producing infrared light and block up to 60% of the heat coming through the windows. These industry-leading, spectrally-selective films are designed to keep one cool, comfortable and protected. Each degree Celsius less will save about 10% on energy use.

To comply with the Land Transport Authority’s car tint law, crystalline films allow up to 90% of the natural light into the vehicle. As these films are non-metallized, there is zero interference with GPS and cell phone signals. Some 8,000 sq ft of the solar films, costing $75,000, will be used in this exercise.

“3M’s technologies are being applied by customers worldwide to enable them to meet their own environmental challenges. A vital component of 3M’s sustainability strategy is to develop product solutions, and our portfolio of hundreds of products, is a living example of our expertise in inventing products for a better tomorrow,” Mr Tan elaborated.

This green initiative is in conjunction with the launch of the 3M eCommerce Platform (www.3Mmarketplace.com.sg), where car owners can directly purchase solar films from 3M online. Members of the public can recognised the 50 designated taxis as they will carry 3M advertising with the taxi wrap media, in addition to being installed with the crystalline solar films.

Mr Soh Piak San, 54, who has been driving a Comfort Delgro cab for 11years and one of the 50 at the wheel of the designated 3M taxis, said, “Singapore is so hot and humid. We are in our taxis for at least eight hours a day. With the 3M™ Crystalline Solar Films installed, we can feel the difference – it is much cooler and helps us save energy as we don’t have to turn up the air-conditioning. Add to that, it also protects us from harmful UV rays!”

Mr Lim Ser Teck, 39, concurred, “I’ve been driving a taxi since I was 25 and 3M window films do stand out. Not only do they make the cab cooler when it’s really hot, they also do not affect radio signals and GPS unlike some other films!”

GHG Protocol Launch – Opening Remarks by Manish Bapna, WRI from World Resources Institute on Vimeo.

Hong Kong

Instep Programme registered as a Qualified Service Provider to the HKAEE Carbon Less Scheme.

Scheme encourages business to apply for a Carbon Less Certification and requires independent QSP to report on the reduction of overall Carbon Emissions. The scheme requires the business to monitor and reduce its Carbon Footprint.

www.hkaee.org.hk

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Australia

The Instep Sustainable Events Programme (ISEP) has been used in monitoring the recently concluded Australian University Games in Queensland Australia.

It was indeed a challenge with some 6700 student in 30 odd location covering 32 sports, but we came through well. Once again this positions Instep as a leader in Sustainable Events Monitoring.

www.unigames.com.au

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New Zealand

The ISEP programme will be used to monitor NZ Agricultural Fieldays.

This is an iconic event in NZ and is the largest Agricultural Trade Show in the Southern Hemisphere.

www.fieldays.co.nz

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More information about Instep Carbon & Sustainability Programmes

From Today:

SINGAPORE – Singapore has dropped one notch in an Asian report on sustainability disclosure. This year’s Asian Sustainability Rating (ASR) ranked Singapore sixth out of 10 Asian countries, down from fifth position last year.

South Korea retained its top ranking while Thailand moved up two notches to place second.

The third, fourth and fifth positions were taken by Malaysia, India and Taiwan respectively. China, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the Philippines filled up the remaining four spots.

At the company level, Singapore firms were not placed in both the top 10 and bottom five lists.

Hong Kong-listed China Light and Power Holdings received the highest ASR score of 91 per cent, while Indonesia-listed Sterling International Enterprise received the lowest score of 4 per cent.

The ASR is a benchmarking tool that looks at publicly available information of listed companies pertaining to environmental, social and governance issues.

Speaking at the 2011 Singapore Awards for Sustainability Reporting organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) yesterday, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu said that while companies here should be commended for governance reporting, “there is room for improvement in the areas of social and environmental impacts”.

Ms Fu said: “Sustainability reporting is still voluntary. But when more businesses step forward, I understand that SGX will consider taking the next step of formulating formal rules to regulate disclosure.”

Keppel Land was the winner of this year’s Singapore Awards for Sustainability Reporting.

Mr Darryl Wee, country head of ACCA Singapore, said: “If we want to position ourselves as global players, we need to increase our efforts in producing more sustainability reports.”

From Channel News Asia:

SINGAPORE: The National Climate Change Secretariat (NCSS) said the government will invest in infrastructure as well as in research and development of low carbon technologies for deployment in Singapore.

In its addendum to the President’s Address, NCSS stressed that climate change is a major challenge and as a responsible member of the global community, Singapore will also play its part to lower carbon emissions.

The secretariat, which is under the Prime Minister’s Office, highlighted that businesses and households will also have to change their practices and lifestyles to be more environmentally sustainable.

It aims to reduce carbon emissions in two main ways – greater use of less carbon intensive fuels, and improve energy conservation and efficiency. This will require promoting energy-efficient design, equipment and processes in industries, transport, buildings and homes.

In addition, the secretariat will enhance understanding and expertise in climate science and build up Singapore’s resilience and adaptability to climate change in key areas such as coastal protection, water resources and drainage, biodiversity, public health as well as urban infrastructure.

NCSS said Singapore’s experience and expertise in addressing the challenges of climate change will generate new economic opportunities in emerging industries such as clean energy, carbon services and energy services, as well as in existing industries.

The secretariat will work with the business community to seek out and capitalise on such opportunities locally and abroad.

The Energy Market Authority (EMA) today released the inaugural Singapore Energy Statistics (SES) report(1). The SES is an annual publication which provides an integrated one-stop compilation of Singapore’s key energy statistics (including supply, consumption, and prices) and trends in the electricity and gas sectors. This is part of EMA’s efforts to support the development of a dynamic energy sector.

Download entire report.

Pictures from EMA:

More from Energy Market Authority.

In Asia, the Singapore Stock Exchange was the first exchange to encourage listed companies to start reporting their sustainability performance, by issuing guidelines in August 2010. According to the Guide to Sustainability Reporting for Listed Companies, “The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines provides a valuable framework to assist listed companies with sustainability reporting. Companies may adopt an approach best suited to their industry and location.”

Read the Entire Release

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Get in step with your organisation’s carbon footprint

New York Times: In 2004 the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based environmental organization, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development released a final standard for Scope 1 and Scope 2. Scope 1 covers emissions from direct operations like running a factory. Scope 2 covers emissions from energy-related, indirect sources of emissions like the coal or natural gas burned to make the electricity that powers the lights at headquarters.

Scope 3 measures the emissions linked to the “value chain” of a company’s products as a whole. The life cycle emissions of individual products, including Scope 3 emissions, can be estimated using the second tool.

Read the Full Story

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Get in step with your organisation’s Carbon Footprint.

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