Table leaders, from left to right, Jessica Cheam, Managing Editor, Eco-Business; Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health; JD Kasamoto, General Manager, Service and Environment Division, Ricoh Asia Pacific; Jeff Turner, Vice President, Sustainability, DSM; and Veerappan Swaminathan, Director, Sustainable Living Lab.
Table leaders with Managing Director, Ricoh Asia Pacific, Kazuhisa Goto, from left to right, Jeff Turner, Veerappan Swaminathan, Dr Amy Khor, Jessica Cheam, and JD Kasamoto. Photo credit: Ricoh Asia Pacific
Co-hosted by Ricoh Asia Pacific and Eco-Business, Ricoh’s 11th edition of the annual Eco Action Day campaign featured the successful inaugural Eco Action Day Circular Economy Roundtable 2017. An industry roundtable discussion that commemorated World Environment Day – today – that served to highlight ideas that could shift Singapore towards a more responsible pattern of production and consumption, it also focused on the challenge of breaking the “take-make-waste” model that is prevalent today.
Guest-of-Honour Dr Amy Khor at the roundtable discussion. Photo credit: Ricoh Asia Pacific
Guest-of-Honour Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health, as well as academic, government, and senior business leaders discussed various ways on how Singapore could become more sustainable and resource-efficient by applying circular economy principles.
Winners of the Circular Economy Challenge with Dr Amy Khor (centre). Photo credit: Ricoh Asia Pacific
The inaugural Eco Action Day Circular Economy Challenge, where participants were challenged to conceptualise and develop innovative solutions to improve sustainable consumption and production patterns in the nation, was also a success.
Team MSW, a group of four young professionals between the ages of 27 and 29 years won the Challenge with its project to upcycle durian husks. Team Hangary for Change and Project Coop-erative won the Merit Prize and Special Prize respectively.
“While the Government plays an important role in creating the right market conditions for a sustainable economy, businesses need to play their part as well, by minimising waste generated in their operations and process, and recovering or recycling waste and by-products,” Dr Khor said in her opening speech. “For the circular economy concept to pick up momentum in Singapore, we will not only need to change mindsets, but also invest in new business models and technologies in the way we live and consume goods and services.”
“To tap on the potential of the circular economy, businesses need to acknowledge that traditional methods must give way to newer and more dynamic operations and models. This will involve increased collaboration vertically and horizontally across industries. This roundtable discussion is a great starting point for businesses seeking to embark on the green journey,” Managing Director, Ricoh Asia Pacific, Kazuhisa Goto, said in a statement. “For Ricoh, we constantly strive to achieve environmental conservation and profits simultaneously by developing eco-friendly technologies and fine-tuning our manufacturing and procurement processes. It is a journey that does not have immediate outcomes but will be worthwhile in the long run. We hope more companies can join us in this journey for the greater good of the environment. All these will complement the government’s sustainability plans as per the Budget 2017, Paris Agreement and Sustainable Singapore Blueprint.”
