TOWARDS A
SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
CONTENTS
02 CEO foreword
04Preface
06 NEA at a glance for FY2013
08 TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE ORGANISATION
10
10
10
12
15
19
22
Introduction
Our mandate
Corporate governance
NEA’s organisation chart
Sustainability in our public initiatives
Managing our risk
Managing our corporate sustainability
26 TOWARDS GREATER SUSTAINABILITY MILESTONES
28 Monitoring our sustainability efforts
28 An analysis of our current situation
30 Our material issues
31 Awards and benchmarks
34 TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
36 Sustaining our environment
36 Pollution control
38 Resource conservation
48 TOWARDS BETTER SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
50 Sustaining our workplace
50 Workplace safety and health
53 People excellence
64 Community outreach: incorporating a caring culture into NEA
70 TOWARDS BETTER SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
72 Sustaining our finances
72 Our finances
72 Our supply chain
73 Innovation and productivity
76 GRI G4 CONTENT INDEX FOR ‘IN ACCORDANCE’ - CORE
CEO FOREWORD
WE HOPE OUR INITIATIVES WOULD INSPIRE
THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO JOIN IN THE
SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY AND EMBRACE
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS OPERATIONS
In 2009, the Government released the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint (SSB)
which seeks to transform Singapore into a more liveable and sustainable
city and achieve economic growth without compromising on the quality
of our living environment. Five years on, the Blueprint was reviewed and
launched in November 2014, outlining our national vision and plans for a
more liveable and sustainable Singapore – a liveable and endearing home,
a vibrant and sustainable city, an active and gracious community.
The second Blueprint is a plan for action and provides all of us with a unique
opportunity to work together to create a better home, a better environment
and a better future that citizens can all be proud of. In line with one of the
SSB aims to make Singapore’s economy greener, businesses are encouraged
to embrace environmental sustainability in their daily operations.
EMBRACING SUSTAINABILITY AS AN
ORGANISATION
Similar to private organisations, public agencies such as the National
Environment Agency (NEA), have an important role to play in Singapore’s
02
CEO FOREWORD
sustainability plans. Being a responsible corporate citizen, NEA embeds
sustainability in our day-to-day work. We believe that embracing sustainability
not only benefits the environment that we operate in, but also enables us to
increase our productivity and effectiveness. In an era of resource scarcity and
consideration for environmental and social impact, it is vital for us to rethink
and restructure to factor in these perspectives. We believe that embracing
sustainability presents opportunities for us to collaborate for growth as
well as tackle the challenges of climate change and other environmental
problems effectively.
OUR THIRD SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
Adopting Sustainability Reporting allows NEA to be transparent and
accountable in our work and address its corporate environmental and social
impact. Our FY2013 sustainability report was drafted ‘in accordance with the
GRI G4 Guidelines – Core option and was submitted for the GRI Materiality
Disclosures Service, and GRI confirmed the correctness of the locations of
the G4 materiality disclosures [G4-17 to G4-27]. This report is user-friendly
and provides updates on our sustainability efforts.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
STEPS TAKEN IN OUR SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY
We have introduced various initiatives within NEA to promote environmental
awareness among staff and instil sustainability practices. A good example
is our ‘8 Effective Habits - 10% Challenge’ campaign which aims to reduce
our electricity, water and paper consumption by 10% in FY2016, from FY2011
levels. Other steps include procuring environmentally-friendly products and
office equipment, implementing environmentally-friendly best practices
in our corporate events, leveraging technology as well as encouraging
innovation through idea incubation.
We have also enhanced our workplace safety and health programmes to
cover NEA’s diverse operations risks and cultivated a risk culture within
the organisation. NEA ensures fair employment and aligns our work
polices with the principles of the Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive
Employment Practices. We have also refined our HR policies and strategies
to drive work-life balance and encourage continual learning. As such,
we have established a robust work-life harmony framework to meet the
needs of staff holistically and provide various learning opportunities for
staff. In addition, NEA strives to create a caring culture by nurturing our
people and engaging them to become champions of the environment who
give back to the community.
In NEA, we believe integrating environmental and social considerations in
our operations is essential as it allows us to achieve financial sustainability.
For example, our environmental initiatives such as resource conservation
and pollution control have enabled NEA to reduce our operational cost
and avoid unnecessary financial penalties. Additionally, we believe our
robust work-life harmony framework and diverse learning and development
opportunities will not only help us attract and retain employees but also
improve their productivity. Similarly, enhancing our workplace safety and
health initiatives and putting in place a proper risk management system
can also reduce any financial implications.
water and paper consumption. All our 18 premises have attained the
Eco-Office certification and are in compliance with the Public Sector Taking
the Lead in Environmental Sustainability (PSTLES) requirements.
NEA has maintained a low resignation rate of 5.5%, which is lower than
the statutory board average of 7% in 2013. NEA has also emerged as one
of the leading employers in the 2013 Singapore’s 100 Leading Graduate
Employers survey and we were conferred eight HR awards at the Singapore
Human Resources Institute (SHRI) HR Awards 2013. NEA is ISO 9001 certified
and our key installations have also attained the ISO 14001 certification.
In addition, our fundraising activities to support charitable causes have been
successful; we raised a total of $329,000 in FY2013.
MOVING FORWARD
Moving forward, as a leading agency that adopts sustainable practices within
the organisation for the benefit of our environment, economy and community,
we will continue to review our plans and strategies in order to continue
improving ourselves. We hope our initiatives would inspire the business
community to join in the sustainability journey and embrace sustainable
business operations. In addition, we look forward to collaborating with our
partners in the journey of sustainability.
Ronnie Tay
Chief Executive Officer
National Environment Agency
NEA also adopts financial sustainability initiatives such as ensuring
responsible procurement, operations and investment decisions. We constantly
encourage innovation for sustainability and explore the possibility of
leveraging technology. Through these measures, we hope to reap savings
and benefits for our organisation and stakeholders as well as bring impactful
changes for greater resource-efficiency.
OUR FY2013 SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE &
ACHIEVEMENTS
I am heartened that our firm commitment and efforts have borne fruit.
With our ‘8 Effective Habits - 10% Challenge’ campaign, we are making good
progress towards meeting our FY2016 targets for reduction in our electricity,
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
CEO FOREWORD
03
PREFACE
Formed on 1 July 2002, the National Environment Agency (NEA) is the public
organisation responsible for improving and sustaining a clean and green
environment in Singapore.
NEA develops and spearheads environmental initiatives and programmes
through its partnership with the People, Public and Private (3P) sectors. It is
committed to motivating every individual to take up environmental ownership
and care for the environment as a way of life.
By protecting Singapore’s environment from pollution, maintaining a high
level of public health, encouraging resource efficiency and conservation and
providing timely meteorological information, NEA endeavours to ensure
sustainable development and a quality living environment for present and
future generations.
As of end FY2013 (31 March 2014), NEA has 3,841 employees in 15 different
divisions and offices, which are governed by a 12-member Board of Directors.
Within NEA, some divisions focus on singular responsibilities, and others
focus on multiple ones:
1. 3P Network Division (3PND)
2. Corporate Services and Development Division (CSDD)
3. Environmental Protection Division (EPD)
4. Environmental Public Health Division (EPHD)
5. Environment Technology Office (ETO)
6. Hawker Centres Division (HCD)
7. Human Resource Division (HRD)
8. Industry Development & Promotion Office (IDPO)
9. Joint Operations & Planning Division (JOPD)
10. Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS)
11. Policy and Planning Division (PPD)
12. Service Quality Division (SQD)
13. Singapore Environment Institute (SEI)
14. Strategic Development & Transformation Office (SDTO)
15. Sustainability Office (SO)
NEA has a diverse nature of work, with the following key programmes
underpinning NEA’s mission to ensure the sustainability of Singapore’s natural
and urban environments:
• 3P (People, Public and Private) Partnership
• Energy Efficiency
04
PREFACE
• Environmental Training
• Industry Development and Promotion
• Management of Hawker Centres
• Meteorological Services
• Prevention and Control of Vector-borne Diseases
• Pollution Control
• Public Hygiene and Cleanliness
• Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety
• Solid Waste Management
OUR APPROACH FOR THIS REPORT [G4-18, G4-26]
This sustainability report was prepared using the GRI G4 Guidelines and was
submitted for the GRI Materiality Disclosures Service, and GRI confirmed the
correctness of the locations of the G4 materiality disclosures [G4-17 to G4-27].
There are no significant changes in the measurement methodology in this
report from NEA’s Sustainability Report FY2012. More information about our
sustainability reporting is available online at www.nea.gov.sg.
Our sustainability report is an annual publication about how we engage
our employees in our undertakings to encourage sustainability within NEA.
It focuses on our organisation’s social, environmental and financial
impact from our daily operations which we directly control and influence,
and highlights our internal framework, policies, processes and initiatives in
driving sustainability. [G4-18]
More importantly, this report gives our stakeholders a clear review of our
performance in sustainability, which is substantiated by key performance
indicators. This is a separate report from the NEA annual report 2013/14,
which is a comprehensive report detailing our organisation’s activities,
achievements and financial performance.
NEA’s Sustainability Report FY2013 is testament to our commitment in achieving
our goal of being a leading agency that adopts sustainable practices to benefit
our environment, economy and community. It also serves as a foundation to
reflect our ongoing sustainability developments, and provides guidance for
future progression.
We hope this will become a useful reference tool for other organisations
and government agencies, inspiring them to embark on their own journey
of sustainability.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
REPORTING PERIOD AND SCOPE [G4-17]
NEA’s sustainability report documents the organisation’s key internal
sustainability performance in FY2013 (1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014), covering
operations of the 18 key premises which comprise 12 NEA office premises and
six industrial premises:
Our 12 Office Premises
These are categorised into seven NEA stand-alone office premises and
five NEA tenanted office premises:
• Stand-alone Office Premises
– Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) at Kim Chuan Road
– Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC)1 at Neythal Road
– Five NEA Regional Offices (ROs): North-East (NERO), North-West
(NWRO), Central (CRO), South-East (SERO) and South-West (SWRO)
• Tenanted Office Premises
– Environmental Health Institute (EHI) at the Helios Building in Biopolis
– Hawker Centres Division (HCD) at the HDB Hub
– Meteorological Services Singapore (MSS) at Changi Airport
– NEA Headquarters at the Environment Building
– Singapore Environment Institute (SEI)
Our Six Industrial Premises
– Choa Chu Kang Crematorium & Columbarium and Cemetery (CCKCCC)
– Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium (MCC)
– Semakau Landfill (SL)
– Tuas Marine Transfer Station (TMTS)
– Two Incineration Plants (IPs): Tuas South (TSIP) and Tuas (TIP)
Note: The consumption data for the hawker centres currently managed by
NEA are not included in the scope of this report.
ENQUIRIES
As part of NEA’s environmental conservation efforts, only limited copies of this
report will be printed. The soft copies of the past and current sustainability
reports can be found on our website: www.nea.gov.sg. Your feedback is
appreciated, and will help us improve our sustainability efforts. To give us your
feedback, please contact the NEA Sustainability Office through our NEA Call
Centre via 1800-CALL NEA (1800-2255 632) or Contact_NEA@NEA.gov.sg.
DPC also resides in SERO and HDB Hub.
1
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
PREFACE
05
NEA AT A GLANCE FOR FY2013
FY2013 SUSTAINABILITY
HIGHLIGHTS
SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE
Recyclables
3
awards received at the
International Convention
on Quality Control Circles
(ICQCC) 2013
10
-year Outstanding
SHARE Award and
SHARE Gold Award
8
human resource (HR) awards
received at the Singapore
Human Resources Institute
Awards 2013
Singapore
Quality Class
(SQC) Star,
conferred by SPRING
Singapore
All
18
premises attained
eco-office certification
Paper
13,900kg
recyclables collected, consisting
of paper (95.9%), plastic (3.2%)
and metals (0.9%)
Paper purchased ratio:
4.19 reams
of paper per MRE2
(a 36% reduction since FY2009)
Ranked
55th
among Singapore’s 100
Leading Graduate Employers,
an improvement from our 59th
position in 2012
ISO 9001
certified,
with zero nonconformance for the last
7 consecutive audits
ISO14001
certified for our key industrial
installations
NTUC May
Day Model
Partnership
Award
Water
Energy
Water intensity ratio for our offices:
Energy intensity ratio for our offices:
12.57m3
2,017 kWh
per MRE2
More than
66,000m³
of rainwater harvested3
(equivalent to the average amount
of water consumed by 1,200
residents annually)
per MRE2
(a 15% reduction since FY2009)
797GWh
of electricity generated by NEA’s
renewable energy sources
(equivalent to the average amount
of electricity consumed by 157,000
Singapore households annually)
Pollution
Zero
non-compliance for our air
emission and effluents
Monthly Rated Employees.
The actual amount of water collected should be more than 66,000m3, as rainwater is harvested at a few premises, but only the Tuas South Incineration Plant (TSIP) and the Tuas Marine
Transfer Station (TMTS) installed meters to keep track of the amount of rainwater collected.
2
3
06
NEA AT A GLANCE FOR FY2013
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUMMARY OF SOCIAL
SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE
SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
PERFORMANCE
Workplace Safety
and Health
Human Capital
Supply Chain
with 73 incident cases reported to
NEA’s management
459
new employees, with our most
senior new staff being 69 years old
3,000
0 fatalities,
suppliers engaged, with 99% of our
contracts awarded to local suppliers
5.5%
Community Outreach
2 charities
were adopted – the Children’s
Cancer Foundation (CCF) and the
Singapore Children’s Society (SCS)
$329,000
in cash contributions
from employees
resignation rate in 2013,
which is lower than the statutoryboard average of 7% in 2013
57
training hours per employee,
which is above the recommended
industry guide of 40 hours
Innovation
and Productivity
142
innovation projects completed,
achieving over $2.1 million of
annual productivity gains4
100%
employees were engaged in their
performance management review
with their supervisors
11.1%
employee participation rate,
with 1,610.5 community hours
logged in by 423 staff volunteers
Productivity gains refer to gains (cost savings and/or cost avoidance) from productivity improvement projects. Examples of these projects could be a result of automation, process
improvement, quality management, increased customer satisfaction and improved in innovation.
4
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
NEA AT A GLANCE FOR FY2013
07
TOWARDS A
SUSTAINABLE
ORGANISATION
AT NEA, EVERYONE STANDS UNITED
IN OUR JOURNEY OF SUSTAINABILITY.
TOGETHER, WE BELIEVE WE CAN CREATE
A MORE SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT.
INTRODUCTION
OUR MANDATE
1. Care – We value each individual and strive to exceed our customers’
expectations.
NEA takes a long-term view to driving environmental sustainability in
Singapore. This is reflected in our Vision, Mission and Core Values.
2. Integrity – We uphold the trust and confidence of others in us.
3. Teamwork – We work as a team and with our partners to achieve
common goals.
Vision
A clean environment: Towards a liveable and sustainable Singapore
4. Innovation – We constantly pursue new ideas and creative solutions.
Mission
5. Professionalism – We take pride in what we do and strive
for excellence.
To ensure a clean and sustainable environment for Singapore, together with
our partners and the community
Core Values
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Fundamental to NEA’s success in realising our Vision and Mission are our five
core values. These are NEA’s cornerstone, and they govern the organisation’s
best practices as we fulfil our responsibilities and strive for greater excellence
in the future:
Led by Chairman Ms Chew Gek Khim, the Board has established three
Board committees to assist in the execution of its responsibilities: the Audit
Committee, the Human Resource Committee and the Board Strategy Committee.
Audit Committee
Human Resource Committee
Board Strategy Committee
The Audit Committee is tasked with
assisting the Board in maintaining a
high standard of corporate governance,
particularly in the areas of financial
accounting and reporting and internal
control systems. Together with NEA’s
external and internal auditors, the annual
accounts, audit plans, internal control
systems and audit reports are reviewed.
The Human Resource Committee assists
the Board of Directors in providing
strategic guidance to NEA’s management
ensuring that NEA’s human resource
practices are fair and forward-looking, so
as to attract, motivate, retain and build a
future-ready workforce.
Formed in 2009, the Board Strategy
Committee provides strategic guidance
to NEA’s management.
Committee:
Committee:
Ms Chew Gek Khim (Chairman) and
Mr Ronnie Tay
Committee:
Ms Chew Gek Khim (Chairman), Mr Liak
Teng Lit (Deputy Chairman), Mr Ronnie Tay,
Mr Ashvinkumar s/o Kantilal,
Prof Chia Kee Seng, Mr Han Fook Kwang,
and Mr Zainal Bin Sapari
Mr Ong Chao Choon (Chairman), Ms Lynette
Leong, Mr Lee Chuan Seng, and
Mr Tan Peng Yam
Gender Allocation:
Gender Allocation:
75%
male
10
25%
female
50%
male
INTRODUCTION
Gender Allocation:
50%
female
85.7%
14.3%
female
male
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
INTEGRATION OF NEA’S CORE VALUES IN OUR DRIVE FOR SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN NEA
Sustainability is a core strategy for business excellence in NEA. Through our internal drive for sustainability, NEA aims to further promote our core
values, integrating them into our internal sustainability framework, governance structure and initiatives:
• Care and Innovation as fundamental values in NEA’s sustainability framework
• To ensure Teamwork by emphasising engagement
•To uphold Integrity through good corporate governance for sustainability
• To ensure Professionalism by benchmarking our efforts in sustainability
NEA’s Board of Directors
Playing an advisory role in NEA’s corporate governance is our 11-member
Board of Directors, which provides strategic direction and oversight of NEA’s
functions and goals, steering the organisation towards achieving its Vision
and Mission.
Ms Chew Gek Khim
Chairman
National Environment Agency
Executive Chairman, Tecity Group
Prof Chia Kee Seng
Dean, Saw Swee Hock School of
Public Health
National University of Singapore
Mr Lee Chuan Seng
Emeritus Chairman
Beca Asia Holdings Pte Ltd
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Mr Liak Teng Lit
Deputy Chairman
National Environment Agency
Group CEO, Alexandra Health System
In addition, the Board is responsible for the appointment of external
auditors, which is critical for NEA’s overall governance framework. All in all,
the Board comprises individuals with diverse and extensive experience in
both the private and public sectors, and is commissioned by the Minister for
the Environment and Water Resources. The board members, as of 1 February
2015, are as follows:
Mr Ong Chao Choon
Partner,
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Mr Ronnie Tay
Chief Executive Officer
National Environmental Agency
Ms Lynette Leong Chin Yee
Mr Tan Peng Yam
Mr Zainal Bin Sapari
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive
Assistant Secretary General
CapitalCommercial Trust Management Ltd Defence Science & Technology Agency National Trades Union Congress
(NTUC)
Mr Ashvinkumar s/o Kantilal
Group Chief Operating Officer
Ong & Ong Pte Ltd
Mr Han Fook Kwang
Editor-at-Large
Singapore Press Holdings
INTRODUCTION
11
NEA’S ORGANISATION CHART5
Chief Executive Officer
Deputy CEO
Group (Joint Operations
& Technology)
Policy &
Planning
Division
3PN
Division
Hawker
Centres
Division
Climate
Change
Programme
Dept
3PND &
Corporate,
NGOs &
Marketing Dept
Planning &
Development
Dept
Public Health &
Hawkers Policy
Dept
Environmental
Protection
Policy Dept
Community &
Outreach Dept
Industry Devt
Corporate
& Promotion
Communications
Office /
Department
Sustainability
Office
Joint
Operations
& Planning
Division
Strategic
Devt &
Transformation
Office
Service
Quality
Division
Productivity &
Standards
Emergency
Preparedness
& Crisis
Management
Dept
Systems
Integration
Dept
Customer &
Quality Service
Dept
Transformation,
Future Concept
of Operations
& Organisation
Review Dept
Operational
Excellence
Dept
Tenancy
Management
& Services
Dept
Schools &
Youth Dept
Cluster
Development
Resource
Planning &
Development
Complaints
Investigation
Unit
International
Relations Dept
Research &
Statistics Dept
Strategic
Planning Dept
International
Law Unit
As of February 2015.
5
12
INTRODUCTION
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Audit Committee
Internal Audit
Group (Corporate
Services)
IT
Department
Environment
Technology
Office
Corp Svcs &
Devt Division
Human
Resource
Division
Singapore
Environment
Institute
Environmental Environmental Meteorological
Protection
Public Health
Service
Division
Division
Singapore
Technology
Research &
Development
Unit
Legal Dept
HR Business
Partners Dept
Business
Development &
Administration
Dept
Central Building
Plan Dept
Procurement
& Project
Facilitation
Dept
Finance Dept
Administration
& Projects
Dept
HR Strategy &
Policy Dept
Strategic
Workforce
Planning &
Employee
Engagement
Dept
Environmental
Learning Centre
Knowledge &
Resource Centre
Programme
Development
Corporate
Excellence
Dept
Energy
Efficiency &
Conservation
Dept
Pollution
Control Dept
Radiation
Protection
& Nuclear
Science Dept
Waste &
Resource
Management
Dept
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
INTRODUCTION
Dept of
Public
Cleanliness
Environmental
Health
Institute
Environmental
Public Health
Operations Dept
Food &
Environmental
Hygiene Dept
Centre for
Climate
Research
Singapore
Meteorological
Systems Dept
Risk &
Resource Dept
Weather
Services Dept
Vector Control &
Sanitation Dept
13
NEA’s Management
External Audit
Management Committee
In addition to the three Board committees, NEA has a Management
Committee that comprises the organisation’s senior management.
This includes the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Deputy CEO (DCEO),
Director-Generals, Group Directors, Divisional-Directors and some
Directors). The Management Committee meets regularly to review
management and operational policies and activities. The committee also
plays a pivotal role in leading NEA’s transformational efforts. Through
strategically themed meetings and projects, NEA’s senior management
guides the agency in becoming more effective in its roles as a regulator
and an advocate for the environment. These efforts seek to improve
how NEA is organised, enabling it to achieve better results by working
smarter, winning hearts and minds, and doing its best.
Enterprise Risk & Safety Steering (ERSS) Committee
The ERSS Committee provides overall leadership and guidance in enterprise
risk and safety activities and programmes. These include reviewing risk
management and safety policies, procedures, assessments, and treatment
plans. The quarterly ERSS Committee meeting is chaired by NEA’s CEO.
The committee comprises NEA’s senior management (the designated
Risk Owners), chairpersons of safety committees (heads of selected
operational departments), and the Head of Internal Audit, who acts as
an observer for the meeting and provides input regarding audit issues
pertaining to risk management when necessary. The ERSS Committee
reports to the Board of Directors, which provides high-level oversight
of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) activities and guidance for NEA’s
risk management matters. More information can be found on page 19.
Sustainability Governance Structure
With support from NEA’s senior management, a robust governance
structure has been put in place to drive and implement sustainability
initiatives within NEA. This provides a structural channel for the systemic
flow of information from the ground staff to the top management, and
vice versa. More information can be found on page 23.
Audit
Internal Audit
The Internal Audit Department (IAD) advises NEA’s management and the
Audit Committee about the system of internal controls in NEA. IAD conducts
reviews to assist the Board in promoting good corporate governance,
through assessing the design and operating effectiveness of controls
and evaluating the compliance of NEA’s policies and procedures.
External auditors provide the Board with an independent opinion regarding
NEA’s financial statements, providing reasonable assurance that they are
free from material misstatement and highlighting areas in NEA’s system
of internal controls and accounting procedures that can be enhanced.
The Audit Committee assesses the external auditors based on factors
such as the quality of their audit and the independence of the auditors,
and recommends their appointment to the Board. In order to maintain
the independence of the external auditors, the external auditors are
required to declare their state of independence to the Audit Committee
prior to appointment.
Employees’ Code of Conduct
NEA maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding fraud and misconduct.
Every officer must maintain the highest standards of personal conduct, so as to
uphold the integrity of the public service, as well as public confidence. Based
on NEA’s biennial Organisational Climate Survey (OCS)6 conducted in 2013,
95% of NEA’s staff agreed that it is every employee’s responsibility to help
ensure that NEA is free from any misconduct or fraudulent or corrupt practices.
NEA has established the NEA Person Code – an internal set of guidelines
for ethical and professional conduct that applies to all employees.
The Code outlines NEA’s Vision, Mission and Values, appropriate conduct,
procedures with conflicts of interest, confidentiality, prevention of corruption,
and financial stewardship, and sets out principles to guide employees
in carrying out their duties and responsibilities to the highest standards
of personal and corporate integrity.
In addition, the NEA Disciplinary Policy details the appropriate procedures to
deal with any breach of discipline. The NEA Person Code, which is aligned
with the Civil Service’s Code of Conduct, is readily available on our intranet
and in the NEA Handbook. All new staff is informed about the NEA Person
Code. Based on our OCS conducted in 2013, 77% of our staff agreed that
they have been given appropriate guidance and training for issues that
concern integrity, ethics, fraud, misconduct and corruption.
NEA constantly reminds our staff to follow the NEA Person Code in the course
of their work. Essentially, under NEA’s comprehensive whistle-blowing policy,
NEA encourages all employees and third parties to report any incidents of
fraud and serious misconduct.
There was no misconduct, fraudulent or corrupt practices reported in FY2013.
NEA conducted our biennial Organisation Climate Survey (OCS) 2013, which is a key feedback platform that we use to assess our staff’s well-being and satisfaction.
6
14
INTRODUCTION
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINABILITY IN OUR PUBLIC INITIATIVES
As a regulator and an advocate for the environment, NEA seeks to formulate clear policies and public initiatives for our environment, society and economy
in the long run. The table below highlights some of NEA’s strategies to steer our community towards developing a liveable and sustainable Singapore:
NEA’s Strategies
Details of NEA’s Work
Improving Energy
Efficiency as a Key
Strategy to Mitigate
Climate Change
• Improve energy efficiency and promote energy management practices across all sectors in Singapore
through legislation (e.g. the Energy Conservation Act), incentive schemes (e.g. the Energy Efficiency
Improvement Assistance Scheme and the Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies), collaboration with partners
(e.g. the Energy Efficiency National Partnership programme), and provision of trainings to build capabilities
(e.g. the Singapore Certified Energy Manager training programme), and providing information (e.g.
website, mobile apps)
• Research and collaborate with partners to understand our vulnerabilities to climate change, identify
and assess adaptation measures required for climate change, and mitigate greenhouse gas emission
Clean Air, Land and
Water, and Striving
towards Zero Landfill
• Formulate environmental policies for clean air, land and water
• Control and monitor air pollution, water pollution and noise levels, and tighten standards for the control
of toxic waste and hazardous substances
• Ensure that environmental factors are incorporated into land-use planning and development, as well as
the building control of new developments
• Ensure the safe use of ionising and non-ionising radiation
• Promote waste minimisation and segregation at the source
• Build cost-effective waste management systems
• Maximise land use for waste management and landfill lifespan
• Shape behaviour to build a resource-efficient society
Building Capabilities and
Expertise
• Support collaboration for innovation and the development and adaptation of green technology
and products
• Provide training through our training and knowledge division — the Singapore Environment Institute (SEI)
• Develop the environmental industry and forge greater international partnerships
An Environmentally
Responsible Community
• Encourage greater environmental ownership and active citizenry through our 3P (People, Public and
Private) partnership
•Collaborate with 3P partners to co-design initiatives (e.g. the Eco-Music Challenge)
• Reach out and connect with everyone to promote a culture of reducing waste, using energy and other
resources efficiently, and making greener consumer and commuting choices
• Organise community environmental activities (e.g. Clean & Green Singapore)
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
INTRODUCTION
15
Ensuring High Standards
of Public Health
• Ensure high standards of public cleanliness, public health and hygiene by:
- Maintaining cleaning standards and inculcating anti-littering behaviour
- Promoting socially responsible behaviour through environmental campaigns
- Comprehensive and enhanced ground surveillance and enforcement
- Building food hygiene-related capabilities, research and technology
- Enhancing community ownership by promoting socially responsible behaviour through environmental
campaigns and community engagement, and 3P and inter-agency collaboration
- Taking an integrated approach for dengue control
• Ensure affordable food prices, and clean and hygienic hawker centres by:
- Building new hawker centres
- Creating vibrant and pleasant hawker centres
Efficient Service Provider • Provide timely and reliable weather information
• Provide care-for-the-dead services
• Continue to pursue corporate and organisational excellence
Engaging Our Stakeholders [G4-25]
NEA’s success in achieving a liveable and sustainable Singapore hinges on
the commitment and support of stakeholders.
NEA recognises the importance of encouraging open communication and
initiating collaborations with our stakeholders to foster a strong relationship
with them, and to promote environmental awareness. In NEA’s course
Our Stakeholders Purpose of
[G4-24]
Engagement
Employees
Engagement
Methods
[G4-26]
Examples of the various engagement platforms used to address some of
our key stakeholders’ concerns are as follows:
Example(s) of Engagements
[G4-26]
•To understand the Surveys, dialogues, •Biennial Organisation Climate Survey (OCS)
challenges they face roadshows, emails, •Two-way communication avenues for NEA’s management
meetings
at work
and employees, such as CEO Townhall, human resource (HR)
roadshows, tea sessions, CEO visits to departments and off-site
•To update them about
offices, Budget Briefing Sessions, Financial Performance
any key policy changes /
Review sessions
processes and seek their
feedback
•
To enhance
knowledge
capabilities
their Training
and
• To enhance staff bonding Activities
and sense of belonging
16
of work, we engaged three main groups of stakeholders. The frequency of
our ongoing engagement with our stakeholders varies with their needs as
well as the topics of engagement.
INTRODUCTION
• Regular sharing sessions such as Lunch and Learn, Superman
Forum, Learning Fiesta, Operational Excellence (OpEx) assemblies and forums
• Festive celebrations, annual dinner-and-dance events, sports
and recreational activities
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Business
Community,
Organisations,
Partners and
Public Agencies
Public
• To seek feedback from Surveys, con- • 3P Partnership Index Survey and Inaugural Keep Singapore Clean
Conference to understand the effectiveness of environmental
public agencies and f e r e n c e s a n d
efforts in our partners’ organisations, to facilitate the review
partners about our meetings
and improvement of NEA’s programmes and policies
engagement programmes
•To improve the state
of environmental
adoption by the business
community
• Regular meetings with stakeholders
•
To
seek
feedback Dialogue sessions
from affected industries
about new legislation,
regimes and programmes
that NEA intends to
implement
• Dialogue sessions to seek feedback on:
a) New licensing regime for the cleaning industry
b) New legislation such as the subsidiary legislation under the
Energy Conservation Act to mandate energy labelling and
minimum energy performance standards for general lighting
and industrial emission standards under the Environmental
Protection and Management (Air Impurities) Regulations
c) Hygiene operations and implementation of new policies such
as the Food Safety Management System
d) Proposed controls of new hazardous substances or
introduction of new licensing requirements
• To inform industries of Circulars
new legislations, regimes
and programmes that
NEA had implemented
• Circulars disseminated via email and NEA’s corporate websites
•
To understand the Survey
public’s perception on
the environment
•Environmental Satisfaction Survey (ESS): a public perception
survey to understand customer satisfaction levels regarding
the environment. Results from the survey are used to manage
environmental initiatives and services, connect more effectively
with its audience, and form more effective partnerships
•Energy Efficiency National Partnership, which is a voluntary
partnership programme that encourages companies to be more
energy efficient through learning network activities, provision of
energy efficiency-related resources, incentives and recognition
•
To raise environmental Public events, •Clean and Green Singapore
awareness and promote P r o j e c t s a n d •World Meteorological Day
interest in environmental contests
• Project S.W.I.T.C.H.7
issues
• Eco-music challenge
Public visits to NEA • Visits to the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) Forecast
facilities
Office and incineration plants
Workshops
•Regional workshops to engage local grassroots leaders
to formulate environmental work plans for their districts
(e.g. design thinking workshops with grassroots members)
• Capacity building workshops for schools and corporate companies
Project S.W.I.T.C.H. aims to help households to adopt good energy saving habits to reduce energy consumption in their homes, especially for lower-income households to assist them in
reducing their electricity utility costs.
7
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
INTRODUCTION
17
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE THROUGH ORGANISATIONAL EXCELLENCE
As an organisation, NEA has embarked on a transformational effort since 2010 to be “Future Ready”. This means having the necessary
systems, processes and people to do a good job in the face of future challenges. NEA is working to be more relevant, responsive and resilient,
ensuring that the organisation will continue to operate effectively and efficiently in the future.
To drive organisational sustainability, NEA seeks to be well informed and prepared for the future by adopting innovative ways to remain relevant.
This includes efforts to leverage technology to deliver high-quality public service, keep in touch with the public in our outreach programmes,
and develop a networked approach for a faster, better response:
a. Ensuring a High Quality of Service
NEA aims to provide high-quality service for the community through people-centric processes and systems, as well as service-oriented staff.
By devoting more resources to the front-line operations and redesigning our work processes, NEA aims to provide a whole-of-government
approach to managing customer feedback and complaints.
Internally, NEA has introduced the CARE (Customer, Ambassador, Relationship, and Experience) framework to guide us in our efforts to
introduce and manage various service initiatives. This framework focuses on people as our customers, and rallies our staff to become service
ambassadors in our delivery of people-centric experience.
b. Strong Community Engagement and Outreach
While NEA continues to maintain high standards of public health and cleanliness in Singapore, our focus is on community engagement efforts to
promote a stronger sense of social graciousness and environmental consciousness within society.
NEA has been leveraging new technology engagement modes to engage the public, such as mobile applications like “myEnv”. This empowers
members of the public to take action to protect them and manage their daily activities. It also makes it easier for the public to provide feedback.
These initiatives complement the enforcement efforts on the ground, which utilise crowd-sourcing to help NEA gather public feedback to safeguard
the environment. Going forward, we will continue to focus on developing more innovative environmental solutions for our outreach programmes.
With increasing public expectations for greater transparency and
accountability, NEA will be looking into providing as much information
as possible regarding the environment (more frequent reporting of air
quality, track records of food stalls, etc.) for members of the public, so that
they can make better and more well-informed choices. At the same time,
we will hold establishments we regulate to similar standards
of transparency.
c. A Faster, Better Response to Safeguard Our Environment
NEA has implemented Phase 1 of the Integrated Environment System
(IES), which collects and centralises real-time sensor data from multiple
distinct operational systems.
Our officers now have convenient access to sensor data that is relevant
to their respective operations. The data is laid out in a geo-spatial context
using charts and reports over customisable dashboards. Through the IES,
18
INTRODUCTION
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
we can achieve better situational awareness and improve our responses to feedback. For example, for feedback about construction noise, we provide
the unified view of construction sites, noise sensitive premises and noise level measurements.
IES Phase 2 will build on its current capabilities through an exchange platform that facilitates data sharing among government agencies and research
institutions. IES Phase 2 will also include data analytics and predictive capabilities to provide early environmental warning, as well as sense-making
to support our field operations.
MANAGING OUR RISK
Managing risk is an integral part of our business activities, and it creates
value for our organisation.
More risks have surfaced in the recent years. Greater public expectations,
higher standards, more effective operations, mounting environmental
issues, new work areas and technological changes are just some of
the key challenges we face on a day-to-day basis, in an increasingly
complex and dynamic environment. These key challenges, if not handled
carefully and with sensitivity, will not only directly impact and influence
NEA’s public policies and programmes, but will affect how NEA as an
organisation prepares itself to be sustainable as well.
NEA recognises how a structured and integrated framework to oversee
key enterprise risks is part of good corporate governance and strategic
planning. We therefore embarked on the Enterprise Risk Management
(ERM) journey in 2007.
Proper risk management enables NEA to identify and address possible
risks immediately, helping to reduce the impact of the risk through
contingency planning. Because of the diverse work NEA handles, the
organisation approaches risk management in a holistic, open and effective
manner. Otherwise, the combined impact of risks could derail our pursuit
of NEA’s strategic objectives and damage our reputation.
The purpose of implementing the ERM is to enable NEA to identify, assess, prioritise, and treat its key strategic risks on an ongoing basis. It also
aims to enhance:
• Risk Awareness — by providing an integrated view of the combined
impact of different risks in the organisation, thereby breaking down silo
thinking in managing risk
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
• Risk Ownership — by providing a formalised structure to assign
account
ability for key risks and their mitigating measures or
action plans
• Proactive Risk Management — by providing a structured and robust
management tool to minimise risk, optimise resources and seize
opportunities, based on both top-down and bottom-up approaches.
Our Enterprise Risk Management Governance Structure
NEA’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) reporting approach clearly
defines the respective roles and authorities for establishing an ERM
framework that is distinct to the organisation.
In our bid to streamline our processes and build stronger capabilities to
face the increasing uncertainty of events and challenges, both the ERM and
Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) governance structures were reviewed.
Since October 2013, the Enterprise Risk Management Committee (ERMC)
merged with the NEA Safety Steering Committee (NSSC) to form the
Enterprise Risk and Safety Steering Committee (ERSSC).
ERSSC meets every quarter to review the key strategic and operational
risks facing NEA and the progress of its risk treatment plans. ERSSC also
looks at trends and emerging issues that may have an impact on NEA.
The Incident and Risk Review Committee (IRRC), which is chaired by NEA’s
Chief Risk Officer (CRO), reports to ERSSC. IRRC serves a dual role in the
ERM and WSH governance structures. Under the ERM governance structure,
IRRC ensures the comprehensiveness of NEA’s risk register and other
indicators for policy sensing and sense-making of risks.
Identifying, assessing, and monitoring key strategic risks and treatment plans
is the responsibility of Risk Owners. Process Owners provide risk content
(causes, consequences and controls), and are involved in implementing and
monitoring the effectiveness of risk treatment plans.
INTRODUCTION
19
NEA Board
Audit
Comm (AC)
Our revised ERM
Governance
Structure
Observer ERSS Comm (ERSSC)
Chair: CEO
Secretariat
(CED)
Internal Audit
Dept (IAD)
Legend
Reporting
Collaborating
*
On need basis
IRR Comm (IRRC)
Chair: CRO
Risk Owners
(DGs/ Div Dirs)
Process Owners
(HODs)
Dept WSH Comm*/ NEA WSH Driver
Installation /
Offsite WSH
Committees
WSH Rep
First
Aiders
NEA’s revised ERM and WSH governance structures
Each department has a Risk Champion. They act as a risk representative
who administers risk policies and procedures at the departmental level,
and document risks and related control plans in their own department’s
risk register.
Risk registers are regularly updated and subsequently collated from all
departments for the purpose of outlining strategic and key operational
risks onto a risk map. The risk map provides ERSSC with a quick overview
of the top priority risks that NEA faces, allowing the committee to observe
the full effectiveness of control plans in managing risk.
Enhancing the Risk Management Culture in NEA
NEA has embarked on the risk management journey since 2006.
Having established basic risk management systems and processes, there is
still much to do to build up an active risk management culture in the
organisation. The effectiveness of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
in NEA is very much dependent on the strength of its risk culture.
To strengthen our risk culture, we have conducted numerous trainings and
customised briefings over the years to progressively intensify our efforts:
To ensure the organisation’s sustainability and management in the
risk of fraud occurrences, NEA has put in place controls and Standard
Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure that processes are done correctly,
with appropriate levels of checks. Officers in positions susceptible to
exploitation also go through job rotations, and have their duties segregated.
• Risk Training
Risk management workshops were conducted at NEA Leaders in
Environmental Action Programme (LEAP) for middle management staff
who have been in service for a few years. The purpose is to create greater
awareness and understanding of risk management and its importance to
NEA’s role and functions.
Departments with key functions in procurement, finance and staff discipline
have also assessed risks related to fraud, and have put in place suitable
risk control and treatment plans.
In FY13, NEA began to instill a risk-awareness mindset in new hires joining
the organisation. To this end, NEA has incorporated a risk management
20
INTRODUCTION
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
module into the induction programme for new hires. This ensures that all
new hires are given a firm grounding in NEA’s risk management practices
and how they can contribute to the whole. • Risk Communication
Since July 2009, NEA has been updating staff biennially on the latest risk
management issues and happenings through an internal risk management
newsletter, the Risk Digest. There is also a risk management Intranet
site allowing staff to access risk management matters in NEA. It serves
as a source of risk management information that includes speeches
and videos featuring past risk management training sessions and
external speakers.
On top of that, NEA proactively collates risk-related news from the mass
media and disseminates it to employees. Lessons learnt can then be
applied in NEA.
• Rewards and Recognition
NEA recognises staff for their efforts in promoting risk management
through the NEA Risk Ambassador award. The award was first introduced
in January 2011. In 2013, three outstanding staff were presented with
the award.
For their contributions, departmental Risk Champions are granted due
recognition in their personal HR records. The Director (Corporate Services
& Development) meets with these Risk Champions on a regular basis to
understand their needs and obtain invaluable feedback.
Moving forward, while NEA continues to place emphasis on managing
operational risk in our organisation and engaging staff to strengthen
our risk culture, more needs to be done to link risk management to our
business continuity and emergency planning efforts. Risk management is
useful for identifying potential events that may impact NEA’s processes
and operations by highlighting key areas of caution in business
continuity projects.
MANAGING RISKS FOR A FUTURE-READY NEA
As NEA continues our Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) journey, we recognise the need to bridge the gaps of risk management between our
senior management and the officers on the ground.
As such, NEA adopts a risk-based approach to enhance our risk management capabilities and culture. One initiative was the roll-out of a
customised risk management training and assessment project for NEA’s Hawker Centres Division (HCD). The training was timely, as HCD had
expanded its work functions to meet the public’s rising needs. The training also provided an avenue for risks to be identified from the ground
up, through a formalised risk escalation process that was communicated to the officers as part of the training.
In 2013, a similar training programme was rolled out for the Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC), as it undertook an expanded scope because
of the integration of cleaning contracts from the various government agencies. The training enabled the officers to be better equipped with risk
management knowledge and tools, aiding them in identifying and managing their risks.
To ensure the effectiveness of NEA’s internal controls, we launched a pilot Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) exercise in early 2013.
NEA is now in the process of directing its RCSA efforts to selected departments focusing on procurement processes. This was done because
of how important procurement is within NEA, and because of the public’s increasing scrutiny of its processes.
In 2014 and 2015, NEA will be looking at enhancing the integration of its strategic planning and risk management processes. This will enable
NEA to better anticipate and manage potential risks or challenges arising from its strategic initiatives.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
INTRODUCTION
21
Process
Understanding
Risk
Identification
Process
Owners
• What are the key
activities in the
process?
• What can go wrong?
Control
Owners
• What has changed
in the process?
Controls
Identification
• What mitigation
measures are in
place?
Controls
Assessment
• Are assessments
made by control
owners accurate?
• Are there adequate
controls in place?
• Are controls working
as intended?
An example of a typical Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) process
MANAGING OUR CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
Integrating sustainable business practices within NEA will benefit our
internal stakeholders.
NEA is working towards nurturing a professional workforce that embraces
an environmentally friendly culture and cares for the community, creating
a safe and happy working environment for our employees, and exercising
greater financial prudence in our business operations. Having a sustainability
framework is essential, because it creates the foundation that drives
sustainability within NEA. NEA strives to be a leading agency with sustainable
practices to benefit our environment, economy and community.
22
INTRODUCTION
The basis of NEA’s sustainability framework is classified under four
guiding principles:
• W – Walk the Talk
• I – Innovate for Sustainability
• S – Share with the Community
• E – Embed Sustainability
W.I.S.E. provides the foundation to support the organisation’s key sustainability
pillars – environmental sustainability, financial sustainability and social
sustainability – under which NEA prioritises its work on sustainability and
implements new initiatives. NEA seeks to engage our staff, suppliers and
working partners in our internal sustainability programme.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Our desired outcomes under each of the key work areas in our
framework are:
Environmental Sustainability Pillar
NEA strives to be the leading agency in sustainability practices for
the benefit of our environment, economy, and community –
today, for tomorrow.
• To achieve a resource-efficient office
• To achieve a clean and eco-friendly working environment
Financial Sustainability Pillar
ENGAGEMENT
• To ensure responsible procurement, investments and operations
Social Sustainability Pillar
Financial
Environmental
Social
• To have good workplace health and safety
•To have an expert and professional workforce
•To achieve strong corporate social responsibility
Engagement
NEA’s Guiding Principles – W.I.S.E
(Walk the Talk, Innovate for Sustainability, Share with the
Community, Embed Sustainability in NEA)
Our Sustainability Governance Structure
NEA recognises the importance of a structured approach to drive and
implement sustainability initiatives within the organisation.
In April 2010, the Sustainability Office was set up to oversee and coordinate
all sustainability efforts within NEA. In October 2013, the Sustainability
Governance framework was restructured to streamline our processes.
The NEA Sustainability Steering Committee, Innovation & Productivity
Committee, Strategic Learning Committee and Biz Excellence Committee
also merged to establish the Organisational Development & Steering
Committee (ODSC), which is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
ODSC comprises NEA’s senior management and directors, who meet
on a quarterly basis to deliberate over NEA’s direction and endorse the
organisation’s sustainability initiatives. As our journey in sustainability
requires strong commitment and support from all levels of NEA’s
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
• To achieve a high level of public trust
•For all staff to be NEA ambassadors
management, NEA has, since April 2011, appointed all heads of department,
general managers of waste management facilities and heads of regional
offices as Sustainability Champions. Their role is to help drive sustainable
changes within their respective departments and offsite premises,
and foster a culture of continual improvement within the organisation.
The Sustainability Champions meet quarterly at NEA Sustainability Committee
meetings. Here, the Sustainability Champions – led by the Chair of NEA
Sustainability Committee – discuss, share and align sustainability efforts.
To encourage our staff to take ownership and play a bigger role in
promoting sustainability, our Sustainability Champions nominate at least
one staff member from their department to join the Eco-Office Committee,
which drives environmental sustainability and the Panel for Employee
Engagement and Recognition (PEER) Committee, which promotes staff
engagement and social sustainability.
INTRODUCTION
23
Organisational Development Steering Committee
Senior Management’s
Support
To provide overall leadership & direction on sustainability efforts in NEA
Chair: CEO
Committee members: Senior Management
NEA Sustainability Committee
To discuss, share and align our sustainability efforts
Chair: GD(JOT)
Deputy Chair: D(SO)
Committee members: All Heads of Departments
Middle Management’s
Support
Staff Involvement
Eco-Office
Committee
PEER
Volunteers for ad-hoc
Projects
(NEA’s Sustainability Governance Structure (as of November 2014)
Mechanisms have also been put in place to review and rotate our staff on a
regular basis, to encourage new ideas and increase staff involvement in our
sustainability journey. In many of our off-site premises, the representative
from the Eco-Office Committee will chair a sub-committee within their own
department to implement site-specific eco-office initiatives, monitor the
effectiveness of the action plans and gather feedback, educate staff and
update staff regarding their performance.
Staff Engagement and Communication [G4-24, G4-25
G4-26, G4-27]
The seeds of change for sustainability practices are often initiated at
the staff level.
NEA encourages staff involvement and feedback regarding our
sustainability initiatives through various channels, such as the CEO Townhall,
the intranet, email blasts, discussion forums, focus group discussions,
contests, My-Ideas, etc. This is to create a conducive environment for our
staff to contribute innovative ideas, thereby enhancing NEA’s capabilities
to operate in a more environmentally, socially and financially
sustainable manner. As our report focuses on internal sustainability,
we have identified our staff as the main stakeholder.
24
INTRODUCTION
We have categorised our staff engagement into different levels,
for which the most effective and efficient communication platforms are
identified. (See page 25).
NEA has also put in place adequate channels for employees to air their
grievances on matters that affect the terms and conditions of their service.
NEA’s employees can voice their concerns officially about their employment
terms as long as they do so to the appropriate departmental authorities,
and not to external third parties. As of FY2013, no grievances have
been raised.
Based on the 2013 OCS conducted with our staff, 73% of NEA’s staff
agreed that NEA is efficient in keeping our employees informed about
matters that affect them. This is an improvement from our 2011 OCS
results, where only 69% agreed with the statement.
NEA will continue to build on our initiatives to create a world-class,
engaged workforce, as well as a workplace where passionate environmental
advocates work together in this dynamic and challenging field.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Engagement at
Different Levels
[G4-24, G4-25]
NEA-wide
Team
Description
Examples [G4-26]
Different engagement and learning CEO Townhall, human resource (HR) roadshows to various departments,
platforms at various segments and monthly CEO visits to departments and off-site offices, Organisation
levels of NEA’s workforce
Climate Survey (OCS), NEA’s intranet, communication through circulars,
HR Snapshots
Focus on Innovation and Service
MyiDeas, Work Improvement Teams (WITs), service forums, innovation
forums, risk talks, Learning Fiesta, innovation and production
roadshows, etc.
Improve productivity and enhance Job redesigning initiatives
career advancement
Committees to look into Workplace Eco-Office Committee, WSH Committee, Panel for Employee
Safety and Health (WSH), eco-habits, Engagement and Recognition (PEER) Committee, NEA Sports and
community outreach programmes, Recreational Committee (NEASRC)
staff welfare activities
Individual
Attract, develop and retain talent
Formal work review sessions with learning plan input, providing a
two-way communication channel between supervisors and individuals,
tea sessions with different segments of staff, e.g. young talents,
NEW scholars, new staff, Daily Rated Workers (DREs), etc.
Motivate staff to achieve better Holistic performance management report that includes an individual’s
performance
contribution to areas outside the formal work scope, such as
improvement and innovation projects
Programmes that match staff skills Christmas carolling at the Singapore Children’s Society (SCS),
and interests with charity needs for Charity Run in support of the Children’s Cancer Foundation (CCF)
deeper engagement
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
INTRODUCTION
25
TOWARDS GREATER
SUSTAINABILITY
MILESTONES
TAKING THE RIGHT STEP IN SUSTAINABILITY
REQUIRES A CAREFUL EYE. INDEED,
WE KEEP A CLOSE WATCH ON NEA’S
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND CORPORATE
ACTIONS, ENSURING THAT OUR SUSTAINABILITY
EFFORTS ARE TRULY MAXIMISED.
MONITORING OUR
SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
AN ANALYSIS OF OUR CURRENT SITUATION
NEA believes that our drive for internal sustainability can help us better manage risks and identify opportunities. Based on national and global trends,
compliance requirements and feedbacks from our internal stakeholders, NEA’s management has identified the following risks and opportunities related to
driving sustainability within the organisation:
Key Issues
Our Approach [G4-27]
Opportunities [G4-27]
Increasing public expectations for NEA to Drive
infrastructure
enhancement NEA experiencing first-hand on the issues that
be the champion for the environment and to and behavioural changes to achieve may arise with implementation, and gaining
walk the talk
environmental sustainability within NEA
public trust for our policies
Continue to innovate for sustainability
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) will be and explore the possibility of relying on
developing sustainability reporting guidelines, technology
and will soon be making it mandatory for all
listed companies to publish sustainability Report on our progress through sustainability
reports
reports in a “comply or explain” approach
Being the first public agency to report on
sustainability allows NEA to develop our
efforts further
Identifying areas for improvement through
NEA’s sustainability reporting
Increasing expectations for NEA to incorporate
sustainable supply chain
NEA can influence and engage business
partners (sub-contractors, service providers
and suppliers) in our sustainability efforts
The need to comply with:
Ensuring that NEA fulfils the environmental
requirements
i. The Public Sector Taking the Lead in
Environmental Sustainability (PSTLES)
version 2.0 initiative
ii. Energy management practices under the
Energy Conservation Act (ECA)
iii. Environmental Protection and Management
(Air Impurities) Regulations
28
MONITORING OUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Global environmental trend: scarcity of
resources, climate change, increase in
resource prices, limited landfill area, low
carbon-focused economy, increasing pace
of technological development
An opportunity for NEA to work with our
partners to do our part for the environment
Reducing any financial implications by adopting
a proper risk-management system
An opportunity to leverage technologies to
enhance our operations
The need to comply with the Workplace Safety Increase staff awareness about WSH issues An opportunity to enhance our WSH
and Health (WSH) Act
programmes
Reducing any financial implications by adopting
a proper WSH risk-management system
Driving productivity and innovation to maximise Emphasise innovation in every aspect of NEA’s An opportunity to leverage technology
and innovative solutions to enhance
human-capital output
drive for sustainability
NEA’s operations and achieve business
Put in place initiatives that drive productivity excellence (BE)
The impact of an ageing population on NEA’s Continue to enhance work-life harmony and NEA’s ability to extend the employment period
manpower requirements
talent-management initiatives
for our employees
The need to meet growing staff expectations
about issues related to work-life harmony and
job satisfaction
Good for staff well-being and retention
Developing a strong Employee Value
Proposition (EVP)8 to help NEA brand and
market itself
Broadening NEA’s role from an enforcer to a Increased emphasis on developing soft skills A more diverse work scope provides our
facilitator and partner
under the talent management programme
staff with more choices to pursue their career
within NEA
Growing staff expectations and demand Emphasise engagement in every aspect of Good for staff retention and reinforcing NEA’s
for engagement
NEA’s drive for sustainability
corporate culture
Ride on existing engagement platforms and Possibility of attracting suitable talent to join
create new ones where needed
NEA
The need to strengthen NEA’s corporate Integrate our core values in our drive for Increasing staff community outreach
programmes
sustainability culture
sustainability
Preventing corruption and fraud cases
Provide guidance and training to increase Achieving the highest standards of personal
staff awareness
and corporate integrity
NEA will continue to closely monitor the above, and ensure that our sustainability efforts address upcoming trends and risks.
NEA developed its Employee Value Proposition (EVP) in 2013 using a ground-up approach to provide guidance for our human resource (HR) strategies and policies, and to position NEA as
an employer of choice.
8
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
MONITORING OUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
29
OUR MATERIAL ISSUES
Through regular staff engagement and an analysis of our current situation,
we have identified eight material issues related to driving sustainability
within NEA. The table below shows the focus areas and significant issues
relevant to our organisation and staff.
The eight material issues form the basis of NEA’s sustainability initiatives
and reporting, which are supported by our management. Our processes have
been developed to safeguard our environment, workplace and finances,
ensuring that our sustainability efforts are truly maximised.
We have applied the principles of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4
Guidelines to determine our key material issues. The subsequent chapters
will discuss relevant G4 material aspects further, detailing our management’s
approach and performance. [G4-18].
Material Focus
Areas
Material
Issues
GRI G4 Aspects
[G4-19]
Impact Material to
Internal Stakeholder
(Employees) [G4-20]
Impact Material
to External Stakeholders
[G4-21]
Environmental
Sustainability
1. Pollution
Control
Air emission and
compliance
√
Community – how pollution is being
controlled and managed
Effluents and
compliance
√
Community – how pollution is being
controlled and managed
Energy
√
Community – how we manage and
conserve our resources
2. Resource
Conservation
Water
Waste
Social
Sustainability
Financial
Sustainability
3. Workplace
Safety and
Health
Occupational
safety and health
√
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) –
Compliance to Workplace Safety and
Health (WSH) Act
4.People
Excellence
Fair employment
√
MOM – Compliance to Employment
Act and Retirement and
Re-employment Act
Training and
education
√
Training and experience are useful for
personal career advancement, and may
be useful in another company
5. Community
Involvement
Giving back to the
community9
√
Empowering our community through
support and knowledge
6. Our Finances
Optimisation of
financial resources9
√
Community – how we manage
our finances
7. Our Supply
Chain
Procurement
practices
√
Community – how we manage our
supply chain
8. Innovation
and Productivity
Maximising
human-capital
output8
√
NA
Not relevant Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 aspects.
9
30
MONITORING OUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
AWARDS AND BENCHMARKS
(CSR), which includes sustainability practices, is a key topic under the
Leadership category.
Business Excellence
NEA’s drive for sustainability began with the formation of the organisation in
2002, and our efforts have gained momentum over the years. Sustainability
is fundamental in NEA’s journey for business excellence (BE).
NEA adopts the national BE framework, which helps us strengthen our
management systems and processes by knowing where the agency is on
our excellence journey, and what we need to do to achieve higher levels
of performance. The national BE framework is benchmarked against
excellence frameworks adopted internationally. The framework comprises
seven categories – Leadership, Planning, Information, People, Processes,
Customers and Results (see figure below). Corporate Social Responsibility
Using the BE framework, NEA seeks to align our strategies, processes
and culture with our vision, mission and values to coordinate efforts
among NEA’s divisions and departments to drive excellence. NEA has
attained several BE milestones thus far – the Singapore Quality Class (SQC)
Star, People Developer (PD), Service Class (S-Class) and Innovation
Class (I-Class).
In 2013, NEA achieved the SQC Star – a significant improvement from
our last assessment in 2010. NEA is also ISO 9001-certified, with zero
non-conformances for the last seven consecutive audits. Our key industrial
installations, such as our incineration plants and Tuas Marine Transfer
Station, are also ISO14001-certified.
INNOVATION
RESULTS
CUSTOMERS
INFORMATION
PROCESSES
LEADERSHIP
PLANNING
PEOPLE
LEARNING
As of 31 March 2014
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
MONITORING OUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
31
These various BE certifications conferred by SPRING Singapore affirmed
that NEA is on the right track towards being an excellent organisation in
our people, service and innovation aspects. Without doubt, this affirmation
motivates us to do even better. NEA is building upon this foundation in our
pursuit for the next milestone in our journey of excellence – the premier
Singapore Quality Award (SQA). The SQA is the pinnacle for organisations
that demonstrate world-class BE standards.
Our Environmental and Social Achievements
In FY2013, NEA made some significant progress in our journey of
environmental and social sustainability, which is highlighted below:
•As of FY2013, all NEA offices have achieved eco-office certification.
A total of 14 of our office premises have undergone re-certification,
while four new office premises set up in 2012 – the Singapore Environment
Institute (SEI), the Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS),
the Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC) and the Hawker Centres
Division (HCD) – have just been certified. More information can be found
in Chapter 3, on page 34.
• For the third year running, NEA has been voted by students and graduates
to be one of the leading graduate employers in the 2013 Singapore’s
100 Leading Graduate Employers survey. NEA was in the 55th position
in 2013 – an improvement from our 59th position in 2012.
•NEA was conferred eight awards at the Singapore Human Resources
Institute (SHRI) HR Awards 2013:
1.Leading CEO Award
2.Leading HR Leader Award
3. Leading HR Practices in Learning & Human Capital Development
Award (Special Mention)
4.Leading HR Practices in Employee Relations & People
Management Award
5. Leading HR Practices in Quality Worklife Physical Mental Well
Being Award
6. Leading HR Practices in Corporate Social Responsibility Award
7. Leading HR Practices in Fair Employment Practices Award
32
8.Pinnacle award for overall HR excellence – the Corporate HR Award
(this award is bestowed upon organisations that have achieved
overall effectiveness in their HR and people-management practices,
thus contributing to the needs of businesses, employees, industries
and the nation)
•In 2013, NEA clinched the 10-year Outstanding SHARE Award and the
SHARE Gold Award at the 2013 Community Chest Awards.
•NEA won the NTUC May Day Model Partnership Award in 2013 for
the progressive Wage Model under the Institutional Category for the
Cleaning Sector.
• NEA received an award at the International Convention on Quality Control
Circles (ICQCC) 2013 for the following three projects:
1. Cleaning Performance Monitoring System (CPMS)
2. Real-time noise monitoring system
3. Automated checking of meteorological information and forecasts on various media platforms
•NEA also received the following awards:
1. Annual Best Practice Award 2013 – “Cleaning Performance Management
Systems (CPMS)” emerged as the sole winner in the Regulation
category
2. United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA) 2013 – “Co-creation
of creative solutions through eGov initiatives” won second place
under “Promoting Whole-of-Government (WOG) Approaches” in the
Information Age category.
3. FutureGov Award – “myENV Mobile Application” won an award under
the Wireless Government category. This award recognises NEA’s efforts
in using wireless technologies to extend the reach of its services and
raise employee productivity.
4. Public Category at Singapore Good Design Mark (SG Mark) Awards
– “NEA’s Semakau Landfill project” won a Gold Award under “Social
– Space, Architecture, Facilities” in the Public category. This award
recognises innovative and exceptional designs that spur imagination and
enhance lives.
MONITORING OUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
NEA seeks to benchmark our internal efforts in sustainability against our
peers and industry standards. For example, in business excellence (BE),
our HR policies are benchmarked against those implemented by companies
that have obtained the Singapore Quality Award (SQA) and our peers from
the public sector. Another example can be seen in how we benchmark our
efforts in environmental sustainability against organisations that have been
awarded the Eco-Office Label or the BCA Green Mark award.
NEA is no stranger to sustainability, and is always keeping track of fresh
development in this area. We also lend our support to key sustainability
initiatives in Singapore. Some notable ones include the Singapore Compact
Awards for Corporate Social Responsibility, the Singapore Sustainability
Awards by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the ACCA
Sustainability reporting awards.
NEA will continue to improve our work on sustainability, and promote
sustainability to Singapore’s business community.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
MONITORING OUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
33
TOWARDS A
SUSTAINABLE
ENVIRONMENT
TO CREATE A BETTER AND MORE
SUSTAINABLE TOMORROW, WE NEED TO
CHERISH WHAT WE HAVE TODAY. AT NEA,
WE CONSTANTLY ENGAGE IN EFFORTS AND
INITIATIVES TO CONSERVE RESOURCES AND
REDUCE WASTE, MINIMISING OUR IMPACT
ON OUR ENVIRONMENT.
SUSTAINING
OUR ENVIRONMENT
NEA has examined our operations in 18 premises, identifying three key
activities that we believe have a significant impact on our environment
– our operations at our waste management facilities, our operations at
our crematoriums and resource consumption in our day-to-day operations.
Environmental stewardship is an integral part of our operations philosophy.
NEA’s management is committed to minimising the environmental impact
caused by our activities by ensuring that we inculcate effective environmental
practices. Two material issues have been identified under NEA’s environmental
sustainability pillar: pollution control and resource conservation.
We constantly engage in initiatives to conserve resources, reduce waste
and innovate for sustainability, minimising our impact on our surroundings.
At NEA, we believe in building an eco-friendly culture, where we nurture
our staff and shape individuals into environmental ambassadors who can
help spread environmental messages to the community.
(Relevant G4 material aspects: Air Emission, Effluents, Compliance)
Air Emission and Compliance
NEA manages four premises – two incineration plants and two crematoriums
– which emit air pollutants such as dust, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides,
hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide during the incineration and
cremation processes. Noting that these air emissions have to comply with
Singapore’s Environmental Protection and Management (Air Impurities)
Regulations10, NEA has undertaken relevant mitigation measures to
ensure that our air emissions are within the limits.
We have installed a telemetric monitoring system that is linked to the
regulatory unit to continuously monitor air emission from our incineration
plants. The results over the years are as follows:
FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
Emission Limit
12.1
14.8
6.3
11.8
< 100
SO2 (mg/Nm )
28
12.7
7.3
90.7
< 500
NOx (mg/Nm3)
414
362
345
391
< 700
11
TIP
POLLUTION CONTROL
Dust (mg/Nm )
3
3
FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
Emission Limit
3
Dust (mg/Nm )
0.68
0.68
1.67
2.53
< 100
SO2 (mg/Nm )
210
242
170
142
< 500
NOx (mg/Nm )
481
656
399
246
< 700
11
TSIP
3
3
10
Air emission limits extracted from: http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=Id%3A%227a8f0030-2233-44c8-9e89-aa7bb19cc208%22%20
Status%3Ainforce;rec=0#Sc-
11
Figures for dust and SO2 are taken from online analyser, while figures for NOx are taken from the annual stack sampling test.
36
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
NEA monitors the air emission from our crematoriums by taking annual readings to ensure the emission is kept within limits12. The results over the years
are as follows:
MCC
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
Emission Limit
HCl (mg/Nm3)
NA
0.23
< 0.1
< 0.20
< 200
3
Dust (mg/Nm )
42
50.1
19.2
61.05
< 100
SO2 (mg/Nm )
NA
7.2
<1.0
< 1.0
< 500
NOx (mg/Nm )
60.5
44.7
261.6
599.9
< 700
CO (mg/Nm3)
2.4
1.6
1.0
< 1.0
< 625
3
3
The two NEA incineration plants and crematorium have met the regulatory
limits. There has been no smoky emission from the chimneys as well,
and no odour has been detected.
NEA values the well-being of each of our stakeholders and the environment
we live in. This is why we strive to incorporate sustainable practices in our
daily operations and meet the needs of stakeholders, without compromising
on the quality of our living environment. We have incorporated design
features in our incineration plants and crematoriums to ensure the proper
management of flue-gas emission. For instance, our efficient processcontrol systems at our incineration plants control the rate of air distribution
and refuse feed to ensure proper combustion in the furnace. The flue gas
generated is then treated to remove pollutants such as hydrogen chloride
and dioxin before being released through the chimney.
In addition, we have put in place an effective environmental management
system that comprises a framework of processes and practices that boost
NEA’s operations efficiency and minimise environmental impact. The system
allows us to review our performance periodically through consistent control
of our operations, enabling us to fulfil our environmental objectives.
Tuas Incineration Plant
Effluents and Compliance
During the incineration process, wastewater is collected from refuse bunkers
and discharged from ash pits.
As NEA administers the Environmental Protection and Management Act
(EPMA) and the Environmental Protection and Management (Trade Effluent)
Regulations, which regulate the discharge of wastewater into open drains,
canals and rivers, it is essential for us to walk the talk and comply with
these regulations. Similarly, NEA has to comply with the Sewerage and
Drainage Act (SDA) and the Sewerage and Drainage (Trade Effluent)
Regulations administered by PUB, which require industries to treat their
wastewater according to specific standards before discharging it into the
sewer or watercourse.
Mandai Crematorium
12
We only conduct annual source-emission testing for our main crematorium – the Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium (MCC). This practice is beyond Environmental Protection and
Management Act, Section 37, where our crematoriums are not required to do any annual source-emission testing.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
37
IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR SEMAKAU
LANDFILL PHASE II
As part of the development for Semakau Landfill (SL) Phase II, NEA carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study to assess the
potential environmental impact arising from the works.
After the EIA Study, an Environmental Monitoring and Management Plan (EMMP) was implemented for the Phase II development works.
The EMMP commenced on 1 November 2013, and is expected to be completed by June 2015 after the completion of the Phase II works.
As of 31 March 2014, the environmental baseline reporting has been established, encompassing the instrumentation survey, habitat survey, coral
habitat relocation survey, and water and sediment quality survey. Thereafter, during the civil works and construction, the quality of the environment
will be monitored. Any adverse changes will result in the implementation of immediate mitigation measures, preventing any impact on the
surrounding marine environment.
The two NEA incineration plants have installed wastewater treatment plants
to treat the acidity of effluent water to between six and nine. The plants
receive and mix wastewater from the regeneration of activated carbon
filters and demineralisers, refuse bunkers, ash pits and other sub-processes.
In addition, the built-in sensors in the plants monitor the acidity of the
wastewater. Hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide is added to the
wastewater to ensure the pH level meets the stipulated range of pH6 to
pH9 before it is discharged into the public sewer.
In FY2013, the amount of treated wastewater discharged into the sewer
was 20,472m3 at TIP and 100,419 m3 at TSIP. The testing of wastewater
quality is carried out on a regular basis to ensure that the discharge has
been treated effectively.
Thereafter, the discharged wastewater is further treated by PUB before it
is released into waterways.
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
(Relevant G4 Material Aspects: Energy, Water and Waste)
The use of resources in NEA’s day-to-day operations has significant
environmental impact.
NEA realises the need to put in place stringent resource management
system to tackle the global environmental issue of resource scarcity,
which can lead to escalating prices and climate change. Indeed, resources like
38
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
fuel and water are vital in our world. As an organisation, we believe
that we can play a part in resource conservation by reducing our
carbon footprint and adopting technological and infrastructural changes
in our business operations.
This has led to us putting put in place two initiatives: the 8 Effective Habits
– 10% Challenge and Eco-Office Certification. These initiatives allow
NEA to closely monitor and manage our resource consumption – energy,
water and paper, as well as engage our staff to be passionate environmental
ambassadors. More importantly, the two initiatives ensure that
we are on track to comply with the Public Sector Taking the Lead in
Environmental Sustainability (PSTLES) and the Energy Conservation
Act (ECA) requirements.
We have set the number of Monthly Rated Employees (MREs) as our
Business Activity Indicator (BAI) for all NEA office premises and NEA
industrial premises. Thus, this BAI will be the basis of our comparison for resource consumption throughout our reporting process.
• 8 Effective Habits – 10% Challenge
In October 2011, NEA committed to a five-year internal environmental
awareness movement: the 8 Effective Habits – 10% Challenge.
General campaign stickers reminding our staff of the eight effective
habits have been pasted at key locations and all workstations.
The “habits” mapped out in the challenge are as follows (the picture
next page):
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Switch off the
lights when
not in use
Avoid
disposables
LOW RES
Choose energy
efficient
alternatives
Print only when
necessary
Reduce
washing
time
Use both sides
of paper
Switch off
at mains
The challenge was initiated to raise staff awareness of
environmental issues, inculcate good environmental habits among
staff and drive innovation for sustainability, so that NEA’s office
premises can be resource-efficient and sustainable in the long run.
Through this challenge, NEA seeks to motivate our staff to think
out of the box to embed sustainability in our work processes,
and initiate hardware changes that will make it easier to practise
these habits.
Ambitious targets have been set to reduce NEA’s electricity and
water consumption and the amount of paper purchased by 10%.
NEA aims to achieve this by FY2016 through inculcating the eight
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Recycle your
paper, plastics
and cans
good environmental habits among NEA’s staff, coupled with hardware
/ infrastructure enhancements. In line with the long-term goal of
achieving 10% resource reduction, a short-term goal of 2% annually
has been set for the five years.
NEA’s Sustainability Office works closely with off-site Sustainability
Champions and Eco-Office Champions to monitor the resource
consumption at the premises, and discuss further areas for
improvement. This ensures that we continue to make progress for our
10% reduction goal by FY2016. The resource consumption data for
each off-site installation is presented to NEA’s senior management on a
quarterly basis.
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
39
The table below summarises our annual resource consumption and our progress towards our 10% reduction targets:
FY2009
FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
2,370
2,210
2,136
2,141
2,017
419,354
434,821
438,278
NEA’s office premises (m3/MRE)
12.69
11.85
10.98
11.46
12.57
NEA’s industrial premises (m3/MRE)
133.91
147.43
158.01
165.20
168
6.54
5.74
4.67
4.71
4.19
Progress in
Achieving Our
Targets
Targets13
Electricity
NEA’s office premises (kWh/MRE)
NEA’s industrial premises (kWh/MRE)
14
To reduce consumption by
457,199 452,158 10% below BAU in FY2016
√
X15
Water
To reduce consumption by
10% below BAU in FY2016
√16
√15
Paper
All premises (A4 reams/MRE)
• Eco-Office Certification
NEA supports Eco-Office Certification – a collaboration between City
Developments Limited (CDL) and the Singapore Environment Council (SEC)
to encourage eco-friendly practices at Singapore’s offices.
13
The targets for the 10% reduction for electricity, water and paper consumption are
based on the FY2016 business-as-usual levels that are computed from the FY2009-2011
consumption data.
14 All electricity consumed at the incineration plants is self-generated by the waste burnt
at the plants.
15
Electricity and water consumption at NEA’s industrial premises are related to
factors beyond NEA’s control (e.g. amount and type of waste being burnt, number
of visitors).
The increase was mainly attributed to the expansion of operations at four new
premises, which were set up in FY2012, as well as the water incidents such as leakage
of underground water pipes.
16
40
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
√
Offsite
Description
Premises
SEI
SEI is the training and knowledge division of
NEA. Within NEA, SEI distils and documents
the knowledge residing with experienced staff,
as well as knowledge from other relevant sources,
for transfer to the next generation of officers via its
training programmes. The Institute also develops
and up-skills the local industry’s manpower
capabilities, thereby adding value to Singapore’s
environmental arena.
CCRS
CCRS was established under the Meteorological
Service Singapore (MSS) which aims to advance
scientific understanding and prediction of the
weather and climate of Singapore. It is the first in
the world to use high resolution computer models
to simulate weather and climate over Singapore
and the wider Southeast Asia region.
DPC at
Neythal
Road and
HDB Hub
In order to strengthen our Whole-Of-Government
efforts to keep Singapore a clean, green and liveable
city, the DPC was formed in April 2012 to manage
and ensure the cleanliness of public areas and
integrates the cleaning of public areas.
The Eco-Office Certification recognises offices that have demonstrated
commitment towards environmental protection, covering areas such as
corporate environmental policy and responsibility, purchasing practices,
energy and water conservation, waste minimisation, and recycling practices.
NEA first attained Eco-Office Certification for our offices in 2007. Since
then, we have been undergoing the biennial re-certification. As mentioned
in Chapter 2, in 2013, NEA’s 14 premises underwent the biennial
re-assessment. Due to our increased scope of operations, four new
premises were set up in 2012 to accommodate our expanded strength and
capabilities. These four new offices were the Singapore Environment
Institute (SEI) at Kay Siang Road, Centre for Climate Research Singapore
(CCRS) at Kim Chuan Road, Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC) at
Neythal Road and HDB Hub and Hawker Centres Division (HCD) at HDB
Hub. Brief descriptions of the operations by the four offices are as follows:
To reduce paper purchased
by 10% based on FY2010
levels by FY2016
H C D a t HCD manages and regulates markets and hawker
HDB Hub centres in Singapore. Roles include management
of tenancies, licences and public health aspects of
the centres and oversee the upgrading of markets
and hawker centres.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
As of FY13, all 18 NEA premises, including the four new premises
mentioned above, had attained the Eco-Office Label.
The successful biennial re-assessment and recertification reflects
NEA’s resoluteness in implementing effective environmentally-friendly
measures within our organisation. We will continue to leverage the
Eco-Office Certification programme and its audit recommendations
to further drive environmental sustainability within the organisation,
as this is a useful benchmarking tool for NEA in our quest for continual
improvement in our environmental sustainability journey.
Engagement with our staff has always been one of NEA’s priorities,
and this is reflected in one of the desired outcomes under our
sustainability framework. To this end, we have been successful in
engaging our staff to be passionate environmental ambassadors.
This was reflected in our 2013 Organisational Climate Survey (OCS)
results, where 95% believe strongly in the practice of preserving and
protecting the environment. In addition, 91% of the OCS’s respondents
said that they had adopted environmentally friendly practices, and 87%
responded that they led an environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Energy
• Complying with the Public Sector Taking the Lead in
Environmental Sustainability Requirements
The Public Sector Taking the Lead in Environmental Sustainability (PSTLES)
initiative – first introduced in 2006 – sets the basic environmental
sustainability requirements that public-sector agencies need to comply with.
Encompassing energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste minimisation
and environmental accreditation (Eco-Office Certification, Water
Efficient Building Label, etc.), the PSTLES initiative requires agencies to
provide environmental scorecards that report their progress regarding
their environmental sustainability efforts.
NEA adheres to the PSTLES requirements to guide our internal efforts
to be resource-efficient, and we have complied with all PSTLES
requirements for all our key premises. NEA is set to meet the new
guidelines of the updated PSTLES Version 2.0, released at the end of
2014. PSTLES 2.0 seeks to encourage public sector agencies to take
greater ownership of their own environmental sustainability efforts and
put in place organisational processes to manage their resource use.
Singapore’s energy needs are largely met by fossil fuel imports.
Due to limitations in Singapore’s natural geography, there are limitations
in tapping into alternative energy sources.
At NEA, we are constantly exploring opportunities to leverage on green
technology and innovation to improve our energy efficiency and reduce
our greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. adopt renewable energy sources
such as solar power, wind and waste-to-energy conversion to reduce
energy consumption).
Through such endeavours, NEA will be able to reduce our carbon footprint
and lower our operating costs.
Energy Consumption (Office and Industrial Premises)
• Office Premises
From FY2009 to FY2011, NEA saw a decrease in overall electricity
consumption. However, from FY2011 to FY2013, there was an 18.5%
rise in electricity consumption.
NEA’s Office Premises (kWh)
Electricity-intensity Ratio at
NEA’s Office Premises (kWh/MRE)
‘1000kWh
6000
5804
2500
5621
2370
2210
5021
5000
4000
FY09
4931
4899
FY10
FY11
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
2136
2141
2016
2000
FY12
FY13
1500
FY09
FY10
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
FY11
FY12
FY13
41
MEASURES TO REDUCE ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION AT NEA’S OFFICE PREMISES
Hardware changes (e.g. retrofitting our central chilled-water plant at the Environment
Building, procuring energy-efficient equipment, installing energy-efficient lighting,
using motion sensors and timers) and initiatives to encourage our staff to conserve
energy have helped to reduce our electricity-intensity ratio.
Some of our efforts to promote sustainability among staff include publishing weekly
sustainability tips on our intranet (including a topic about energy conservation),
ensuring that our indoor air temperature is kept at 24°C and above to maintain comfort
without over-cooling, displaying messages and sending email circulars about conserving
energy, and sending email reminders to NEA’s Eco-Office Champions to encourage their
staff to participate in our energy-saving initiatives (e.g. switching off the lights when
they are not being used during lunch and after-office hours, turning off the computer
and switching appliances and resources off at the mains to eliminate standby power
usage, etc).
In addition, on 28 March 2014, NEA supported the Earth Hour movement. All nonessential lights were switched off for an hour at NEA’s headquarters and off-site
installations. Acting upon our staff’s suggestion, we continued our lunch-hour lightsout initiative throughout the year, resulting in savings of at least 14,000 kWh annually, which translates to about 6,000 kgCO2.
We are continuously looking out for more energy-efficient technologies to reduce our electricity consumption.
The increase was mainly attributed to the expansion of operations
at four new premises, as mentioned in page 40, which were set up
in FY2012 and fully operational in FY2013.
• Industrial Premises
Despite the increase in electricity usage, there was a 15%
reduction in energy intensity measured in kWh per Monthly Rated
Employees (MREs) in FY2013, as compared to our FY2009 electricity
consumption. This can be attributed to the use of more energy
efficient equipment in our premises and our sustained efforts to
encourage staff to minimise resource consumption.
Energy consumed in our industrial premises is primarily for the
provision of services to public. For example, a larger amount of refuse
at our incineration plants would mean consuming more electricity in
the incineration process.
Energy-efficient lightings, computers, printers and air-conditioners
are used in all four new premises. Following their establishment in
FY2012, the offices have attained the Eco-Office label in FY2013.
42
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
Our industrial premises use approximately 97% of the total electricity
consumed by NEA.
There has been an upward trend in our overall electricity consumption
and electricity-intensity ratio at our industrial premises from FY2009
to FY2013. The increase in overall electricity consumption is mainly
attributed to an increase in operational services.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Electricity-intensity Ratio at
NEA’s Industrial Premises (kWh/MRE)
NEA’s Industrial Premises (kWh)
‘1000kWh
200,000
500,000
457,199
171,450
163,968
163,493
164,354
FY09
FY10
FY11
172,272
434,821
438,278
FY10
FY11
452,158
419,354
150,000
FY12
FY13
400,000
FY09
FY12
FY13
COMPLIANCE TO THE ENERGY CONSERVATION ACT
To improve Singapore’s energy efficiency and competitiveness, mandatory energy management (MEM) practices under the Energy Conservation Act
(ECA) were introduced on 22 April 2013.
Our incineration plants fall within the ambit of the Act. Under the Act, NEA is required to appoint energy managers for these premises, monitor and
report our energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions, and submit energy efficiency improvement plans annually from 2014 onwards. NEA is on
track to comply with the requirements under the Act.
Total Electricity Generated by
Renewable Energy (kWh)
Renewable Energy Generated
The solar panels installed at two of our premises – CCRS and the
Semakau Landfill (SL) – and the wind turbines installed at SL generated
a total of 31,510kWh of renewable energy, equivalent to an abatement
of 14.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions17 in FY2013.
Moving forward, we will be exploring more renewable energy sources at
our premises.
767,212
779,396
797,325
736,421
‘1000kWh
In addition, the waste incinerated at our incineration plants generated
about 797,000,000kWh of electricity, equivalent to an abatement of
359,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions17 in FY2013. The total electricity18
generated in FY2013 was equivalent to the average annual electricity
consumption by 157,000 Singapore households19.
800,000
709,986
700,000
600,000
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
17
Based on 2013 Electricity Grid Emission Factor and Upstream Fugitive Methane Emission Factor of 0.4499kg CO2 / kWh - https://www.ema.gov.sg/cmsmedia/Publications_and_Statis
tics/Publications/EMA_SES%202014.pdf
18
Electricity is generated by the burning of refuse waste at the Tuas Incineration Plant (TIP) and the Tuas South Incineration Plant (TSIP), and from solar and wind energy at the Centre for
Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) and the Semakau Landfill (SL).
19
Based on 2014’s average monthly electricity consumption for four-room households of 423kWh/month http://www.singaporepower.com.sg/irj/go/km/docs/wpccontent/Sites/SP%20
Services/Site%20Content/Tariffs/documents/latest_press_release.pdf
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
43
Corporate Carbon Footprint for FY2013
In Singapore, CO2 emission from the combustion of fossil fuels makes
up 95%20 of Singapore’s total greenhouse gas emission.
NEA reports our Corporate Carbon Footprint which is calculated
in-house according to “The Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate
Accounting and Reporting Standard” set by the World Business Council
for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the World Resources
Institute (WRI), as we believe this standard provides the best tool for
reporting about corporate emission. The methodology for calculating
our CO2 emission is also in line with the 1996 Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines, which Singapore uses for
international reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change.
NEA’s Corporate Carbon Footprint for FY2013
NEA’s waste incineration and overseas business travel were the main
contributor to NEA’s corporate carbon footprint FY2013.
As Singapore adopts waste-to-energy incineration technology to reduce
the volume of waste disposed at landfill since 1970s, incinerable waste
that are not recycled are disposed at our waste-to-energy incineration
plants. Out of the four waste-to-energy incineration plants, NEA manages
and owns the Tuas Incineration Plant and Tuas South Incineration Plant,
which emits 896,535 tonnes of CO2. In order to reduce emissions from the
waste incineration process, NEA aims to increase the national recycling
rate to 70% by 2030 under the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint.
As for the carbon emission arising from overseas business travel,
we have put in process to minimise unnecessary overseas business travel.
Tonnes of CO2
Direct Carbon Emissions (Scope 1)
Waste incineration
Rank
896,535
21
Percentage (%)
50.99%
1
NEA-owned vehicles
958
0.05%
6
LPG and town gas23
1,831
0.10%
5
Electricity (NEA’s office premises)24
2,611
0.15%
4
Electricity (NEA’s installations)24
77,505
4.41%
3
22
Indirect Carbon Emissions (Scope 2)
Sub-total CO2 Emissions (Scope 1 & 2)
1,062,345
Indirect Carbon Emissions (Scope 3)
Local25 staff business travel
Overseas26 business travel (flights only)
Total CO2 Emissions
397
0.02%
7
778,378
44.27%
2
1,758,215
Based on data for 2012.
20
CO2 emissions from waste incineration at TIP and TSIP are estimated from the portion of the waste that is fossil fuel based and the biomass fraction is excluded, in accordance to the 2006
IPCC guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. According to the IPCC Guidelines, CH4 emissions from waste incineration are not likely to be significant because of the combustion conditions in incinerators.
21
As for the waste data used in the calculation of emissions, the total % plastic waste incinerated in 2013 is assumed to be similar to the % plastic waste incinerated in TIP and TSIP in
FY2013. The 2013 waste data can be obtained from pages 67 and 82 of the Environmental Protection Division 2013 online report: http://www.nea.gov.sg/docs/default-source/trainingknowledge-hub/publications/neareport2013.pdf?sfvrsn=2
22
Carbon emission calculated for NEA-owned vehicles which includes cars, vans and motorcycles, where they are fuelled by diesel, petrol or electricity - motor-vehicle fuel efficiency
obtained from: http://www.lta.gov.sg/content/dam/ltaweb/corp/PublicationsResearch/files/FactsandFigures/Statistics_in_Brief_2009.pdf
23
Based on 69m3 LPG and 8.65GWh town gas consumed in FY2013, carbon emission is calculated for LPG and town gas used at the Choa Chu Kang and Mandai crematoriums respectively
(usage directly related to factors beyond NEA’s control, such as the number of after-death services required and number of visitors).
24
Based on 2013 Electricity Grid Emission Factor and Upstream Fugitive Methane Emission Factor of 0.4499kg CO2 / kWh. https://www.ema.gov.sg/cmsmedia/Publications_and_Statistics/
Publications/EMA_SES%202014.pdf
25
Carbon emission is calculated based on local business travel (by staff vehicles, assuming that the cars are fuelled by petrol and the motorcycles fuelled by diesel), not including staff travel
to and from home.
26
Carbon emission factors and distance travelled are calculated from: http://www2.icao.int/en/carbonoffset/Pages/default.aspx and http://www.gcmap.com/
44
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
NEA’s Office Premises (m3)
40,000
15
Water-intensity Ratio at NEA’s Office
Premises (m3/MRE)
31,225
30,000
25,727
24,837
23,706
26,184
12.69
12
20,000
12.57
11.85
10.98
11.46
10,000
0
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
9
FY13
There is a thorough evaluation process in place to ensure that every
overseas travel request is properly justified by NEA’s departments and
Water
Due to water scarcity in Singapore, our supply of water is obtained through
import, desalination, NEWater (i.e. high-grade reclaimed water) and local
catchments, so as to meet the needs and demands of the people.
In addition, NEA has water-reduction plans to minimise water usage for
our premises, which can be implemented during dry spells. Some examples
include withholding the option to wash vehicles, discontinuing water features
and fountains, suspending the usage of high-pressure jets and hoses for
washing activities, and avoiding unnecessary watering of plants and turf.
Water Consumption (Office and Industrial Premises)
• Office Premises
From FY2009 to FY2011, NEA saw a decreased in overall water
consumption. However, from FY2011 to FY2013, there was a 31.7%
rise in water consumption.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
The increase was mainly attributed to the expansion of operations at
four new premises, which were set up in FY2012, as mentioned on
page 40 as well as the water incidents such as leakage of
underground water pipes. Following the incidents, we have put
in place a more effective mitigation system to ensure Eco-Office
Committee monitor water usage patterns and report any anomalous
water consumption that requires immediate rectification.
approved by our Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Recognising that water is precious in Singapore, and that its usage
affects our operational cost, NEA’s management implemented a
10% challenge to reduce our water consumption by FY2016. To this
end, NEA has installed water-efficient fittings and has attained the
Water Efficient Building Label issued by Singapore’s national water
agency, PUB, for all our 18 premises. NEA also practises rainwater
harvesting, consumes NEWater and encourages our staff to practise
water conservation.
FY09
Water-efficient fittings and flow regulators are installed in all taps
at the four new premises. Following their establishment in FY2012,
the offices have achieved the Public Utilities Board’s Water Efficient
Building (WEB) Label.
• Industrial Premises
Our industrial premises account for approximately 70% of the total
water consumption at NEA’s premises.
Water consumed in our industrial premises is primarily for the
provision of services to public. For example, an increased in afterdeath services at our crematoriums and columbarium would mean
a higher number of visitors. This would result in an increase usage
of sanitation facilities and thus lead to the increase in the water
consumption.
There has been an upward trend in our overall water consumption
and water-intensity ratio at our industrial premises from FY2009
to FY2013. The increase in overall water consumption is mainly
attributed to an increase in operational services.
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
45
NEA’s Industrial Premises (m3)
80,000
60,000
Water-intensity Ratio at NEA’s Industrial
Premises (m3/MRE)
200
52,359
55,433
59,254
61,950
63,970
158
168
FY12
FY13
147
150
40,000
165
134
20,000
0
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
In addition, both our incineration plants consumed 479,966m3 of
NEWater in FY2013 for their operations, which include general
cleaning, the cooling of hot ash, dust suppression, the production of
100
FY09
FY10
FY11
Total Rainwater Harvested (m3)
100000
demineralised water for boiler usage, etc.
92200
80618
70814
Rainwater Harvesting
66060
55156
NEA practises water conservation by incorporating rain-harvesting systems
at numerous NEA premises, including the Tuas Incineration Plant (TIP),
the Tuas South Incineration Plant (TSIP), the Tuas Marine Transfer Station (TMTS),
the Semakau Landfill (SL) and the Centre for Climate Research
Singapore (CCRS).
The rainwater collected at each of the premises is used for the irrigation
of the building’s landscape, cleaning and operations (such as cooling hot
ash and dust suppression at the incineration plants). Although many
premises harvest rainwater, only TSIP and TMTS have installed meters
to keep track of the amount of rainwater collected.
The total collected amount in FY2013 was 66,000m3, which is equivalent to
the average amount of water consumed by about 1,200 residents annually27.
Waste
Due to Singapore’s land constraints, the nation has limited landfill space
for waste disposal.
50000
0
FY09
FY10
FY11
Recycling bins have been placed at the printing rooms and pantries at
our headquarters, and at convenient locations at our off-site premises.
The amount of recyclables collected over the years is as follows:
Based on Singapore’s annual domestic water consumption per capita of 151 litres/day in 2013 (http://www.pub.gov.sg/conserve/Pages/default.aspx).
28
The Environmental Health Institute (EHI) has engaged a bio-hazardous waste company to collect its waste whenever the bins are full, and dispose of it.
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
FY13
This is why NEA has put in place measures to reduce waste generation at
our premises, as part of our efforts to maximise the lifespan of our landfill.
Since our work generates mainly office waste – except for the 16.8m3 of
bio-hazardous waste28 generated because of the Environmental Health
Institute’s (EHI) work – NEA focuses on promoting the 3Rs (reduce, reuse,
recycle) to minimise the amount of waste disposed.
27
46
FY12
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Total Recyclables (kg)
20000
8
16,021
13,858
15000
10000
13,900
6.54
5.74
6
10,627
9,142
4.67
4.71
FY11
FY12
4.15
4
5000
0
Reams of paper purchased per staff
(No. of reams /MRE)
2
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
0
FY13
In FY2013, NEA collected a total of 13,900kg29 of recyclables, comprising
paper (95.9%), plastic (3.2%) and metals (0.9%).
In Singapore alone, about 1.26 million tonnes of paper waste was
generated in 2013, but the recycling rate of paper was only 54%31.
The production of one ton paper currently requires felling 17 trees and
consuming 4,000kW of energy32, and that paper cannot be recycled
indefinitely because the fibres become too short after a period of
time33. This is why reducing consumption and wastage is as important
as recycling paper.
As paper is widely used in our daily operations, we have implemented
the 8 Effective Habits – 10% Challenge to encourage all our staff to
FY10
FY13
optimise paper usage and reduce paper wastage. We have also made
a conscious effort to procure recyclable paper and support sustainable
paper production. From FY2009 to FY2013, the total amount of paper
purchased has gradually decreased, indicating a fall in paper consumption.
Paper Management and Recycling
Today, the world consumes about 300 million tons of paper annually –
an increase of 400% over the last 40 years30.
FY09
As part of our 8 Effective Habits – 10% Challenge, we have set our
printers to print on both sides by default and placed stickers around the
office to encourage employee to use the recycling bins. In addition, we
constantly promote the use of signature blocks to remind email recipients
only to print only when necessary and encourage staff to use their laptops
instead of printing materials for meetings.
In addition, we will be replacing our existing printers in FY2014 with new
printers that come with a paper-counting feature, enabling us to closely
monitor our department and staff’s paper usage. With this feature, it will
allow NEA to identify paper-intensive processes and look into digitalising
some processes.
The total weight of the recyclables collected is mostly manually measured by NEA’s staff, and may be understated because the figures only take into account the premises managed
by NEA. For premises not managed by NEA (i.e. tenanted premises), the building owners are unable to provide the recycling amount contributed by NEA, and the information has thus been
omitted from this tabulation.
29
http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/10/paper-chase/
30
31
http://app2.nea.gov.sg/energy-waste/waste-management/waste-statistics-and-overall-recycling
32
http://environment.about.com/od/recycling/a/The-Benefits-Of-Paper-Recycling-Why-Recycle-Paper.htm
33
http://education.seattlepi.com/advantages-recycling-paper-3440.html
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT
47
TOWARDS
BETTER SOCIAL
SUSTAINABILITY
NEA STRIVES TO CREATE A RISK CULTURE,
ENCOURAGE LIFE-LONG LEARNING
AND PROMOTE WORK-LIFE BALANCE,
WHILE NURTURING OUR PEOPLE TO
GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
SUSTAINING
OUR WORKPLACE
At NEA, we recognise the risks associated with an ageing population,
complying with workplace safety and health (WSH) regulations, and the
growing expectations from our staff regarding their work and social needs.
This is why we continue to sustain ongoing initiatives like WSH activities,
work-life harmony programmes, training programmes and community
outreach programmes.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
WSH programmes, which comply with the WSH Act enacted on
1 March 2006.
NEA began its WSH journey with the implementation of WSH programmes
at our waste management facilities such as NEA’s incineration plants,
the Semakau Landfill (SL), and our laboratory facility located at Environmental
Health Institute (EHI). These facilities have robust WSH programmes in
place, which is reflected by the low number of incident cases.
NEA’s diverse portfolio of work is spread across 15 divisions, and it includes
waste management operations, laboratory work, meteorological services,
vector control operations and office operations.
In September 2011, the WSH Act was extended to all offices and
workplaces. NEA has engaged a safety consultant to train and equip
our officers in identifying safety and health hazards at their workplaces,
conduct WSH risk assessments, and foster a safe and healthy work
culture in all our facilities.
As an organisation with 3,841 employees performing a wide scope
of operations, NEA understands the need to pay great attention
to the workplace safety and health (WSH) of our staff and partners.
The various operations pose different safety and health risks. This is
why NEA conducts comprehensive risk assessment and customised
As mentioned in Chapter 1, the WSH governance structure was reviewed
and streamlined in October 2013. Under this revised governance structure,
new roles and responsibilities were added – the NEA WSH Driver from the
Corporate Excellence Department (CED) and WSH Representatives who are
representatives from each department and offsite premises.
(Relevant G4 material issues: Occupational Safety & Health)
NEA Board
Observer ERSS Comm (ERSSC)
Chair: CEO
Audit
Comm (AC)
Secretariat
(CED)
Internal Audit
Dept (IAD)
IRR Comm (IRRC)
Chair: CRO
Risk Owners
(DGs/ Div Dirs)
Our WSH
Governance
Structure
Dept WSH Comm*/ NEA WSH Driver
Legend
Reporting
Process Owners
(HODs)
Installation /
Offsite WSH
Committees
WSH Rep
First
Aiders
Collaborating
*
On need basis
NEA’s revised ERM and WSH governance structures
50
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
NEA has instituted several initiatives to put in place a robust WSH system and
cultivate a strong safety and health culture. This ensures the well-being of all
our staff, and supports the organisation’s vision of a zero-accident workplace.
In summary, our WSH initiatives focus on the following aspects:
• Monitoring WSH performance
• Managing WSH risks
• Building a strong WSH culture
Monitoring Workplace Safety and Health Performance
The NEA Operations Centre (NOC) and Human Resource Division (HRD)
work with Vital – a government agency providing shared services across
the public sector – to gather monthly reports regarding workplace safety
and health (WSH) incidents.
Following the compilation of reports, the data is carefully analysed to
determine our WSH incident trends. In August 2013, we adopted a more
effective WSH reporting system by providing NEA’s senior management
quarterly updates on our individual departments’ WSH performance.
Number of Cases (Staff)
73
80
65
52
60
42
40
40
As mentioned in Chapter 1, the Incident and Risk Review Committee
(IRRC) serves a dual role in the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and
WSH governance structures. Under the WSH governance structure,
IRRC monitors and tracks workplace incidents, injury statistics and safety
and health initiatives in our WSH programmes. The statistics for the WSH
accidents34 over the years are shown in the graph.
We have seen a rise in work-related accidents35 from FY2009 to FY2013.
This increase is likely due to the compliance with the WSH Act to report
work-related incidents. Moreover, we believe that the setting up of NOC
in May 2012 has provided a more effective platform to report accurate
and timely information about work-related incidents, compared to the data
collection before NOC was in operation. From FY2009 till now, NEA has
maintained zero work-related fatalities36 in our records.
In FY2013, we received 73 reports on work-related accidents of which
33% were reportable37 to the Ministry of Manpower under the WSH Act
(section on Incident Reporting Regulations)38. Based on our FY2013 WSH
report, the most common incidents occurred to staff who were required to
perform field operations in their scope of work, and these were identified
as slips and trips, insect or animal bites and traffic accidents.
We have conducted a detailed assessment to determine the factors
causing the common incidents, and have proposed a set of measures that
can be implemented when similar accidents occur. In one case, a group
of vector-control officers from our regional offices were found to have
contracted dengue fever, and it was suspected that they were bitten by
Aedes mosquitoes in the course of their work.
Following the incident, we have put in place strict procedures, such as making it
a requirement to apply sufficient insect repellent prior to one’s operational duties.
20
0
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
Due to work-related fatalities
Due to work-related incidents
Managing Workplace Safety and Health Risks
The first step towards accident prevention is the identification of potential
work hazards.
All departments are required to set up a workplace safety and health (WSH)
risk register, identify key hazards in each business process, and implement
Refers to work-related accidents involving NEA’s staff – Monthly Rated Employees (MREs) and Daily Rated Employees (DREs).
34
A workplace accident refers to any accident occurring in the course of a person's work.
35
The work-related fatalities refer to any death occurring in the course of a person's work.
36
Reportable workplace safety and health (WSH) incidents refer to:
a) Workplace accidents that lead to the death of any employee, any person who is at work, or any self-employed person.
b) Dangerous occurrences.
c) Workplace accidents where an employee is granted more than three days of sick leave by a registered medical practitioner for their injury, or is admitted to a hospital for at least 24 hours for observation or treatment.
d) Workplace accidents where any person who is not at work or any self-employed person is required to be taken to a hospital for treatment regarding their injury.
e) Any employee suffering an occupational disease.
37
The classification of the types of incidents and injuries is aligned closely to WSH (Incident Reporting) Regulations.
38
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
51
appropriate control measures to eliminate or reduce safety risks at the
workplace. The risk registers are endorsed by the head of department,
who receives monthly updates regarding injury statistics.
Our NEA Operations Centre (NOC) functions as a centralised contact point
for incident tracking and response for all work-related incidents. Incidents
involving the safety and health of the public, staff, and contractors will
be reported to NOC, which will determine their severity and escalate the
matter to NEA’s management.
We have identified our waste-management facilities – NEA’s incineration
plants, the Tuas Marine Transfer Station (TMTS) and the Semakau Landfill
(SL) – as operationally intensive work areas. Workplace Safety and Health
Officers (WSHOs) from external WSH consultancy firms have been engaged
to assist in identifying and managing workplace hazards on-site.
In addition, the WSHOs conduct safety audits on a weekly basis to identify
lapses and provide remedial measures to ensure that our employees and
contractors perform their tasks safely. Monthly management walkabouts
led by the General Manager of each facility and checks on NEA’s employees
and contractors also ensure our full compliance with the WSH Act and its
subsidiary legislation. Users of the IP are also expected to be trained in
workplace safety and observe our safety rules and regulations.
At the NEA Induction Programme for our new employees, WSH is emphasised
as well. First-aid training and WSH risk assessment courses are also
conducted to equip NEA’s staff with the knowledge to identify and fine-tune
existing WSH programmes.
Building a Strong Workplace Safety and Health Culture
NEA believes that inculcating a strong workplace safety and health (WSH
culture is as important as implementing a robust system to manage WSH risks.
Because of this, we have provided various safety and health courses,
staff briefing sessions and communication messages to build our WSH
culture across the organisation. The information that has been disseminated
for the different types of work and levels has also been tailored to
communicate a clear message and promote good practices.
Listed below are some of our initiatives:
• Training and Staff Briefing Sessions
Instilling the importance of workplace safety and health (WSH) for
our newcomers from day one is paramount in our goal to be an accidentfree organisation.
The induction programme for all new employees incorporates a segment
emphasising the importance of safety and health. In addition, the WSH
52
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
orientation is compulsory for those working at operationally intensive
work areas, such as our incineration plants.
For existing staff, WSH education is included as part of NEA’s overall
training and learning plan. Regular safety and health training and
refresher training sessions are also conducted. Some of the topics
covered in the training courses include Risk Assessments, First Aid,
Safe Use of Cranes and Lifting Equipment, Oil and Chemical Spillage
Training, Proper Use of Personal Protective Equipment, Fire Safety,
Chemical Safety, and Biosafety Briefing Sessions. Key external
contractors also have to undergo training to meet our WSH requirements.
At NEA, we understand that there is no room for complacency in our
drive to completely eliminate accidents from the workplace, and that is
why we are working to put in place a more structured training plan for
all our staff. This involves both general WSH training and awareness,
and specialised training for those who have WSH responsibilities.
• Off-site Briefing Sessions
Safety toolbox meetings and workplace safety and health (WSH) briefing
sessions are regularly led by field supervisors to inform our staff – including
all Daily Rated Employees (DREs) – about safety and health rules and
practices. We have also taken it a step further, to send some of our DREs
for WSH courses.
• Preventive Learning
NEA studies and analyses all near-missed and work-related incidents
to facilitate learning. This allows us to weed out root causes, eliminate
hazards and prevent recurring incidents.
• Drills and Exercises
Drills and exercises are carried out to test the readiness of our staff in
dealing with crises or incidents at the workplace. For example, a largescale emergency evacuation drill is held at each NEA office annually.
• Workplace Safety and Health Communication Messages
To raise awareness of the importance of workplace safety and health
(WSH) across our offices, we have communicated safety and health
messages using internal email broadcasting and poster displays.
• NEA Workplace Safety and Health Annual Report
We have put together an annual report to give our stakeholders a detailed
account of workplace incidents, injury statistics, implemented safety and
health initiatives, and recommended measures to address workplace
safety and health (WSH) challenges. The report also serves as a platform
for NEA’s senior management to reflect upon and further improve our
WSH processes.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
STRENGTHENING OUR WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH CULTURE
The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Driver conducts engagement visits at NEA’s off-site offices and installations.
These visits build NEA’s WSH culture, enhance communication and collaboration with our WSH stakeholders, and generate interest and awareness
in safety and health. Through this engagement, the WSH Driver has gathered useful feedback regarding the WSH challenges faced by NEA, and
has suggested appropriate solutions that meet the needs of the department and comply with our legislative requirements.
With greater publicity and emphasis on the importance of WSH, NEA’s staff are more cautious and committed to ensuring a safe and healthy
workplace. The WSH Driver has been consulted on several occasions on WSH matters such as legal requirements, industry best practices and risk
management. They have also worked with the Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) on the safe use of the roof area for releasing weather
balloons, and with the Environmental Health Department to conduct risk assessment for Housing Development Board (HDB) rooftop inspection.
With greater emphasis and focus on safety and health issues, the WSH Driver of the Corporate Excellence Department (CED) will continue to
provide assistance to NEA’s departments regarding all WSH matters, and work towards improving NEA’s overall WSH performance by promoting
and implementing initiatives with the support of the Incident and Risk Review Committee (IRRC) and the Enterprise Risk & Safety Steering (ERSS)
Committee chaired by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) and CEO respectively.
• Safety and Health Week / Safety and Health Day
NEA organises annual safety and health week / safety and health day at
workplaces with higher levels of risk, such as our incineration plants. During
these events, a line-up of health and safety programmes is conducted.
This includes training, practical sessions, practice drills, safety talks
conducted by external experts and exhibition showcases.
The journey to develop NEA’s EVP started in November 2011, with focusgroup discussions involving more than 100 employees. After several
validation sessions to close gaps on the ground, it was launched in
September 2013 at NEA’s CEO Townhall.
PEOPLE EXCELLENCE
• Fair Employment
• Work-Life Harmony Framework
(Relevant G4 material issues: Employment, Training & Education)
People are central to NEA’s success. This is why it is important for NEA to
build a culture that creates a sense of belonging to the organisation and
promotes staff development.
NEA has two broad People Visions – “Professional Workforce Embodying
NEA’s Core Values” and “Effective and Dynamic Leadership”. To support this
People Vision, our long-term human resource (HR) strategies are:
This section of the report highlights the following ways whereby NEA
continuously creates a positive work environment for our employees:
Fair Employment
NEA ensures that we practise fair employment.
Our terms of employment are guided by Singapore’s legislations such as
the Employment Act, the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act and the
Retirement and Re-employment Act. Our human resource (HR) practices
align with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment.
Employment
Recruitment in NEA is based on merit, with no discrimination in terms of
age, race, gender, religion, marital status or disability. Currently, NEA also
employs 24 staff with physical disabilities. Our employees are rewarded
fairly, based on their performance, contribution and experience. All our
staff are given equal training and development opportunities to help
them develop to their full potential.
In order to position NEA as an employer of choice and provide guidance
for our human resource (HR) strategies and policies, NEA developed its
Employee Value Proposition (EVP) in 2013 using a ground-up approach.
Being a public agency, candidates for appointment in the permanent
establishment are usually Singapore citizens. However, permanent
1. Build a committed workforce with the capabilities to contribute to a sustainable environment; and
2. Develop effective leaders who safeguard our environment, nurture our people and cherish our relationships
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
53
NEA staff
(Total: 3,841)
residents of Singapore and foreign citizens are considered for posts that
are not sensitive in nature.
• Staff Demographics
As of 31 March 2014, NEA has a diverse workforce of about 3,841 staff
across our 18 key premises, and a total of 15 members representing
the senior management.
1,237
(32%)
– Breakdown by Gender (as of 31 March 2014)
In NEA, 68% of the total staff are males and 32% are females. NEA’s
senior management comprises 12 males and 3 females. In FY13,
65% of the new staff recruited were males while 35% were females.
Of the 286 staff who left NEA, the proportion of female to male is
almost equal, at a ratio of 45%:55%.
Gender Breakdown of Staff Strength: 3,841
(as at 31 March 2014)
No. of
MREs
3,210
No. of
DREs
631
Male
67.3%
Female
32.7%
Male
70.2%
Female
29.8%
3
(20%)
2,604
(68%)
At NEA, we strive to achieve our People Vision by building a committed
workforce with the capabilities to contribute to a sustainable environment
as well as developing effective leaders who safeguard our environment,
nurture our people and cherish our relationships. As such, we ensure fair
practices, establish good work policies (e.g. retirement, job redesigning
and re-employment) as well as provide various learning and talent
management programmes and work-life activities
Our supportive Human Resource policies have proved fruitful because NEA
was voted as one of Singapore’s 100 leading Graduate Employers in 2013.
Additionally, NEA was conferred eight awards at the Singapore HR Awards
organised by the Singapore Human Resources Institute, which includes
the Leading HR Practices in Employee Relations & People Management
Award as well as the Leading HR Practices in Fair Employment
Practices Award. More importantly, our policies have helped us attract,
develop and retain talented individuals. In 2013, we had managed to
recruit 459 staff. On the other hand, the number of staff who had left
the organisation remained satisfactory at 286.
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
12
(80%)
No. of new staff recruited in
FY13 (Total: 459)
160
(35%)
No. of staff that left NEA in
FY13 (Total: 286)
129
(45%)
299
(65%)
Female
157
(55%)
Male
– Breakdown by Age (as of 31 March 2014)
In terms of age profile, 17% of NEA staff are aged below 30 years old,
while the percentage of NEA staff between 30 to 50 years old and
above 50 years are almost the same, at 41% and 42% respectively.
Majority of the members in senior management are above 50 years
old, while the rest are aged between 30 to 50 years old.
In FY13, 60% of the new staff recruited are at least 30 years old
or above, while 40% of them are above 50 years old. On the other
hand, 24% staff who had left NEA are above 50 years old, 42% aged
between 30 to 50 years old while the remaining staff are below 30
years old.
NEA staff
(Total: 3,841)
Senior management
(Total 15)
640
(17%)
1,619
(42%)
4
(27%)
11
(73%)
1,582
(41%)
< 30 yrs
54
Senior management
(Total: 15)
30-50 yrs
> 50 yrs
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
No. of new staff recruited in
FY13 (Total: 459)
57
(12%)
No. of staff that left NEA in
FY13 (Total: 286)
70
(24%)
184
(40%)
218
(48%)
96
(34%)
120
(42%)
< 30 yrs
30-50 yrs
> 50 yrs
– Breakdown by Ethnic (as of 31 March 2014)
The ethnic distribution of NEA staff who are Chinese, Malay,
Indians and other races are 47%, 26%, 15% and 12% respectively.
The senior management comprises 93% Chinese and 7% Indian.
NEA staff (Total: 3,841)
568
(15%)
Internally, we conduct the Organisational Climate Survey (OCS),
which is a key feedback platform that NEA uses to assess our staff’s
well-being and satisfaction. The overall employee engagement score in
2013’s OCS maintains at 73%, similar to the OCS conducted in FY2011.
Based on the OCS FY2013, 63% staff surveyed have the intention to
stay with NEA for 3 years or more and this is higher than the Public
Sector Employee Engagement Norm 2012 of 57%. These indicated
that a high percentage of our staff felt that they were engaged in NEA,
and were thus happier and more motivated to work in the organisation.
Senior management (Total: 15)
443
(12%)
1,088
(26%)
Despite the slight increase in employee turnover rate in FY2013,
NEA had a resignation rate of 5.5%, which is lower than the Statutory
Board Average of 7% in 2013. Our resignation rate stood at the lower
25th percentile among all statutory boards in Singapore.
4
(7%)
1,822
(47%)
% of staff who would
stay with NEA for 3
years or more
NEA 2013
OCS (%)
Public
Sector ESS
Norm 2012
(%)
63%
57%
11
(93%)
Chinese
Malay
Indians
Other races
• Breakdown of Turnover Rate39 (in FY2013)
The annual turnover rate for all employees - Monthly Rated Employees
(MREs) and Daily Rated Employees (DREs) - are consolidated in the
graph below:
• Central Provident Fund Scheme
NEA follows the compulsory Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme,
which started in Singapore on 15 July 1955. Administered by the CPF Board,
a statutory board under the Ministry of Manpower, the scheme is a
compulsory comprehensive savings plan for working Singaporeans and
permanent residents to fund their retirement, healthcare and housing
needs. NEA follows the CPF contribution and allocation rates as set
out by the CPF Board.
% Annual Turnover Rate (ATR)
12
10
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
%ATR(MREs)
11.52
9.14
8.42
6.25
7.7
%ATR(Overall)
11
8.96
8.53
5.87
7.03
9.41
8.31
8.97
4.14
3.49
8
6
4
2
%ATR(DREs)
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
Employees who leave the organisation voluntarily or because of dismissal, retirement, or death in service.
39
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
55
• Retirement and Re-employment Policy
NEA follows the guidelines set out by the Re-employment Legislation
in 2012.
our promoted staff were aged 50 and above. In addition, 96% of them
continued to be employed beyond the statutory retirement age of 65
in 2013.
Unlike many other companies, NEA offers contracts of employment
for up to 67 years of age, instead of renewing the contracts yearly.
This provides greater security for mature employees. Since the new
legislation started, NEA has re-employed all eligible retirees. For those
who do not meet the fitness criteria or performance conduct for
re-employment, NEA provides employment assistance for them by
connecting them with organisations such as the Employment and
Employability Institute (e2i) for employment opportunities outside
NEA, or by making an Employment Assistance Payment.
Examples of a manager and a support staff member who were
re-employed past the age of 65 are shown below.
A total of 42% of NEA’s staff are aged 50 and above. NEA values our
mature workers and provides them with equal opportunities in terms of
recruitment and promotion. In 2013, 14% of our new staff and 24% of
56
Work-Life Harmony Framework
NEA has a strong culture of staff engagement, through a comprehensive
Work-life Harmony Framework that seeks to meet our staff’s
needs holistically.
Instead of only catering to our staff’s personal needs as individuals and
at work, NEA ensures that our work-life policies and activities enhance
our staff’s relationships with their family, friends and the community.
This helps to promote a culture where colleagues care for each other
and build a sense of belonging to the organisation.
AVTAR SINGH S/O GURDIP SINGH, 66
SAMUEL SIEW KUM HOONG, 66
Manager, Performance Management,
Department of Public Cleanliness
Management Support Officer, Planning & Development,
Hawker Centres Division
Mr Avtar Singh was profiled in CNBC’s “Aging in Asia” series as a
mature worker who was re-employed after reaching Singapore’s
retirement age of 62. Now at 66, Avtar has no plans to retire. He
cited strong and positive support from NEA’s senior management
and colleagues as the main reason why he chooses to continue
working in NEA.
Mr Samuel Siew is a re-employed Corporate Support Officer in
the Hawker Centres Division (HCD). After taking a course and
obtaining certification through a job re-designing programme,
he was successfully converted to be under the Management
Support Scheme. He finds the course and certification useful,
and is now more confident in handling his daily work.
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SRC
WL AMB (in consultation with HR, where necessary)
• Quality leadership
• Conducive organizational climate
• Structural changes in workplace
• Flexible work arrangements
• Personal work-life effectiveness
• Workplace health
• Resilience
SELF
Achieving personal wellbeing encompassing
body, mind and spirit
WORK
Having purpose, meaning and
challenge at work. A career that provides:
- Recognition / reward
- Professional Development
- Continuous Learning
Vision of Work-Life
COMMUNITY
Developing a whole person through
corporate & personal contributions to
society by helping the less fortunate,
caring for the environment and
making a positive difference
• Corporate community involvement
to society
• Platforms for sharing
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Developing and strengthening significant
relationships that include family, friends
and significant others
• Family-friendly work environment
•Opportunities to socialise
• Interpersonal effectiveness
• Regconition
PEER (Charity)
CED (Caring for ENV)
WL AMB (Family)
Interact Point (Singles-Friends)
NEA’s Work-Life Harmony Framework
NEA’s staff engagement efforts can be seen in its employee engagement
score of 73 in 2013’s Organisational Climate Survey (OCS) – the same score
as 2011’s. In addition, NEA has a relatively low absentee rate40 of 0.0223,
with an average of six days of medical leave taken per staff in FY2013.
To demonstrate our commitment to work-life harmony, our Deputy Chief
Executive Officer (DCEO) takes on the role of Work-Life Advocate and a
designated full-time human resource (HR) staff member supports him
as the Work-life Ambassador.
Days of Medical Leave Taken Per Staff
10
8.0
6.8
5.3
5.6
FY11
FY12
6.1
5
0
FY09
FY10
FY13
The total number of medical days taken per financial year divided by the total number of days worked. This is calculated based on the official working hours of our Monthly Rated Employees
(MREs) and Daily Rated Employees (DREs).
40
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
57
• Work-life Policies
The list of Human Resource (HR) policies that support the needs of
our staff in each focus area is shown in the table below:
To organise activities for our staff, NEA’s Human Resource Division (HRD)
works closely with the NEA Sports and Recreational Committee (NEASRC)
and the Panel for Employee Engagement and Recognition (PEER). NEASRC
manages the gym and organises social, sports and recreational activities
to help our staff improve their physical fitness. PEER focuses on engaging
NEA’s employees by encouraging staff volunteerism and philanthropy,
giving out recognition awards, and promoting racial harmony through
its many activities and initiatives.
– Flexible Working Policies and Practices
At NEA, supporting staff well-being is broken down into the following areas:
•Work-life policies
• Work-life activities
• Union membership
Flexible working arrangements such as part-time work, telecommuting
and staggered working hours help officers better manage their
work and personal responsibilities. The 2013 Organisational
Climate Survey (OCS) showed that 72% of our staff agree that their
work schedule allows sufficient flexibility to meet their personal
family needs.
Focus Areas Initiatives
Self
• Annual Health Screening
• Quarterly Fruits Distribution
• Exercise Hour
• Gym, Pantry and Cafeteria
•Wellness Workshops and Programmes and • Staff Care Support Programme
Lunch Time Talk
• Healthy Catering Recommendations
• Interact Point for NEA Singles
• Sports Try-outs and Recreational Activities
Family and
Friends
• PEER Festive Celebration
• NEA Interest Groups
• NEAt Kids’ Club
• NEA Family Day and Dinner & Dance
Community
• Community Chest SHARE Programme
(Workplace Giving Programme)
• Hair for Hope
• Community Outreach Programmes and Corporate • Charity Run
Volunteerism
Work
58
• Vertical Challenge
• Flexible Working Hours and Telecommuting
• Medical Benefits for Dependants
• Flexible Benefits Scheme
• Welfare Gifts for Newborns and Marriage
• Birthday Leave
• On-site Childcare Centre
• Parent Care Leave
• Blue Sky Fridays
• Childcare Leave
• Eat with Your Family Day
• Compassionate Leave
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
– Leave Benefits and Time-off Policies
NEA is an advocate of pro-family and work-life balance. In fact,
our employees have additional leave benefits and time-off policies
that go beyond standard industry practices. Examples are shown
in the table below.
Type of Leave/
Time-off
– Flexi-Benefits Scheme
Each year, every NEA employee is given $500 under the FlexiBenefits Scheme (FBS), regardless of job title or qualification.
This scheme covers purchases related to health and wellness,
pro-family and continuous-learning courses, health insurance, family
travel expenses, and club and society memberships.
Details
Birthday Leave
Offers the privilege of an additional day
off within a week before or after the
officer’s birthday
Study and Exam For staff who are interested in
upgrading themselves academically
Leave
and technically; also applicable for nonNEA-sponsored courses
Exercise Hour
All officers are permitted to take one hour
off each week to exercise and unwind
Types of
Benefits
Extended to:
NEA’s leave policies are in line with the government’s pro-baby
legislation. In FY2013, 64 male employees and 29 female employees
were entitled to parental leave, of which 60 male and 29 female
employees took the parental leave they were entitled to and 100%
of them returned to work after that. In addition, 55 male and 28 female
employees remained in service after a year of returning to work.
These figures are summarised in the table below.
Statistics on Parental Leave
Taken in FY2013, by Gender
41
No. of employees entitled to parental leave Male: 64
Female: 29
No. of employees who returned to work Male: 60
after parental leave ended
Female: 29
Retention rate of employees who return to Male: 100%
work after parental leave
Female: 100%
No. of employees who returned to Male: 55
work after parental leave ended, Female: 28
and still employed 12 months after
returning to work
The summary of benefits extended to full-time employees,
part time employees and temporary employees are as shown in
the table below.
Full-time Part-time Temporary
Employees Employees
Staff
Disability
and Invalidity
Coverage
Yes
Yes
Yes
Medical
Reimbursements
Yes
Yes
Yes
Flexible Benefit
Yes
Pro-rated
No
Paternity and
Maternity
Leave
Yes
Yes
Yes
Eligibility for
Re-employment
Yes
Yes
No
• Work-life Activities
Some of our work-life activities include:
– Fitness and Recreational Classes and Workshops
All NEA employees are given unlimited access to the sports facilities
at NEA’s headquarters. The facilities include a gym, a badminton court,
a squash court, a tennis court, a dance studio, lockers and heated
showers. In 2013, NEA organised different sports activities with
various levels of physical intensity to cater to the varied employee
demographics. Some of these sports activities include golf,
cable skiing and ice skating.
Parental leave refers to both maternity and paternity leave.
41
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
59
Chinese New Year celebration
Deepavali celebration
Sports try-out sessions (cable skiing and ice skating)
– Health Screening and Staff Mental Well-being
Complimentary basic health screening and awareness programmes
are held annually for all our staff. The 2013 health screening attracted
1,002 participants.
Hari Raya celebration
– Corporate Events and Celebrations
In FY2013, the Panel for Employee Engagement and Recognition
(PEER) organised several festive celebrations – Chinese New Year,
Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas – to allow NEA’s employees
to enjoy the celebratory mood and the complimentary food and
performances with their colleagues and friends.
These celebrations offer our employees an opportunity to revel in the
joyful occasions. To advocate the importance of maintaining ethnic
and religious harmony in Singapore’s multicultural and multi-ethnic
society, NEA also celebrates Racial Harmony Day, when employees
are encouraged to dress in their own ethnic costumes and sample
the signature cuisines from the different ethnic groups.
60
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
Racial Harmony Day
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
– NEAt Kids’ Club
The NEAt Kids’ Club organises activities for the children and
grandchildren of NEA’s staff during the school holidays at subsidised
rates. NEA’s staff can also sign up as parent volunteers and enjoy
time off from work to spend time with their children.
• Union Membership
Our employees are free to join any unions recognised by NEA.
They are admitted under its rules of membership, unless they are
specifically disallowed to as a preceding condition of their appointment,
transfer or promotion. Currently, 98%42 of NEA’s employees are
eligible to join unions.
There are two unions in NEA – the Amalgamated Union of Public
Employees (AUPE) and the Amalgamated Union of Public Daily-Rated
Workers (AUPDRW). NEA has a collective agreement with the unions
that look after our employees. Information about union representation
is made available to our staff on NEA’s intranet, and all new staff
members are informed of their rights during the induction courses.
Training and Education
To build a forward-looking, innovative and vibrant organisation,
NEA recognises that it is important to provide a learning culture and
environment that enables our staff to develop and be nurtured to their
fullest potential in the areas of professional and personal development.
NEA develops training programmes that cater to different groups of
employees. Our workforce is generally categorised into two groups – Monthly
Rated Employees (MREs) and Daily Rated Employees (DREs). MREs form
the main group and are divided horizontally into four divisional statuses,
based mainly on the educational, professional and technical qualifications
and competency.
Employees with different learning and developmental needs have
different training requirements. Tailoring training programmes accordingly
allow staff to develop in their own respective domains to become relevant,
responsive and resilient in the organisation and with the public that
they serve.
Functional programmes are identified for different groups of employees
through the annual Learning Needs Analysis process. For operations divisions,
the Framework of Operational Ready Training for Excellence (FORTE)
was launched to ensure that our employees are well-prepared to carry out
their public-fronting roles in regulation and enforcement.
Officers who have influence in key personnel functions, such as super-scale officers or officers handling confidential and sensitive personnel portfolios, etc. cannot be represented by unions
for collective bargaining and grievance handling, to avoid any conflict of interest.
42
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
61
NEA’s total training hours for our staff and average training hours per staff are shown in the graphs below:
Total Training Hours (hrs)
Average Training Hours Per Staff (hrs)
300,000
100
230,401
235,891
195,376
200,000
205,655
204,923
69
70
58
62
FY11
FY12
57
50
100,000
0
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
In FY2013, 98% of our staff with more than six months of service were sent
for training. In addition, of all the staff who received training, 37.4% were
aged 50 and above. This shows NEA’s commitment to lifelong learning for
lifelong employability. The tables below show the average number of training
hours for FY2013, according to employee category and gender.
The 2013 Organisational Climate Survey (OCS) showed that 73% of our staff
agreed that the training they received prepared them adequately for the
work they do, and 72% of our staff believed that they have opportunities for
personal development and growth with NEA.
At NEA, our target training initiatives are broken down into the
following areas:
• Employee Development
• Leadership Development
• Job Re-designing for Better Progression
Average Training
Hours (hrs)
62
Employee Category
MRE
DRE
63.1
22.1
Gender
Male
53.5
Female
62.5
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
0
FY09
FY10
FY13
Employee Development
As part of our employee development processes, all our staff – including
Daily Rated Employees (DREs) – are encouraged to discuss their career
aspirations with their supervisors during the performance management
review before the start of each calendar year, and set career goals and
development plans that are aligned with NEA’s objectives.
NEA also has an online career portal to guide our staff in their career
planning. When a staff member is promoted or moved to another
department, a minimum one-month notice period is usually given before
the new appointment takes effect.
The table on the next page shows the range of developmental initiatives
for NEA’s staff.
Employee
Category
Training
Targets
% of Staff
Achieve Targets
Division 1
≥ 50 hours
63
Division 2 and 3
≥ 40 hours
56
≥ 30 hrs
22
Division 4 and DREs
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Summary of Developmental Initiatives
Initiative
Objectives
Outcomes
Enhancement of Posting
Framework (2010)
Provide more structured posting plans for officers: In 2013, NEA posted more than 30% of our staff who were
three postings within the first 10 years and two identified as high performers with good potential, and have
postings in the next 10 years.
spent three or more years on the job.
internal Job Portal (iJP)
Provide officers with an opportunity to fill internal In 2013, 34 positions or 12.5% of our openings were
positions and enhance their career development in filled internally.
NEA. All openings are posted in the iJP, and staff
with at least two years of service in their current
positions can apply for the openings.
Developmental Assignments Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources Aimed at grooming officers to take on greater challenges,
family project teams and cross-functional projects. officers are assigned key roles in projects, where they lead
team members from various departments in the organisation
or different public agencies. This exposes them to wholeof-NEA and public-sector thinking.
Educational Upgrading
Sponsorship and Scholarship Scheme.
In 2013, NEA identified 20 key domain expertise (KDE) areas that are critical
technical areas specific to NEA but are not readily available outside NEA.
NEA collaborates with institutes of higher learning and industry partners
to build our KDE competencies, and we have sponsored courses for over
110 officers in 2013.
The sponsored courses are linked to NEA’s KDE areas, and further
expand our pool of talent by equipping more officers with essential KDE
knowledge. Some of the sponsored programmes include meteorology
training programmes, the Postgraduate Educational Course (PGEC)
in Radiation Protection and the Safety of Radioactive Sources at the
Malaysian Nuclear Agency/International Atomic Energy Agency, and the
MSc in Environmental Management. NEA has increased the number of
scholarships and sponsorships offered to employees to encourage them
to attain higher educational qualifications.
Management support officers are also encouraged to pursue the Career
Readiness Certificate, a national qualification under the Singapore Workforce
Skills Qualification (WSQ) system that recognises the attainment of generic
employability skills.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
The scheme was enhanced in 2013 to allow officers to
apply for the NEA sponsorship even if their course had
commenced. This enhancement further re-affirms NEA’s
support of our officers’ pursuit of higher education.
50
44
40
34
30
18
20
10
0
2011
2012
2011
12
1
5
Sponsorship
2012
20
6
8
Post-Grad Sponsorship
2013
2013
30
5
9
NEW Scholarship
Number of scholarships and sponsorships
from 2011 to 2013
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
63
Leadership Development
NEA recognises the key role our leaders play in our transformation journey.
NEA’s leaders are defined as employees who have subordinates, and this is
applied across all job grades. A total of five leadership roles and 15 leadership
competencies have been identified. This has led to the formulation of the
NEA Leadership Learning Roadmap, through which learning programmes
are rolled out. The Leaders in Environment Action Programme (LEAP),
an 11-day milestone programme for middle managers, has also been launched.
Change management (CM) was identified as a key competency,
especially for employees actively involved in change initiatives. NEA has
embarked on building enterprise CM capabilities, with the aim of having
a common change language. The Prosci’s Awareness, Desire, Knowledge,
Ability and Reinforcement (ADKAR) model was adopted. Our CM
trainers are trained to plan and cascade the tool to change leaders and
employees. With this head start in building enterprise CM capabilities,
NEA has become one of the first agencies in the public sector to have
a structured approach for CM that leverages an established tool.
To build a sustainable pipeline of effective and dynamic leaders, the Talent
Development Programme was launched in May 2013. This programme
targets NEA’s younger officers who have demonstrated good potential.
The two-year programme aims to engage our high-potential employees,
jointly plan their career progression, and coach them as part of their
career development.
Job Re-designing for Better Progression
To improve progression for our lower-wage workers and help them to
earn higher salaries through productivity gains and enlarged job scopes,
NEA has continued to re-design jobs.
NEA currently employs over 200 daily-rated workers who are directly
involved in street cleaning work within the private residential estates
in Singapore. We have extended the scope of work for the majority of
our cleaners to include the cleaning of scupper drains and open drains,
in addition to the cleaning of streets and pavements. This is in line with
our efforts within the industry to proactively help low-wage cleaners
receive better pay.
64
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
Cleaners who are able to handle more complex cleaning equipment are
assigned as members of Quick Response Teams (QRTs), which provide
prompt response in areas that require immediate cleaning action.
Some cleaners have also been trained to take on additional supervisory
roles such as reporting cleaning work to our headquarters using the
S3 (See, Shoot and Send) Self-Reporting System, which requires the
pictorial submission of work done via mobile devices. With the productivity
gains and enlarged job scopes arising from the job re-designing in 2013,
our daily-rated cleaners have received salary adjustments, with effect
from 1 February 2014.
Another job re-designing initiative undertaken by NEA was for the
daily-rated foremen who work in our incineration plants. On top of
their current job scope, the foremen are now required to supervise
contractors in carrying out daily and urgent repair works for their plant’s
equipment. In addition, they troubleshoot abnormalities of motors,
fans and pumps.
With the expanded job scope, the foremen were re-designated as senior
foremen and given a salary adjustment with effect from 1 June 2013.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH: INCORPORATING
A CARING CULTURE INTO NEA
Giving back to society has always been an integral part of NEA’s culture.
At NEA, we believe that people are our greatest asset, and that a socially
responsible workforce will benefit the community. In addition, we believe that
our efforts to engage and support the community will establish rapport with
the community.
Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies
Using a structured approach, NEA has developed Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) strategies that are aligned with the organisation’s mission
of being an “Enterprising Agency, Embracing All in Achieving a Liveable and
Sustainable Singapore”.
A range of community outreach activities have been organised to raise
awareness among staff and provide volunteering opportunities for our
employees with varied interests and skills.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Structured Approach
Develop an engaged, socially responsible workforce that gives back to the community, leveraging:
Close Partnerships
Heightened Publicity
Organisational Support
With adopted charities that align with NEA’s
Vision, Mission and Values – focus resources
for greater impact
For greater staff awareness of community
needs and opportunities to serve
To enable staff volunteerism and embed CSR
as an integral part of NEA’s culture
Strategies
Programmes that match staff skills
and interests with charity needs for
deeper engagement
Publicise needs and opportunities to
encourage staff volunteerism
Put in place systems (education, recognition)
to support CSR
Outcomes and Key Performance Indicators
Total corporate-wide cash or
in-kind contribution
Percentage of staff volunteers/
total staff
To ensure the effectiveness of our CSR strategies, we monitor the overall
funds raised, total staff participation and overall community hours
contributed. The figures are tracked annually to maintain the ongoing
zeal and enthusiasm for community outreach activities in NEA.
Total Cash Contribution ($)
1000
$614
In thousands
In FY2013, 423 staff volunteers clocked a total of 1610.5 community hours
for various programmes. In the same year, our fundraising activities managed
to raise a total of $329,449.40 for our adopted charities, the Community
Chest and other organisations.
$877*
800
Our Community Outreach Efforts
The figures on the right and the next page show results from our
community outreach efforts.
No. of community hours logged by
staff volunteers
600
$550
$437
400
$329
200
0
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
* The amount raised shows a sharp increase in FY2012 due to NEA celebrating its 10th
Anniversary and having several large-scale fundraising activities in the year, which
garnered support from partners and corporate companies
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
65
20
15
Employee Participation Rate
Per Year (%)
1,725.5
1,610.5
1500
10.33
11.53
11.1
917
1000
8.54
5
0
1,593
1,525.5
14.44
10
2000
No. of Community Hours Logged by
Staff Volunteers (hrs)
500
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
0
FY09
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
As part of our contribution to the community, NEA has adopted two charities –
the Children’s Cancer Foundation (CCF)43 and the Singapore Children’s Society
(SCS)44 – since October 2011. Our commitment to these charities involves
organising various fundraising events and volunteering activities.
Some examples of our involvement are listed below:
Hair for Hope 2013
Hair for Hope is an event organised by the Children’s Cancer Foundation
(CCF) to raise awareness of childhood cancer and build a community of
support for Singapore’s cancer patients.
Every shaven head in Hair for Hope represents the understanding of an
individual of the ordeal that a child with cancer goes through. Through the
symbolic gesture of shaving, funds have been raised to reduce the financial
burden these patients face. NEA started its journey with Hair for Hope
in 2012, and continued to be part of this worthy cause for the second
year running.
43
The Children’s Cancer Foundation (CCF) is a non-profit organisation with the mission of improving the quality of life of children with cancer and their families, by enhancing their emotional,
social and medical well- being.
44
The Singapore Children’s Society (SCS) was established to protect and nurture children and youth of all ethnicities and religions.
66
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
The Hair for Hope satellite event was held on 25 June 2013, with 22
volunteers from NEA. The profiles of these brave souls were displayed
on the official Hair for Hope website, where the public could pledge
money as a form of support to them. Electronic direct mailers (EDMs)
intended for publicity were filled with photos of the volunteers looking
to go bald, and these were circulated internally within NEA to garner
support and donations from the organisation.
Besides raising a commendable sum of $16,244.50 for the Hair for Hope
satellite event, NEA also provided manpower (41 people as volunteers
and ushers) for the main event.
Our Community Outreach Programme
Every year, the Panel for Employee Engagement and Recognition (PEER)
Committee allocates Community Outreach Programme (COPE) funds for
NEA employees who have the passion for volunteering.
With the aid of these funds, our departments have organised many
community outreach activities. Moving forward, NEA will be extending
our line of community outreach activities, so as to intensify our drive for
social responsibility and strengthen staff engagement.
NEA will also continue to organise experiential-learning workshops with
the Children’s Cancer Foundation (CCF) and the Singapore Children’s
Society (SCS), as part of an ongoing programme series that will cover
topics such as public hygiene, anti-littering and dengue prevention.
Our interest groups, such as those in baking and photography, will also
be invited to these workshops to share their passion and give the children
a more hands-on and interactive experience.
Some of our community outreach activities are listed below:
• Environmental Science Fiesta @ Place for Academic
Learning and Support
On 8 November 2013, NEA’s Environmental Health Institute (EHI)
launched the inaugural Environmental Science Fiesta, which was held
at the Place for Academic Learning and Support (PALS).
Community Chest SHARE Programme
NEA has been a longstanding supporter of the Community Chest45, and our
employees contribute regularly to the Community Chest SHARE Programme.
To reinforce the organisational culture of giving, we brief new hires on
charity partners like the Community Chest SHARE Programme at our
induction programmes. In addition, almost all staff under NEA’s payroll
actively contribute to charity organisations such as the Singapore Indian
Development Association (SINDA), the Chinese Development Assistance
Council (CDAC), Mosque Building (MB), the Mendaki Fund (MF) and the
European Cultural Foundation (ECF) every month.
45
PALS is a learning centre set up for the Children’s Cancer Foundation
(CCF) to facilitate cancer afflicted children and youth with their transition
back to school. It is also a place to encourage learning in a fun and
supportive environment.
The Environmental Science Fiesta 2013 was supported by staff volunteers
from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Department (EECD),
the Operational Excellence Department (OED), the Human Resource
Division (HRD) and Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS).
Through educational interactive games and activities, the PALS students
gained rare insights into the work done by NEA.
A fundraising and engagement subsidiary of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), which is an organisation that advocates and coordinates for Singapore’s social-service sector.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
67
The children were given opportunities to observe live mosquito eggs,
larvae and pupae up-close, allowing them to grasp the concept of
the mosquito’s life cycle. The students were also taught how to make
“mosquito lollipops”, which was their favourite activity of the day.
The importance of food hygiene and proper hand-washing techniques was
conveyed to the children as well, by engaging them in jigsaw-puzzle games
and allowing them to scrutinise cleanliness under ultraviolet (UV) light.
In addition, knowledge about the maintenance of good indoor air quality
and the filtration process for obtaining clean water was imparted to the
students. The event ended with the children dressing up as budding
scientists at the photo booth, and they brought the photographs home
as keepsakes from the event.
• Walk for Our Children 2013
NEA showed support for the Singapore Children’s Society’s (SCS) annual
signature fundraising event, “Walk for Our Children”, by setting up a stall
at its carnival.
Officers from the North-West Regional Office (NWRO) conducted
terrarium workshops at the stall, teaching participants how to create
a miniature landscape in an enclosed container with self-sustaining
living plants that require little maintenance. The participants gained
eco-tips while donating for a good cause.
Despite the rainy weather, the team managed to raise $570 through
the sale of the terrariums.
The Environmental Science Fiesta 2013 was definitely a success, as well
as an interesting and and educational experience for the participants.
68
“The students at PALS were very adorable and fun to be
with! We really loved interacting with the kids and we also
got to know the volunteers from the other departments
in NEA better. It was definitely a very enriching
and memorable experience for us. Looking forward to
more events!”
“It was a meaningful opportunity. We thoroughly enjoyed
getting our hands dirty while playing a small part for the
social cause. We were also pleased to meet enthusiastic
individuals who came from different ends of Singapore
to participate in the event, showing us that their kind
hearts have no boundaries.”
– Officers from the Environmental Health Institute (EHI)
– Officers from the North-West Regional Office (NWRO)
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
• Other Fundraising Activities and Volunteering Avenues
Other examples of NEA’s fundraising and volunteering involvement are
listed below:
– Visits and experiential-learning workshops conducted by volunteers
from the Panel for Employee Engagement and Recognition (PEER),
the Singapore Environment Institute (SEI) and various regional offices
at the Place for Academic Learning and Support (PALS).
– A total of 17 beneficiaries from the Singapore Children’s Society (SCS)
were invited to join our fun-filled Christmas carnival celebration on
24 December 2013, when NEA’s senior management came together
to grant their Christmas wishes, making their Christmas with NEA a
special one.
– A collaboration with NEAt Kids Club for a Movie Day with the Fei
Yue Family Service Centre.
– Mini Bazaars and donation drives during festive celebrations to
raise funds for our adopted charities, e.g. henna-crafting during
Deepavali and cupcake-baking during Hair for Hope 2013.
– Calls for donations to aid the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon
Haiyan, where more than $15,000 was raised.
– Formation of interest groups, e.g. BookCross Club, Baking Club and
Radio Control Club, which regularly participate in PEER events to
help raise funds, as well as visits to SCS and the Children’s Cancer
Foundation (CCF) to share their interests.
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR WORKPLACE
69
TOWARDS BETTER
SUSTAINABLE
GROWTH
INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL
CONSIDERATIONS IN OUR OPERATIONS IS
ESSENTIAL AS IT ALLOWS US TO ACHIEVE
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY. THIS IS WHY
OUR PROCESSES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED
TO PROTECT OUR SURROUNDINGS,
PEOPLE AND RESOURCES.
SUSTAINING
OUR FINANCES
NEA constantly ensures that the organisation makes responsible procurement
decisions to minimise any adverse financial implications, and commits to
continuous innovation in order to be efficient and effective. This chapter will
cover three main areas – Our Finances, Our Supply Chain and Innovation
and Productivity.
OUR FINANCES
NEA is funded mainly by government grants. As our financial resources are
limited, the necessary training is provided to our staff to make financially
responsible and sustainable decisions in our daily operations. NEA has
also put in place the following practices to ensure financial sustainability.
Review of Fees and Charges
Fees and Charges are reviewed periodically and are set based on policy intent.
The principles and policy considerations when setting Fees and Charges are:
1. User pays principle: recover cost directly from user using the particular service
2.Linkage with Expenditure: As far as practical, should be linked to
expenditure incurred in the provision of goods and services
3.Comparison with Private Sector: Should not be competing with Private Sector in the provision of goods and services
4. Keeping Cost Down: fees and charges to be set at cost recovery except
when there are extenuating circumstances to under or over recover
Financial policies and Standard Operating Procedures
Financial policies and procedures are put in place to ensure the optimisation
of resources and the upholding of good corporate governance. These policies
and procedures are reviewed regularly and published on NEA’s intranet
to ensure compliance as well as to standardise departments’ practices.
The NEA accounts are audited by external auditors and approved by the Board
of Directors annually after endorsement by the Audit Committee. Our audited
financial statements are made available in our Annual Report. The annual
re-appointment of auditors is approved by Minister (MEWR) in consultation
with the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO). At intervals, the AGO will perform
scheduled and adhoc audits to ensure that governance is adhered to.
DRIVING GREEN PROCUREMENT IN NEA
Specifically aimed at driving green procurement, NEA integrates
sustainability considerations in our procurement requirements.
This includes requesting contractors to submit their
environmental best practices and processes for relevant tenders,
and purchasing common office items based on our internal
green procurement guidelines. Some examples of our green
purchases include office furniture certified by the Singapore
Green Label Scheme (SGLS) (flooring, carpeting, paint, highpressure laminates and flat-pressed particle boards), recycled
paper (paper and letterheads made from bagasse, and name
cards made from recycled pulp), and water-efficient fittings.
NEA has also purchased energy-efficient appliances such as
lighting, refrigerators, air conditioners and ENERGY STARcertified printers with a duplex printing function that takes into
consideration the life-cycle cost.
OUR SUPPLY CHAIN
(Relevant G4 material aspects: Procurement Practices)
Budget
NEA’s annual budget is presented and approved by the NEA Board of
Directors before the start of the financial year. As our fiscal resources
are limited, the budget has to be allocated optimally among departments.
Quarterly performance reviews are conducted with major departments to
update projections, as well as to ensure that budgets requested are utilised.
NEA’s target budget utilisation rate (BUR) is 95% and the BUR is reported
to senior management on a quarterly basis.
72
Audit
SUSTAINING OUR FINANCES
In FY2013, we engaged approximately 3,000 suppliers and vendors to facilitate
our diverse operations.
The type of services engaged included incineration plant-related services,
facilities management services, consultancy services, public campaign services,
conservancy services, cleaning and maintenance services, and information
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
technology services. Most of the contracts were awarded to local suppliers,
and only a small percentage (less than 1%) was granted to international
suppliers from countries like the United States of America (USA) and the
United Kingdom (UK).
As our supply chain affects the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations,
we have a set of criteria to ensure that the right suppliers are engaged to
deliver quality goods and services and operate in a responsible manner. In
addition, NEA encourages our potential suppliers to integrate sustainability into
their work processes. We have thus included the requirement for suppliers to
declare their financial status, safety, and health and environmental measures,
and provide service accreditations in their quotation and tender submissions.
As a government agency, NEA complies with Ministry of Finance’s Instruction
Manual (Procurement) for all our procurement activities, including green
procurement46. The key principles for government procurement are: Transparency,
Open and Fair Competition, and Value for Money. These principles guide the
execution of the procurement process to ensure fairness and integrity.
To further reinforce the integrity of our procurement processes, NEA requires
that the purchase-approving authority for the awarding of quotations or
tenders cannot be from the buying department. This is to avoid any conflicts
of interest, and achieve clear segregation of roles for purchases carried out
by the buying department.
All quotations and tenders must be posted on GeBIZ – “Government Electronic
Business” system – a centralised government procurement website.
Through the GeBIZ web-based portal, suppliers are able to search for
government procurement opportunities, retrieve relevant procurement
documentation, and submit their bids online. The GeBIZ portal improves
transparency in NEA’s procurement processes.
To ensure the prudent use of public monies and transparency of government
procurement, NEA has also introduced the Price Quality Scoring Framework
to provide our departments with a more consistent and objective structure
for evaluation.
INNOVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY
Innovation and productivity are important to NEA as they help to increase
efficiency and build stronger capabilities for future and sustainable growth.
This is why we want to nurture a mindset of working with less to achieve
more. As one of NEA’s core values, the organisation strives to pursue new
ideas and innovative solutions in safeguarding, nurturing and cherishing our
environment. This includes research and development, as well as leveraging
technology to optimise our operations and efficiency.
NEA seeks to achieve innovation and productivity gains by:
• Working smarter
• Finding better ways to engage our stakeholders
• Improving operational effectiveness and efficiency
• Understanding our customers’ needs and expectations
• Generating impactful ideas (big and small) to create value for our stakeholders
NEA launched our Productivity Campaign in 2011 to support our
transformational efforts to remain responsive, resilient and relevant despite
higher public demands and expectations regarding NEA’s services. Our senior
management believes in creating a conducive environment for ideas and
improvement projects to flourish. NEA’s staff are constantly encouraged to
contribute ideas and work on improvement projects that will result in new
and innovative ways of doing things better, focusing on these three areas:
1. Cut Red Tape
•To make NEA a more lean, efficient and customercentric agency
• Discard outdated rules and regulations, and streamline
procedures all the time
2. Eliminate Duplication
•Free up scarce resources to “do the right things” and “do
things right”, and achieve maximum efficiency and value
•Results in less repeated work like:
– Centralisation
– Standardisation
– Defining clear accountability
3. Avoid/Reduce Cost
•Ideas or projects that result in productivity gains for the
organisation
• Benefits (can be in monetary or non-monetary terms) such as
productivity gains for the organisation and its stakeholders
Our staff can submit ideas through our organisational excellence systems,
such as the Innovation and Productivity portal, via NEA’s Intranet portal.
These ideas will be looked at by the appropriate evaluators prior to
In 2010, the Ministry of Finance updated the Public Sector Taking the Lead in Environmental Sustainability (PSTLES) guidelines and introduced additional measures. Under the green
procurement requirement, public-sector agencies should only purchase new office ICT equipment that meets the latest ENERGY STAR standards, and any appliances acquired should be
cost-effective and take into account life-cycle costs. In addition, agencies are encouraged to take into account fuel efficiency and life-cycle costs when procuring passenger vehicles.
46
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR FINANCES
73
implementation. Based on our 2013 Organisational Climate Survey (OCS)
results, 76% of our staff agreed that they feel encouraged to come up with
innovative solutions for work-related problems.
NEA’s staff are incentivised to develop ideas and projects that are
implementable. We also recognise outstanding ideas and projects that have
created a positive impact on NEA’s efficiency, increased our stakeholders’
satisfaction, or challenged a status quo, setting a new performance level
for other departments or public agencies to emulate.
Internal Recognition
The NEA Innovation Awards, such as the Best Idea and Best Project Awards,
recognise positive outcomes from ideas and projects, while the Best Ideator
and Outstanding Activist Awards honour excellent contributions from
innovative individuals.
• MyiDeas Scheme: Points are awarded to ideators, and the awarded
points are encashed monthly to staff who put forward their ideas.
To encourage implementation, the implementers are granted half of the
points awarded to ideators for the ideas implemented. Good ideas will
VIDEO CAMERAS FOR FLARING AND STACK EMISSIONS PROJECT
Before the Video Cameras for Flaring and Stack Emissions project, NEA’s officers had to travel daily to different vantage points to observe and
record emissions from major industries.
This mode of working was labour-intensive and time-consuming. It was also unsustainable, with the setting up of more major industries in
Singapore. The project integrated available technologies, such as marine-graded Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and Internet-connectivity
devices, to enable our officers to remotely monitor the flaring and stack emissions by major industries in real time.
The project’s implementation has enhanced our productivity, with annual productivity gains of $992,201, after taking into account the initial
set-up cost and the recurring cost of maintaining the video cameras. In addition to the annual productivity gains, the project has resulted in
more efficient resource management.
This innovative project has been showcased, and it won the Gold Award at the annual International Convention of Quality Control Circles (ICQCC) –
a key platform featuring the best-in-class quality process innovation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Roof Top Cameras
4 channel CCTV
• Marine proof
• Powerful zoom
• Pan and tilt function
Smoky Flare
Communication through
• ADSL
• Optic fiber
• Wireless (3G/4G)
Server Box
DVR controller /
with back-up
iPad
Desktop/Laptop
Smartphone
Overview of the Video Cameras for Flaring and Stack Emissions project
74
SUSTAINING OUR FINANCES
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
also be judged and ranked by the Innovation and Productivity Committee
for the Best MyiDeas Awards.
• Improvement Projects’ Scheme: Project teams that complete their
improvement projects during the financial year will be incentivised. In addition,
good projects will vie for the Best Project Awards, with the Innovation and
Productivity Committee being the judging panel.
Targets have been set for our staff to submit at least one idea through
the MyiDeas system per financial year, while each department will need
to submit at least one improvement project per financial year. In FY2013,
NEA’s staff completed 142 projects that have resulted in productivity gains
of over $2.1 million47.
One exciting project is the Video Cameras for Flaring and Stack Emissions
initiative from the Pollution Control Department, which is mentioned in
the box below.
• International Convention on Quality Control Circles Awards:
Moving beyond the shores of Singapore, NEA encourages our staff
to compete for international awards to showcase our innovations,
and learn practical tips from other good international projects.
Three projects competed at the ICQCC Awards in Taipei, Taiwan,
in October 2013. They were conferred the Excellence Award
(equivalent to a Gold award). The three projects are:
Department
Project Title
Department of
Public Cleanliness
Cleaning Performance
Monitoring System
Pollution Control
Department
Real-time Noise
Monitoring System
Weather Service
Department
Automated Checking of
Meteorological Information and
Forecasts on Various Media
Platforms
External Recognition
Outstanding ideas or projects are nominated for international awards such as the
FutureGOV Awards, the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration
& Management (CAPAM) Awards, the International Innovation Awards and
the International Convention on Quality Control Circles (ICQCC) Awards.
The various awards we have garnered affirm that NEA is on the right track,
and show that anchoring our core value – Innovation – in our mission provides
our staff with a clearer direction and better understanding of the importance
of efficiency and effectiveness in contributing to a sustainable Singapore.
NEA has won the following awards:
• Public Service 21 Innovation Champion Award: The Public
Service 21 (PS21) Innovation Champion Award recognises individuals who
have made significant contributions in terms of ideas and suggestions
for improvement. Mr Deng Lu from the Environmental Health Institute
(EHI) clinched the Gold Award, while Mr Nasir K K Maiden from the
Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC) clinched the Silver Award.
• eGov Excellence Awards: The eGov Excellence Awards (GEA)
is a biennial Singapore e-government award jointly organised by the
Ministry of Finance and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.
The GEA showcases excellence in e-government in Singapore and public
agencies’ innovation to deliver excellent government services electronically
to Singapore’s citizens. NEA’s approach to data management and data
sharing has earned the Merit Award under the Data Sharing category.
47
Award recipients at the International Convention on Quality Control Circles (ICQCC)
Awards 2013
• FutureGov Awards: The FutureGov Awards are an annual award
competition that celebrates good practices in Asia’s public sector,
acknowledging the top government, education and healthcare
organisations for their application of technology to drive service levels,
productivity and governance. NEA’s myENV (short for “My Environment”)
mobile application clinched the Wireless Government Award. The award
recognises NEA’s efforts in using wireless technology to extend the
reach of its services and engage the citizenry in collective ownership of
the environment.
Calculated based on each project team’s assessment of the savings from manpower (based on our finance’s manpower rates), materials, and machine - implementation costs
(before and after).
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
SUSTAINING OUR FINANCES
75
GRI G4 CONTENT INDEX FOR
‘IN ACCORDANCE’ - CORE
No external assurance was conducted for this report
STANDARD DISCLOSURE TITLE
PAGE NO. / SECTION TITLES / REMARKS
GENERAL STANDARD DISCLOSURES
76
Strategy And Analysis
G4-1
Provide a statement from the most senior decision-maker of Pg 2 - 3: the organization about the relevance of sustainability to the
organization and the organization’s strategy for addressing
sustainability
CEO foreword
G4-2
Provide a description of key impacts, risks, and opportunities Pg 2 - 3: Pg 6 - 7: Pg 10: Pg 19 - 22: Pg 22 - 24: Pg 24 - 25: Pg 28: Pg 30: CEO foreword
NEA at a glance For FY 2013
Our mandate
Managing our risk
Managing our corporate sustainability
Staff engagement and communication
An analysis of our current situation
Our material issues
Organizational Profile
G4-3
Report the name of the organization
Pg 4 - 5: Preface
G4-4
Report the primary brands, products, and services
Pg 4 - 5: Preface
G4-5
Report the location of the organization’s headquarters
Pg 4 - 5: Preface
G4-6
Report the number of countries where the organization Pg 4 - 5: operates, and names of countries where either the organization
has significant operations or that are specifically relevant to
the sustainability topics covered in the report
Preface
– NEA’s operations are only in Singapore
G4-7
Report the nature of ownership and legal form
Pg 4 - 5: Preface
G4-8
Report the markets served (including geographic breakdown, Pg 4 - 5: sectors served, and types of customers and beneficiaries)
Preface
G4-9
Report the scale of the organization
Refer to Annual Financial Statement
Pg 4 - 5: Preface
Pg 12: NEA’s organisation chart
Pg 15-16: Sustainability in our public initiatives
GRI G4 CONTENT INDEX FOR ‘IN ACCORDANCE’ - CORE
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
G4-10
Profile of employees
G4-11
Report the percentage of total employees covered by collective Pg 61: bargaining agreements
Union Membership
– This information is not material, because NEA does
not keep this information about its employees,
but leaves the option of joining unions to the
employees themselves.
G4-12
Describe the organization’s supply chain
Our supply chain
G4-13
Report any significant changes during the reporting period Pg 4 - 5: regarding the organization’s size, structure, ownership, or Pg 40: its supply chain
Preface
Eco-office certification
G4-14
Report whether and how the precautionary approach or Pg 14: principle is addressed by the organization
Pg 18: Pg 19 - 21: Pg 36 - 38: Pg 38 - 39: Enterprise Risk & Safety Steering (ERSS) Committee
Preparing for the future through organisational excellence
Managing our risk
Pollution control
8 effective habits - 10% challenge
G4-15
List externally developed economic, environmental and social Pg 31 - 32: Awards and benchmarks
charters, principles, or other initiatives to which the organization
subscribes or which it endorses
G4-16
List memberships of associations (such as industry associations) NEA is a member of Global Compact Network Singapore
and national or international advocacy organizations in which (Previously known as Singapore Compact for CSR)
the organization
Identified Material Aspects And Boundaries
G4-17
List all entities included in the organization’s consolidated Pg 5: financial statements or equivalent documents
Preface
G4-18
E​ xplain the process for defining the report content and the Pg 4: aspect boundaries
Pg 30: Preface
Our material issues
G4-19
List all the material aspects identified in the process for Pg 30: defining report content
Our material issues
G4-20
Report the aspect boundary for each material aspect within Pg 30: the organization
Our material issues
G4-21
Report the aspect boundary for each material aspect outside Pg 30: the organization
Our material issues
G4-22
Report the effect of any restatements of information provided No restatements of any information in the previous reports
in previous reports, and the reasons for such restatements
G4-23
Report significant changes from previous reporting periods in No changes in the scope and aspect boundaries from the previous
the scope and aspect
reporting period
Stakeholder Engagement
G4-24
List of stakeholder groups engaged by the organization
G4-25
Basis for identification and selection of stakeholders with Pg 16 : Engaging our stakeholders
whom to engage
Pg 24 - 25: Staff engagement and communication
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Pg 51: Pg 52: Pg 54: Pg 72: Pg 72: Managing workplace safety and health risks
Building a strong workplace safety and health culture
Staff demographics
Our supply chain
Pg 16 : Engaging our stakeholders
Pg 24 - 25: Staff engagement and communication
GRI G4 CONTENT INDEX FOR ‘IN ACCORDANCE’ - CORE
77
G4-26
Organization’s approach to stakeholder engagement, including Pg 4: Preface
frequency of engagement by type and by stakeholder group Pg 16: Engaging our stakeholders
Pg 24 - 25: Staff engagement and communication
G4-27
Key topics and concerns that have been raised through stakeholder Pg 24: engagement, and how the organization has responded
Pg 28: Report Profile
G4-28
Reporting period for information provided
Pg 5: Preface
G4-29
Date of most recent previous report
Pg 4: Preface
G4-30
Reporting cycle
Pg 4: Preface
G4-31
Contact point for questions regarding the report or its contents. Pg 5: Preface
G4-32
Report the ‘In Accordance’ option, GRI Content Index, reference Pg 2 - 3: to External Assurance Report
Pg 76:
CEO foreword
GRI G4 content index
G4-33
Policy and current practice with regard to seeking external Pg 76:
assurance for the report
GRI G4 content index
Governance
G4-34
Governance structure of the organization
Ethics And Integrity
G4-56
Describe the organization’s values, principles, standards and Pg 10: norms of behavior such as codes of conduct and codes of ethics Pg 14: Pg 19: Pg 10: Staff engagement and communication
An analysis of our current situation
Corporate governance
Our mandate
Employees’ code of conduct
Our enterprise risk management governance structure
SPECIFIC STANDARD DISCLOSURES
CATEGORY: ECONOMIC
Material Aspect: Economic Performance
G4-DMA
Generic Disclosures on Management Approach
Pg 72: G4-EC1
Direct economic value generated and distributed
Refer to Annual Financial Statement
Pg 65: Our community outreach efforts
G4-EC2
Financial implications and other risks and opportunities for the Pg 29: organization’s activities due to climate change
G4-EC3
Coverage of the organization’s defined benefit plan obligations Refer to Annual Financial Statement
Pg 55: Central Provident Fund scheme
Pg 58 - 59: Work-life policies
G4-EC4
Financial assistance received from government
Aspect: Procurement Practices
G4-DMA
Generic Disclosures on Management Approach
G4-EC9
Proportion of spending on local suppliers at significant locations Pg 72 - 73: Our supply chain
of operation
Our finances
An analysis of our current situation
– NEA has not formally assessed the financial
implications of climate change to the organisation.
Refer to Annual Financial Statement
Pg 15: Sustainability in our public initiatives
– NEA is funded mainly by government grants.
Pg 72 - 73: Our supply chain
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENTAL
78
Aspect: Energy
G4-DMA
Generic Disclosures on Management Approach
Pg 36: Pg 38 - 40: Pg 41 - 43: Pg 43: GRI G4 CONTENT INDEX FOR ‘IN ACCORDANCE’ - CORE
Sustaining our environment
Resource conservation
Energy
Renewable energy generated
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
G4-EN3
Energy consumption within the organization
Pg 38 - 40: Resource conservation
Pg 41 - 43: Energy
Pg 43: Renewable energy generated
G4-EN4
Energy consumption outside of the organization
Pg 44: G4-EN5
Energy intensity
Pg 38 - 40: Resource conservation
Pg 41 - 43: Energy
G4-EN6
Reduction of energy consumption
Pg41 - 42: Energy consumption (office and industrial premises)
G4-EN7
Reductions in energy requirements of products and services
Not applicable
Aspect: Water
G4-DMA
Generic Disclosures on Management Approach
Pg 36: Sustaining our environment
Pg 38 - 40: Resource conservation
Pg 45 - 46: Water
G4-EN8
Total water withdrawal by source
Pg 45 - 46: Water consumption (office and industrial premises)
Pg 46: Rainwater harvesting
G4-EN9
Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water Not Material – NEA consumes water for office use
G4-EN10
Percentage and total volume of water recycled and reused
Aspect: Emissions
G4-DMA
Generic Disclosures on Management Approach
Pg 36: Sustaining our environment
Pg 38 - 40: Resource conservation
Pg 44: Corporate carbon footprint for FY2013
G4-EN15
Direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scope 1)
Pg 44: Corporate carbon footprint for FY2013
G4-EN16
Energy indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scope 2)
Pg 44: Corporate carbon footprint for FY2013
G4-EN17
Other indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scope 3)
Pg 44:
Corporate carbon footprint for FY2013
G4-EN18
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity
Not material
G4-EN19
Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
Pg 42: Corporate carbon footprint For FY2013
Not Material – NEA does not reuse water, but conserves it as it
also collects rainwater for use
Pg 43: Measures to reduce electricity consumption at NEA’s
office premises
Renewable Energy Generated
G4-EN20
Emissions of ozone-depleting substances (ODS)
Not material as NEA is not a significant emitter of ODS.
G4-EN21
NOX, SOX, and other significant air emissions
Pg 36 - 37: Pollution control
Aspect: Effluents And Waste
G4-DMA
Generic Disclosures on Management Approach
Pg 36: Pg 36 - 38: Pg 38 - 40: Pg 46 - 47: G4-EN22
Total water discharge by quality and destination
Pg 37 - 38: Effluents and compliance
– There is no unplanned water discharges
G4-EN23
Total weight of waste by type and disposal method
Pg 46 - 47: Waste
G4-EN24
Total number and volume of significant spills
Not material as NEA has not had any significant spills
G4-EN25
Weight of transported, imported, exported, or treated waste Pg 46: deemed hazardous under the terms of the Basel Convention
Annex I, II, III, and VIII, and percentage of transported waste
shipped internationally
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
Sustaining our environment
Pollution control
Resource conservation
Waste
Waste
GRI G4 CONTENT INDEX FOR ‘IN ACCORDANCE’ - CORE
79
G4-EN26
Identity, size, protected status, and biodiversity value of water bodies and related habitats significantly affected by
the organization’s discharges of water and runoff
Aspect: Compliance
G4-DMA
Generic Disclosures on Management Approach
G4-EN29
Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non- Not applicable as NEA does not have any fines
monetary sanctions for non-compliance with environmental
laws and regulations
Not material
Pg 36 - 37: Pollution control
CATEGORY: SOCIAL
SUB-CATEGORY: LABOR PRACTICES AND DECENT WORK
80
Aspect: Employment
G4-DMA
Generic Disclosures on Management Approach
Pg 53: Pg 53 - 55: Pg 56: Pg 56 - 57: Pg 58 - 61: G4-LA1
Total number and rates of new employee hires and employee Pg 54 - 55: Staff demographics
turnover by age group, gender and region
– NEA’s operations are only in Singapore
G4-LA2
Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided Pg 58 - 59: Work-life policies
– NEA’s operations are only in Singapore
to temporary or part-time employees, by significant locations of operation
G4-LA3
Return to work and retention rates after parental leave, by gender Pg 58: Aspect: Occupational Health And Safety
G4-DMA
Generic Disclosures on Management Approach
G4-LA5
Percentage of total workforce represented in formal joint Pg 50: management-worker health and safety committees that help
monitor and advise on occupational health and safety programs
Workplace safety and health
G4-LA6
Type of injury and rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost Pg 51: days, and absenteeism, and total number of work-related
Pg 57:
fatalities, by region and by gender
Monitoring workplace safety and
health performance
Work-life harmony framework
G4-LA7
Workers with high incidence or high risk of diseases related Pg 51: to their occupation
Monitoring workplace safety and
health performance
G4-LA8
Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements with Not material
trade unions
Aspect: Training And Education
G4-DMA
Generic Disclosures on Management Approach
G4-LA9
Average hours of training per year per employee by gender, Pg 62: and by employee category
G4-LA10
Programs for skills management and lifelong learning that Pg 62 - 63: Employee development
Leadership development
support the continued employability of employees and assist Pg 64: Pg 64: Job re-designing for better progression
them in managing career endings
G4-LA11
Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and Pg 62: career development reviews, by gender and by employee category
People excellence
Fair employment
Retirement and Re-Employment Act
Work-Life harmony framework
Work-Life policies
Leave benefits and time-off policies
Pg 50 - 53: Workplace safety and health
Pg 61: Pg 62 - 63: Pg 64: Pg 64: GRI G4 CONTENT INDEX FOR ‘IN ACCORDANCE’ - CORE
Training and education
Employee development
Leadership development
Job re-designing for better progression
Training and education
Employee development
NEA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FY13
a coal production
www.coal.com.sg
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
40 Scotts Road
Environment Building
#19-00
Singapore 228231
Tel: 1800-2255 632
Fax: 62352611