SPEECH BY DR TEO HO PIN MAYOR OF NORTH WEST DISTRICT AT THE CLEAN & GREEN SINGAPORE @ NORTH WEST DISTRICT CARNIVAL ON SATURDAY, 05 NOVEMBER 2016, 10.30 AM AT OPEN FIELD OPPOSITE KHATIB MRT ======== My Parliamentary Colleagues Er. Dr. Lee Bee Wah Mr Liang Eng Hwa Mr Ronnie Tay, CEO, National Environment Agency, Mr Edward D’Silva, Chairman, Public Hygiene Council, North West CDC Green Standing Committee Co-Chairpersons, Mr Allen Ang Mr Dennis Chee North West CDC District Councillors, Grassroots Leaders, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, A very Good Morning to All of You Introduction Thank you for joining me today to play a part in making our environment a cleaner and greener home for everyone. 2 At the launch of Clean and Green Singapore (CGS) earlier this morning, Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong shared that it would take the collective effort from everyone in the community to make the vision of a sustainable city a reality. To reflect this focus, the theme for this year’s CGS is “Caring for Our Environment Together”. Key Initiatives in the North West District 3 Since the launch of Green Living @ North West in 2009, we have rolled out more than 80 sustainable programmes to reach out to more than 750,000 residents. The North West Community Page 1 of 6 Development Council (CDC) hopes to build a green culture in the community by encouraging residents, partners and schools to come on board our green programmes. Our Green Living @ North West programme reaches out to all ages - pre-schooler, students, working adults and families. 4 Our 600 dedicated volunteers for the Recycle @ North West community recycling initiative have helped to collect and prepare a total of 108,000kg of recyclables since 2012. The initiative has been driving active recycling among residents, and creating bonding through a common platform at the 19 recycling points. 5 School partners have also been actively reaching out to families through Reduce @ North West, an initiative which empowers students to spread energy conservation tips to residents. Through the effort of 15,000 students, 9,200 households have pledged to reduce their energy consumption, resulting in 212,200 kWh energy saved since 2011, enough to power up 718 units of 3-room flats for a month. 6 Besides these flagship programmes, the North West CDC has also launched the Mozzie Watch Keeper @ North West initiative in May this year to rally the community, especially the students to learn, prevent, spot and report cases of potential Aedes mosquito breeding grounds swiftly through a mobile app. Bright Spots @ North West, another initiative launched in September this year, aims to inculcate anti-littering values among students and in addressing the gap in ownership of cleanliness in private spaces versus shared public spaces. The initiative extends schools’ litter picking activities into public areas by adopting nearby precincts. 7 In our continual effort to promote Green Living, North West CDC has launched the ECO CC @ North West last Monday to support community centres and clubs (CCs) in promoting a culture of green living. CCs are important touch points in the community, and play a pivotal role in supporting environmental sustainability. Page 2 of 6 8 North West CDC will link the CCs in the North West District by connecting them with agencies and partners in the adoption of green practices and in achieving BCA Green Mark Gold certification using two approaches, “hardware” and “software”. 9 All these initiatives highlight a collective effort in caring for the environment, and we hope to encourage even more partners and residents to come forward to join us in building a clean and green North West District together. CGS Best Community Achievement Award 10 On this note, I am pleased to share that the North West District has been awarded the Best Community Achievement Award under the Clean & Green Singapore Award this year. This is a national award given to the district that displays the strongest community efforts, commitment and ownership for the environment and this is the third time we have won this award. 11 I would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest appreciation and gratitude to our grassroots leaders, schools, student volunteers, corporate partners, Town Councils, NEA and other public agencies for their dedicated efforts towards championing green living in the community. Let us give ourselves a round of applause for the good work done. Announcement: Inaugural North West Sustainability Report 12 In support of this vision as well as the launch of the Sustainable Singapore Movement and Sustainable Singapore Blueprint brand in July this year, I am pleased to announce that the North West CDC will publish the North West Sustainability Report every year, starting from 2017. The report will outline the progress of key outreach initiatives undertaken by North West CDC since the inception of its 10-year Eco Plan in 2009, and pave the way for more 3P collaborations. Page 3 of 6 13 With this Sustainability Report, North West CDC hopes to monitor and measure the impact of our green initiatives undertaken by North West CDC on the environment and community; and rally 3P sectors to address pressing local and global challenges. Conclusion 14 With this in mind, I would like to end off with a quote from PM, “Let’s all work together over the next 50 years to build a clean, green and sustainable Singapore for the future generations. Remember, every action counts.” 15 Thank you and have a good weekend. ______ Page 4 of 6 .