Through Greenpac’s corporate giving initiatives, it has advocated green practices and a giving message that is twofold.
Greenpac Pte Ltd is the winner of the President’s Award for Volunteerism and/or Philanthropy (Corporates, Small & Medium Enterprise) 2017.
Specialising in providing environmentally friendly packaging solutions, Greenpac certainly walks the talk when it comes to advocating green practices. Its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives – that reach out to all walks of life, from school children to inmates – have not just been about providing donations or necessities, but also imparting important practices about the environment and sustainability, as well as spurring creativity, innovative discussions and ideas for ways to raise awareness about the environment.
Greenpac’s CSR framework revolves around three core thrusts – Community Engagement, Environmentally Friendly and Responsible Entrepreneurship.
Leveraging on their core competency of food procurement and production, the company utilises their central kitchen to prepare meals for homes such as the Singapore Christian Home and The Salvation Army among others. Sponsoring hydroponic units to schools and the community is another way of leveraging their core competencies to raise awareness of food sustainability, food wastage and the use of environmentally friendly resources.
An ongoing CSR effort of Greenpac is its annual GreenGives programme that runs throughout the year. This year’s project supports Dignity Mama, a pre-loved book stall run by young adults with special needs and their parents, and sees staff collecting secondhand books and donating them this cause. Not only does Dignity Mama have a means to supplement its income, the project helps to raise awareness of recycling secondhand goods, cutting down on excess wastage and reducing carbon footprint.
All its efforts may seems like a lot to undertake for a company of only 41 full-time employees, but Ms Chong says size does not matter when it comes to having the commitment to give back. “It is about taking steps and not being put off by its scale. These small steps will grow progressively as the business grows too. SMEs should not allow their limited resources to deter them from achieving a greater good. They could begin with volunteerism first and slowly work their way to explore other avenues when they gain more resources,” is Ms Chong’s advice.
Other highlights of giving journey:
1. During Giving Week 2016, Greenpac collaborated with Dignity Kitchen – an establishment that hires and trains special needs staff – to sponsor 55 lunch meals for the elderly and caregivers from Thong Teck Home for the Aged.
2. Greenpac staff mentored and coached students in developing initiatives relating to technology and innovation-driven projects during the School of Science & Technology’s “Reduce Food Waste” Competition organised by NEA.
3. Purchasing nonya kuih handmade by Changi Prison inmates at D’Kuih Confectionary for their in-house events.
4. Greenpac sponsors an annual cash donation for NUS Business School’s Undergraduate bursary, as well as awards a scholarship under the SME-SPRING Joint Executive Development Scholarship programme.
5. Actively advocating green practices, Greenpac has organised learning trips for the Ministry of Education, National Environment Agency and SPRING Singapore, among other, starting discussions about environmentally-friendly habits that they can then go on to put into practice.
Moving ahead:
Greenpac is determined to drive forward its two signature programmes – hydroponics and the GreenGives Campaign. For hydroponics, it is working with its beneficiaries to explore expanding the programme to reach out to more recipients. As for GreenGives, it has plans to establish collaborations with various stakeholders or help them kick-start their own campaigns within their organisation.
