Corporate Social Responsibility
Mercy Relief's charity concert and roadshow at Bugis Junction
Our Commitment to Our Community
We believe that it is an important part of our mission to give back to our community, especially in tough financial times. Making a positive difference, building strong community relationships and working together, provide the motivation for CMT malls' community involvement.
In 2009, CMT partnered several government agencies, grassroot organizations and schools to hold civic and community events at its malls. One of the major community events held during the year was the ‘We are One' charity initiative organised with MediaCorp in aid of the President's Challenge 2009 and the Community Chest of Singapore. The donation drive was officially launched by President S.R. Nathan.
Ten of CMT's malls, together with Raffles City Singapore, Clarke Quay, ION Orchard and LEGO Singapore, jointly supported the initiative by encouraging the public to make donations at our malls' customer service counters. For every S$2 that was received, a LEGO brick went towards the building of a LEGO structure of Singapore.
At an event held at Junction 8, Singapore Idol's top seven finalists rallied together to request for donations toward the ‘We are One' charity initiative. They received a resounding response from their supporters and shoppers.
The charity donation drive which spanned two months, eventually raised more than S$500,000 in donations.
In September, Mercy Relief, a charitable organisation, held a charity concert cum roadshow at Bugis Junction to raise funds for those affected by Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan and the Philippines. The concert featured musical performances by artistes such as local celebrities Kelvin Chen Wei Lian and Joi Cai Chun Jia. The public was also able to learn more about Mercy Relief's humanitarian work through an exhibition and on-site displays.
Very Special Arts Singapore's annual charity exhibition at Raffles City Singapore
Tampines Mall's open landscaped plaza hosted many community and social events during the year. The mall hosted the launch of an online digital community portal for Tampines East and a ‘Be Fab and Smoke Free' fashion event organised by the Health Promotion Board. The mall also supported the Singapore Cancer Society's roadshow activities during the Colorectal Cancer Awareness Week. Tampines Mall also worked with TOUCH Young Arrows, a volunteer group that looks after needy and disadvantaged children aged between six and 12, to treat the needy children to an ice skating workshop at the mall. The group of children enjoyed play time at Tampines Mall's TimeZone arcade which sponsored game cards for the children. A few mall tenants such as Lee Wee & Brothers' and Polar Puffs and Cakes also sponsored meals for the children.
Raffles City Singapore (RCS) supported Very Special Arts Singapore, a charitable organisation, by sponsoring the venue for its annual charity exhibition. The event was a platform to showcase the artistic talents of people with disabilities and to help these artists achieve financial independence through sales of their artwork.
During the festive season, RCS also hosted ‘The Little Christmas Hat Project' which raised funds through the sale of Little Christmas Hats, handmade by local housewives with low or no incomes. The sales brought in an income for these housewives and S$1 from the sale of each Hat was donated to SingHealth Foundation which is a not-for-profit organisation committed to raising funds to support healthcare programmes. Sixty hats were eventually adopted by shoppers at RCS and donated to patients at KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
A ‘Spin for Life' event organised by the Breast Cancer Foundation was held at Plaza Singapura to encourage more people to enjoy cycling and experience its health benefits. Each participant in the cycling event was presented with a t-shirt and goodie bag. Prizes were also given to the first 10 who completed the race.
Plaza Singapura also held community events such as the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) 60th Anniversary photo exhibition and ‘World Animal Day'. The photo exhibition featured 200 to 250 photos depicting the history of SRC, their past work, local humanitarian efforts, overseas relief work, as well as an exhibit of memorabilia from past and present. The ‘World Animal Day' was an event organised by Animal Concerns Research and Education Society which hopes to save sharks through fund-raising efforts and creating public awareness.
‘Back to School' event at Sembawang Shopping Centre
In collaboration with CapitaLand Hope Foundation, Sembawang Shopping Centre played host to 200 underprivileged children for a ‘Back to School' event in June. The children were given CapitaVouchers and eco-friendly bags to shop for their school and daily necessities in preparation for their new school terms. The day ended off with a guided tour of Sembawang Shopping Centre where the children learnt about the green features of the environmentally-friendly mall and had fun playing at the mall's splash park.
Our Commitment to Our Environment
We adopt eco-friendly practices and aim to create vibrant and environmentally friendly settings at CMT's malls, as part of our commitment to environmental sustainability.
We supported the global ‘Earth Hour' campaign to fight global warming. On 28 March 2009, our malls marked Earth Hour by turning off their facade and non-essential lights for one hour. We also encouraged our tenants to participate in Earth Hour by sending specially-designed Earth Hour posters to them.
In 2009, two of our malls, Bukit Panjang Plaza and Lot One Shoppers' Mall, were awarded the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA) Green Mark certification. The BCA Green Mark is a green building rating system used to evaluate a building on its environmental impact and performance. It is endorsed and supported by Singapore's National Environment Agency.
A third mall, Sembawang Shopping Centre, achieved a BCA Green Mark Gold award for its resource-efficient features. These include energy-efficient air-conditioning, use of solar energy, natural ventilation and daylight for carparks, and use of environmentally friendly materials such as cool paint.
Active water conservation efforts at two of our malls, Raffles City Singapore and The Atrium@Orchard, paid off with the award of ‘Water efficient Building' certificates by the Public Utilities Board during the year. CMT's other malls which have already been awarded the certificate include Tampines Mall, Junction 8, Funan DigitaLife Mall, IMM Building, Plaza Singapura, Bugis Junction, Lot One Shoppers' Mall, Bukit Panjang Plaza and Rivervale Mall. Our property management team will continue to seek new ways to reduce water usage.
Sembawang Shopping Centre has been conferred the BCA Green Mark Gold Award 2009
We remain committed to maintain high performance at CMT's malls while upholding our green objectives. Through ongoing staff training, onsite monitoring and regular internal audits, we strive to improve our eco-friendly practices in managing the malls.
