[Featured Photo: (R-L): Michelle Ann Lim, Lim Yi Chang, Ng Rui Qin and Amelia See with Ms Grace Cheah, their case mentor and Lead Consultant of Sustinere Pte. Ltd.]

Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Team Viride comprising Amelia See (Business Year 2), Michelle Ann Lim (Business Year 2), Ng Rui Qin (Information Systems Year 1) and Lim Yi Chang (Accountancy Year 1) has won the top prize for the City Developments Limited (CDL)-Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS) Young CSR Leaders Award 2017. This is not the first time that SMU teams have won the competition, having also achieved top places in 2014 and 2015.

Launched in 2011, the CDL-GCNS Young CSR Leaders Award is a national case-competition that promotes thought leadership amongst future business leaders to embrace Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles into a company’s business strategy and practices.

359 youths aged between 18 and 25 from various tertiary institutions had the opportunity to meet company representatives from AkzoNobel, APRIL, DSM Singapore, Ernst & Young, Hong Leong, Informatics, Singtel, Suntory and Veolia! Student teams gained a further understand on the companies' CSR programmes and CSR focus areas before they choose the company to work on for their preliminary proposal. They then competed to see which team had the most effective CSR strategies to champion a sustainable future for Singapore and beyond.

Said Rui Qin when sharing about his journey, “As the president of SMU Verts (SMU’s Environmental Club), members of the Club are already active champions of sustainability in the community and the CDL-GCNS Young CSR Leaders Award Competition gave us an opportunity to do more to enact real change on a larger scale. Teams were tasked with the creation of a 10 page report to delineate key insights and strategies for the company assigned. This required extensive preparation as the team had to plough through multiple extensive reports and research and then distill the information into understandable bite sized information. Getting into the finals however, made all the effort worthwhile.”

When asked about her experience, Michelle said, “From being able to interact with industry leaders during our three-day industrial attachment to learning how to integrate CSR objectives into business objectives, my experience in the CDL-GCNS Youth Leaders Award 2017 has been a thoroughly amazing one. I have learnt and experienced so much more than I ever thought I would be able to! I'm extremely grateful for the exposure as well as guidance of our industry partners and mentors. I am grateful for the opportunity to be an invaluable part of something greater and the chance to enact real change on a global level!”

Team Viride proposed human centric and innovative environmental strategies that were specifically tailored to suit the needs and strengths of their assigned company – AkzoNobel – a materials company that specialises in paint, coatings and chemicals. From suggesting innovative repackaging of the company’s products to the creation of a closed loop awareness campaign, the team made sure to include all stakeholders to create the most comprehensive and easily implementable strategies possible. For their effective and innovative strategies and outstanding delivery of ideas, the team was rewarded with the top prize.

For their win, the quartet was presented with $5,000, the winner’s shield and a certificate from Guest-of-Honour Minister Chan Chun Sing and CEO of City Developments Limited Mr Grant Kelley at the Global Compact Network Singapore Summit 2017 on 29 August 2017.

More information on Award can be read here.