Business Review Australia & Asia - September 2016

WHY utilities are choosing Tesla Powerwalls

September 2016

w w w.businessreviewasia.com | w w w.businessreviewaustralia.com

Procurement strategy pays off for Wyndham Vacation Resorts

Unilever

lessons from Vietnam

6 APAC

sustainability champions

Special Report

Essilor A clear image of Essilor’s global digital transformation

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EDITORS COMMENT

Welcome to September’s sustainability issue SEPTEMBER’S ISSUE IS ALL about sustainability – how companies in the region are working to protect the environment, workers and communities.

Our lead feature this month explores why increasing numbers of Australian businesses are choosing Tesla’s Powerwalls as an efficient, carbon-friendly solution to energy management and storage. Three years on from its inspection of Unilever’s factory in Vietnam, global charity Oxfam shares insights that all businesses can take on board following significant improvements made to workers’ rights. We also take a look at the region’s sustainability champions and why they are the ones to watch this year.

Enjoy the read!

Nye Longman Editor Nye.Longman@bizclikmedia.com

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CONTENTS

F E AT U R E S

P PR RO OF F II L LE E

06

Improving Labour rights

42

Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific

TECHNOLOGY

(Supply Chain)

Why utilities are choosing Tesla

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LIST

00 LIST

Headline for the article

Sustainable APAC companies

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74

Burger King (Supply Chain)

C O M PA N Y PROFILES HEALTHCARE 28 Essilor

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Essilor

(Healthcare)

SUPPLY CHAIN 42 Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific 58 Zalora Group 74 Burger King

ENERGY 84 Unitywater

58

Zalora Group (Supply Chain)

CONSTRUCTION 106 T2T Alliance

84

Unitywater (Energy)

106

T2T Alliance (Construction)

120 John Holland Group Utilities Division 132 SGBC (Singapore Green Building Council)

PROFILE

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September 2016

Improving labour rights in Southeast Asia An Oxfam report found that labour rights in Unilever’s Vietnam supply chain have improved over the last three years. While challenges remain, there’s a lot that businesses can learn from the experience Writ ten by: NYE LONGMAN

WHEN OXFAM FIRST examined Unilever’s supply chain operations in a 2013 investigation, the charity highlighted that there was a clear gap between the company’s policies and the reality on the ground in Vietnam.

Oxfam returned this year and found that Unilever had made a number of improvements amidst remaining challenges. For companies with operations in Southeast Asia there are clearly a number of take home lessons. Business Review’ Australia & Asia speaks to Rachel Wilshaw, Oxfam’s Ethical Trade Manager, who

coauthored the report, to find out more.

She says: “It’s unusual for a multinational company to open up its business to Oxfam in this way and shows great transparency and openness to improve. It’s clear that the process has already brought positive change within the company and most importantly for the people making its products, and has the potential to deliver much more.”

The multinational consumer goods company allowed Oxfam access to its staff, operations, data and key suppliers at its factory 7

PROFILE in Cu Chi, near Ho Chi Minh City, which manufactures personal, home care, and food products.

Here are five lessons that businesses in Southeast Asia can take on board to improve labour rights across their supply chains 1. Don’t assume that if workers do not raise labour issues either with management or with an auditor that this means everything is fine. There are a range of reasons they may not speak up, from being worried about being seen as a trouble-maker, to a perception that raising an issue will not really change anything, to cultural norms in that country 2. Review your grievance mechanisms in line with the learning in Section 4.4. If trade unions are not active, consider giving a local NGO an opportunity to talk to workers offsite, away from managers, and then to feedback findings and questions from workers anonymously, and see what you learn

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September 2016

“Almost 30 percent of Vietnam’s manufacturing industry is connected with Ho Chi Minh City”

3. Take a fresh look at your worker turnover, and the cost of recruiting and training new workers.

How could the turnover be brought down? If you improve employment conditions, what is the impact of this for workers’ motivation, productivity

IMPROVING LABOUR RIGHTS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

and intention to stay? Benchmark your company against peer companies in your sector 4. Take a look at how much cash and management time goes into audits in your operations and supply

chain. Are these really delivering value? What would a ‘beyond audit’ approach look like? What is the role of government in official inspection and ensuring compliance with national laws? Is there a forum where business could discuss this with the

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IMPROVING LABOUR RIGHTS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Ministry of Labour?

5. Take heed of the learning in the Oxfam report about how a good policy such as Unilever’s policy to increase direct employment in its factory can have unintended consequences, in this case resulting in all 87 new jobs going to male rather than female workers. Consider the implications of any new policy for men and women and consult them separately.

Unilever’s improved commitment to improving labour rights across its supply chain includes better dialogue with trade unions, enhanced sourcing policies and building more trust between workers and management, as well as an aim for more direct employment in its manufacturing operations. This has cumulated in increased job security and employment benefits for Unilever workers in Vietnam.

The study found that wages of a typical semi-skilled worker in Unilever’s factory had increased 48 percent between July 2011 and July 2015, helped by government increases

in the minimum wage, but lower skilled workers with dependants said they still struggled to make ends meet.

The percentage of women employed in Unilever’s factory was down from 19 percent in 2011 to 13 percent in 2015 while women made up two thirds (67 percent) of those employed by a third party supplier with lower wages and benefits. The report recommends that Unilever steps up its efforts to ensure gender equality in its manufacturing operations and do more to influence the wider system affecting labour rights, from worker representation and business practices to engaging with governments.

Wilshaw concludes: “Yet huge challenges remain for multinational companies to ensure workers enjoy good jobs on a living wage, with opportunities for women to progress.

All too often companies feel pressure to put containing costs above better labour standards. Ways need to be found for workers, farmers and communities to get a fairer share of the value that business generates, and women’s empowerment should be embedded in that strategy.”

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TECHNOLOGY

Writ ten by: NYE LONGMAN

Why utilities are Powerwalls to ba

Two large utility companies in Australia Powerwalls to reduce investment cos 12

September 2016

e choosing Tesla alance their grids

a and New Zealand are deploying Tesla sts and pass savings on to customers 13

TECHNOLOGY

BOTH HOME OWNERS and a variety of businesses are keen to install Tesla’s Powerwall to maximise use of roof-top solar energy, as well as to provide back-up power.

Several utilities across the globe are also developing innovative programs that also use Powerwalls to help balance the grid to reduce investment costs that are ultimately passed on to electricity consumers.

Recently, two large utilities in New Zealand and Australia Vector and South Australia Power Network (SAPN) - announced innovative Powerwall programs.

Vector, New Zealand’s largest electricity distributor, said it will provide 130 Tesla Powerwalls to schools, charities and deserving families through a local competition.

These will not only benefit the competition winners, but will also benefit the greater community through the aggregation of Powerwalls to help balance the grid

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September 2016

and reduce stress on the network.

Across the Tasman Sea in Australia, SAPN has also just announced a trial program to deploy an initial 100 home batteries and solar systems. This is the largest trial of its kind in Australia and will test the benefits of combining solar and energy storage to avoid building additional infrastructure to alleviate a network constraint.

The trial also provides various options for customers to participate, including purchasing or leasing the storage systems. Vector and SAPN join a growing international trend among utilities recognising the value of the Tesla Powerwall deployed on their networks.

Green Mountain Power was among the first utilities to create a Powerwall program, installing the systems with customers in Vermont, USA. Powerwalls deployed by Green Mountain allow their customers to use less energy during peak periods and confidently rely on backup in case

TESLA POWERWALLS

“Recently, two large utilities in New Zealand and Australia, Vector and South Australia Power Network (SAPN) have announced innovative Powerwall programs”

Tesla Powerwall Tesla Powerwall is essentially a battery that charges using electricity generated from solar panels – It is different from other solar batteries due to its innovative ability to store energy until the evening, when it is used most. Tesla describes the technology as “Automated, compact and simple to install, Powerwall enables you to maximise self-consumption of solar power generation.”

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TECHNOLOGY

SAPN SA Power Networks is the operator of the Southern Australian electricity distribution network which provides power to well over 800,000 homes and businesses in the region. The company also provides infrastructure construction and maintenance services to a variety of industry and government players.

ofof a grid outage. The Powerwalls also help the overall network by improving grid reliability and resiliency, while reducing or deferring the cost of new infrastructure investments.

These examples highlight the not-so-distant future where forwardthinking energy utilities make use of thousands of Tesla Powerwalls to dramatically increase renewable use and reduce investments in grid infrastructure, thereby reducing energy costs and improving

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September 2016

energy reliability for all of the customers on their network.

With many Australians being faced with an increase in energy bills, the growing uptake of Tesla’s Powerwalls is promising and has the potential to help both businesses and households save for periods such as this. While still mainly at the trial stage, it is clear that increasing the efficiency of solar storage is a trend that is certain to grow and Tesla is a company fully equipped to take advantage of this.

TESLA POWERWALLS

Vector With 600,000 customers, New Zealand’s Vector powers domestic and business customers using traditional electricity, gas and a growing range of solar technologies.

As one of the largest companies on the NZX, Vector plays a significant role in developing the country’s infrastructure and serves around 40 towns and cities.

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LIST

sustainable AP to watch A shortlist of the region’s

Writ ten by: NYE LONGMAN

PAC companies this year sustainability champions

LIST

WHILE MOST BUSINESSES think of sustainability as simply making efforts to reduce environmental impact, the concept is more far-reaching. The term also has a lot to do with how people are treated within the organisation and if conditions promote fairness, meritocratic progression and safety. Perhaps the most essential factor is overall responsible management practices that ensure that business has enough money to keep running into the next quarter.

Using Forbes data, Business Review Australia & Asia takes a look six of the regions companies to watch this year. While it is heartening to see businesses from the region make it into the global ranking, the similarity between the companies are obvious. Office-based companies will always be at an advantage when it comes to making their operations more sustainable – especially if they have the financial clout.

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September 2016

6 S U S TA I N A B L E A PA C C O M PA N I E S

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SHINHAN FINANCIAL GROUP CO LTD – South Korea Shinhan Bank Group – historically the first bank in South Korea, established over a century ago - and Jeju Group make up the Shinhan Financial Group.

In recent years it has established a private holding company, a balanced business portfolio and a committed goal to grow sustainably.

The company executes its sustainability strategy by focusing on nine core CSR strategies, which are:

- Creating customer value and protecting customer information - Developing its people and building a great place to work

- Working with suppliers to mutually develop CSR activities - Strengthening ethical management practices - Contributing to local community development - Developing environmentally friendly products and services - Increasing financial inclusion - Efficient use of resources

Ongoing successful implementation of these initiatives has lead the company to be recognised by the likes of the DOW Jones, Davos, and the CDP Carbon honours Club.

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LIST

05 STARHUB LTD – Singapore StarHub is Singapore’s first fully integrated information communications company. It offers people and business a range of telecoms products and services including broadband, TV, hubbing, mobile and voice. Its sustainability efforts are channelled through three separate initiatives: the StarHub Green Movement; RENEW; and through

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September 2016

strengthening community relations.

Combined, these have out the company on a fantastic track towards dramatically improved sustainability.

StarHub’s operations not only focus on operational improvements like green marketing or improved efficiency – they also actively engage communities to recycle and take ownership.

6 S U S TA I N A B L E A PA C C O M PA N I E S

04 COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – Australia A long-established Australian bank offering corporate, business and personal services, Commonwealth Bank has also taken a holistic approach to sustainability – covering everything from environmental practises to taxation. Alongside benchmarking its efforts against a range of global indices, the company

also regularly publishes its progress.

Its sustainability page says: “We recognise that the decisions we make have an impact and that we are in a unique position to use our capabilities and resources to make a positive contribution beyond our core business.”

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LIST

03 AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANK – Australia / New Zealand Another bank to achieve top sustainability status, the ANZ bank’s approach covers social, environmental and economic risks (as well as opportunities.)

Its website reads: “By taking these factors into consideration across all areas of our business, we can create and preserve value for customers, shareholders, our

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September 2016

people, the environment and the communities in which we operate.”

Unlike many other business, ANZ has a dedicated supply chain policy consisting of a group sourcing policy, a supplier code of conduct, and a dedicated set of procurement guidelines, tailored to specific business practices.

6 S U S TA I N A B L E A PA C C O M PA N I E S

02 KEPPEL LAND LIMITED – Singapore Keppel Land Limited is the property arm of Singapore’s mighty multinational Keppel Group, with investment-grade properties and infrastructure covering the offshore and marine sectors, as well as residential developments.

To date, its sustainability initiatives have saved as much as 130 kWh of electricity per annum, as well as

60,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Keen to extend these impressive savings, the company is aiming to achieve the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore’s Green Mark Gold for all of its new developments.

It has also ensured that over 34,000 of its workers in Vietnam and Malaysia have undergone its Safety Awareness training.

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6 S U S TA I N A B L E A PA C C O M PA N I E S

01

WESTPAC BANK – Australia As the top performer of the Forbes list, Westpac Bank has fought off the likes of global plyers including Statoil, Schneider Electric, and Cisco Systems, but what has the company done to fend of the competition?

The bank recognises its ability to enable positive change – both within and outside of the organisation.

Since 2013, its Australia operations have been completely carbon neutral; it has also leant over $6.1

billion to the green services sector.

From relationships with suppliers through to financial education and workplace culture, the bank seems to have pulled out most if not all of the stops. Around 46 percent of leadership roles are now held by women, up from 38 percent in 2011; it is also supporting Reconciliation Australia to provide the country’s indigenous people with meaningful financial inclusion.

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Raise your glasses Written by Nell Walker Produced by Matthew Pepper

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ESSILOR

Essilor is the largest producer of ophthalmic lenses in the world, and a technological transformation is streamlining its global network

E

ssilor, the world’s leading manufacturer and distributor of ophthalmic lenses, has a history stretching back some 170 years. The group was born in 1972 from a merger of two illustrious and inventive French companies – Essel and Silor, both of which were operating independently for many decades.

Since the merger, Essilor has grown steadily through innovations and partnerships. It has developed many innovative ideas and is recognised for progressive lenses, photochromic lenses, antireflective coatings, and many other categories in the industry. Today, more than one billion people wear Essilor lenses globally.

One of the fastest growing regions for Essilor is AMERA (AsiaPacific, Middle East, Russia and

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September 2016

Africa) where the population is very large and economies growing fast.

In this region there are many unmet visual needs for the consumers, and Essilor is uniquely positioned to offer products and services to meet those needs. To deliver these products and services faster and in a cost effective way to the vast population of this region, Essilor is undergoing a digital transformation of its business processes under the guidance of its AMERA Chief Information Officer, Sekhar Ray, and supported by all the business and functional teams.

IT challenges The scope of the venture is vast,

and as such, naturally challenging, with a mixture of developed and emerging markets. The challenge is in ensuring that the solutions

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H E A LT H C A R E

have the right balance for plans to apply some of the same scalability and cost. “One solution synergies to his new territories, doesn’t fit for all, but if every entity bringing them up-to-date and has a different solution, then cost strengthening the company’s could be very high” Ray states. position as the global leader.

“In some countries, orders are With digitalisation, Essilor sees hand-delivered by someone on a lot of opportunities to streamline a moped bringing it to one of the up and down the value chain. labs, while in Japan we get very One example is faster time high percentage of our orders to market of its products. By electronically. removing manual and Essilor is deploying duplicate processes, solutions that are and using digital fit for a small entity prototyping and in Africa, but can 3D simulation, the also be scaled up company is bringing for a large entity down the time frame in Australia. The significantly. This Number of company is focused gives additional time employees at Essilor on reusability.” to realise revenue Ray previously rather than waiting for led a similar initiative as the CIO products to launch, and from the of Essilor America. During his five customer’s perspective, they get years there, Essilor underwent access to new products sooner. a transformation program to Digitalisation also allows Essilor simplify and modernise its to differentiate greatly from analytics, manufacturing, backcompetitors by offering lenses that office, and customer ordering are personalised according to the systems. He is in the third year customer’s own eyes and face. The of a multi-year road map, and company’s production machines

61,000

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ESSILOR

“We are deploying solutions that are fit for a small entity in Africa, but can also be scaled up for a large entity in Australia.

We’re focused on reusability”

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September 2016

H E A LT H C A R E

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now calculate the optimised design for each consumer, before the lens is digitally surfaced with point-by-point technology. This also allows late differentiation.

Another example is that rather than using a static rule to decide delivery time, it can be predicted and tracked individually for each order using big data analytics based on machine data.

Digitalising has started to break down silos and made Essilor more

aware of the value of information.

One of the challenges was to develop an information strategy that balances the needs for enterprise-level harmonisation, while retaining necessary flexibility to offer local differentiation. The company is providing a private cloud with a shared business application platform for hundreds of business entities, which are today running local systems, often with different definitions of data.

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ESSILOR

The platform To build such a platform, Ray’s IT

management team has carefully architected and selected fitfor-purpose technologies and IT partners which can support such a transformative journey.

One example was finding a network provider which could cover a vast geography and also be competitive. “IT today is less about holding on to your infrastructure and more about leveraging the digital revolution strategically,” says Ray. “Tata Communications’ global next generation hybrid network solution is acting as a foundation to accelerate digital transformation for Essilor, empowering us to meet new market challenges.”

Kathy Park, General Manager for Essilor’s Asean Business Unit, comments further on the company’s CRM: “This platform gives us an opportunity to manage customer relationships with data and create more value. Today, sales force analytics remains a big untapped opportunity

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September 2016

within Essilor, and we can utilize a lot more data analytics as we develop a standardised platform that can be a lot more responsive to the changing needs of the customer in real-time.”

“Our business model and partnerships are unique compared to other organisations,” adds Narasimhan Narayanan, CFO for AMERA Region. “We maintain flexibility in the front end while driving standardisation and simplification in the back end to ensure consistency and effectiveness. The flows we have across multiple manufacturing sites and labs are very complex, but we control this through our IT roadmap.”

Research and development Essilor spends up to 200 M€

annually on R&D, which is the biggest budget by far in its industry. There are five R&D centres around the world, including three for Innovation and Technologies (CI&T) located in Paris, Dallas, and Singapore.

H E A LT H C A R E

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ESSILOR

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September 2016

H E A LT H C A R E

“IT today is less about holding on to your infrastructure and more about leveraging the digital revolution strategically” The latter enables R&D to stay connected with the three main regional market needs and innovate accordingly.

For example, in Singapore, as in many Asian countries, the growth of myopia – especially in children – is a big concern. Essilor has partnerships with local universities to study the phenomenon, with trial groups in which we perform consumer experiments, as well as consumer research which is conducted by R&D and marketing teams. Product ideas come out of these processes, based on the real needs of people in the field.

From an IT perspective, the company has to make sure that its researchers, its marketers, and other employees can collaborate freely. Someone having an innovative idea in one market should be able to communicate and collaborate

with their counterparts anywhere in the world. Digitalisation is important there too.

Future growth Essilor has grown enormously

over the past decades, but there is still a great deal of room to grow.

The ophthalmic lens business is fuelled by current unmet vision needs: 2.5 billion people don’t get the vision correction they need due to lack of awareness and lack of access to professionals, as well as major demographic trends. Among these trends are an aging population needing correction from presbyopia and other age-related sight issues; growth of myopia among the younger population; growing middle class in emerging market having more and more access to vision correction products; and an ever-increasing need by

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ESSILOR

everyone to be protected from the sun’s harmful UV light or a digital screen’s blue light. Fortunately for Ray and his company, people will always need better vision to improve their daily lives.

“Everybody in their lifetime will become a customer of Essilor, because everybody needs glasses at some point.

The customer base is huge, and a lot of people will need multiple products. They will need prescription glasses, sunglasses, reading glass and now glasses for using a computer, smartphone, or any other digital device.

“The demand will continue to grow, and IT’s job is to stay ahead of the curve and provide the business the necessary information strategy, and the systems to cope with the growth. The company is moving from having a traditional distribution supply chain to becoming more about digital ways of supplying products and services to its customers.”

Changes are picking up pace:

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September 2016

sites after sites are getting connected to the business application platform. As a site connects it gets the benefit of a common product master enabling sourcing of the product from anywhere in the entire Essilor network; an integrated ordering with manufacturing and backoffice processes; customer touch points for online ordering and sharing real-time order status information though mobile application; and transparent and drill-down analytics about business performance.

Ray concludes: “This is really the first step. But it allows us to build on it to better understand and connect with our customers and partners and create more values.”

H E A LT H C A R E

Sekhar Ray CIO Sekhar has been working with Essilor for eight years, having joined its American business in 2008 as the CIO in Dallas. He took up an expat assignment with the company and went to Singapore in the autumn of 2013. Prior to joining Essilor, Ray held a number of IT executive management positions and led IT transformation for Cadbury Schweppes, Dell, and Citibank globally. He is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, India and holds a BS degree in Computer Science. He lives with his wife and three daughters in Singapore.

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Procurement

strategy pays off for Wyndham

In the hospitality industry, it’s the smallest details that can leave the biggest impact. The Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific procurement team delivers on value, quality and price on an international scale – and they do so without sacrificing that personal touch.

Written by Sarah Megginson Produced by Erika Kracer

W Y N D H A M VA C AT I O N R E S O R T S A S I A PA C I F I C

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September 2016

S U P P LY C H A I N

Key People

M

alcolm Parker, Director of Procurement at Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific, is always focused on the bigger picture, but he also knows only too well just how important the finer details can be.

Starting his career in hospitality as “the person who checked and stocked the hotel mini bars”, Parker says the polished outcome that guests experience when staying at Wyndham resorts is only possible due to the efforts of hundreds of people collaborating behind the scenes.

“I have seven people on my team, but overall we’ve got close to 550 people in the Queensland office supporting the Wyndham Hotel Group and Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific, our vacation ownership business,” Parker says.

“The company has grown really very quickly; 12 years ago, we had half a floor. Within a few years we had employees spread across five different buildings.

Then five years ago we had to move into our current building, and our growth has continued ever since.”

Parker’s group, which procures and purchases all operating goods and services, capital purchases, furniture, fixtures and equipment, has been particularly busy recently, developing its new ‘Procure to Pay’ solution.

It aims to automate every step of the process, from raising a purchase order and receiving an invoice to approving payment, with an electronic process

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Malcolm Parker Director of Procurement Malcolm Parker joined Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific in 2004 as Director of Procurement, bringing with him more than 20 years of hotel industry experience.

Malcolm is based at the Wyndham Corporate Centre on the Gold Coast and is responsible for a team of seven, overseeing the procurement functions for Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific and Wyndham Hotel Group in the South Pacific and South East Asia regions..

He joined the company after relocating from New Zealand, where he worked in a similar role with Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.

“We were consider: w look lik

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September 2016

Key People

e always projecting ahead to what is our business going to ke in five to 10 years’ time?”

– Barry Robinson, President and Managing Director

Barry Robinson President and Managing Director

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Barry Robinson has been the President and Managing Director of Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific since September 2003.

In 2009, Barry launched Wyndham Hotel Group in the South Pacific.

Barry has been the driving force behind many significant new property acquisitions, enhanced resort developments and has brought a renewed customer focus to the business. Under his leadership, both Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific and Wyndham Hotel Group in the South Pacific have expanded their portfolios in the Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific regions and are poised to actively expand into new Asian markets.

Appointed President and Managing Director of Wyndham Hotel Group South East Asia and Pacific Rim, effective January 1, 2015, Barry will continue to lead the expansion of both Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific and Wyndham Hotel Group South East Asia and Pacific Rim across the region. Barry oversees a property portfolio of close to 100 hotels and resorts.

With more than 30 years’ hospitality experience, Barry has a vast knowledge of the hotel and resort industry – from management, operations, development, branding and franchising. He has held a number of senior leadership positions in the Asia Pacific region and has worked for some of the world’s largest hospitality companies including Swiss-Belhotel International, Swissôtel Worldwide Partner Hotels and Choice Hotels International.

S U P P LY C H A I N

Key People

Liam Crawley Chief Financial Officer that promotes full end-to-end visibility, thereby simplifying the complexities of procurement.

“Traditionally the system has been very paper-based; we’ve had to raise a purchase order, get it approved and then authorise payment, which is a process that can take up to three or four weeks,” Parker explains.

“Under the new system, assuming the right process is being followed, this is reduced down to a matter of days. It’s a hosted solution and it will provide some very good efficiencies.”

The software system will streamline payment procedures and smooth out procurement processes across international sites. It will eventually be implemented across the entire business, including the hotels, vacation ownership reports and the corporate head office.

“We’ve partnered with Birch Street Systems, a big player globally in this space, and we’ve been working with them on the complexities of our business for around eight months to get this right,” Parker says.

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Liam Crawley joined Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific in 2008 as Chief Financial Officer. He leads a team of more than 140 employees providing centralised support services and is responsible for all aspects of accounting, financial reporting, planning and analysis, payroll, procurement, internal audit, information technology, treasury, taxation and the consumer financing division within the Asia Pacific region.

Liam has over 20 years’ experience as a senior finance executive at corporate, divisional and regional levels within publicly listed corporations. Prior to joining Wyndham, he commenced his career in Melbourne, Australia with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and later held senior finance positions at Mayne Group Limited in Melbourne in the corporate office, asset management, group finance, healthcare, diagnostics and logistics.

He later served as the regional finance head for the Americas based in New Jersey (USA) - for Mayne Pharma Limited and then served as Global Vice President of Finance and Group Financial Controller, based in their London global office. He was responsible for the group’s ASX financial reporting, financial control and led a global finance and accounting team of 125 finance professionals throughout the Asia Pacific, EMEA and US regions.

Liam is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA), a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD), and a member of the AICD Gold Coast Regional Committee.

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“There are a number of different aspects, such as tax codes, which need to be considered. It has been a long process but we’re now ready to launch, starting with our South Pacific sites.”

This latest initiative has been the primary focus of Parker and his team for the last 12 months or so, but he admits it is just one of a number of areas where he is focusing his attention.

As he manages procurement for Wyndham’s two different business arms – the vacation ownership (or timeshare) properties and the franchise-owned hotels – he must keep on top of two different procurement strategies, as each business model has unique requirements.

Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific develops, markets and sells vacation ownership interests across a network of 27 resorts in the Asia Pacific region.

Meanwhile, the Wyndham Hotel Group, as part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies, is the world’s largest hotel company, with over 8,000 hotels under brands including Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Ramada, Days Inn, TRYP by Wyndham Super 8 and Howard Johnson. Parker’s territory encompasses close to 100 of those properties across South East Asia and the Pacific Rim. This means Parker provides procurement support across a range of functions, to provide value to a range of stakeholders

Key People

Matt Taplin Senior Vice President Resort Operations and Property Development Matt Taplin joined Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific in late-2012 as Senior Vice President of Resort Operations and Property Development, bringing with him more than 25 years of hotel industry experience.

In his role with Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific, Matt is located at Wyndham Corporate Centre on the Gold Coast and is responsible for a team of approximately 540 employees who work in resort operations and property development across Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

He joined the company after relocating from New Zealand and has extensive experience in a variety of roles across different locations, with a proven record of building and leading large and diverse hotel teams. In his previous role as Vice President of Operations at Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand Ltd, he was responsible for the overall operation and performance of 30 owned, managed or franchised hotels with more than 1,200 employees.

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Established in 1949, Higgins is Australia’s and New Zealand’s premier commercial painting and building services contractor. We have completed projects for all the major Hotel & Resort Groups which includes full internal and external repaints, render repairs, abseiling access and building wash downs.

The Hotel & Resort industry is fast paced and often requires timing strategies to meet project needs without disrupting the supply of services to clientele.

P 1300 HIGGINS

info@higgins.com.au

Whether we are working on small or large-scale projects, our focus is on setting the standard for exceptional services. . Central to this is our commitment to consistency which helps us to deliver predictable outcomes for our customers, regardless of building type, location or age. That is why international Hotel brands and small, local organisations trust us to deliver their spaces on time, at quality and on budget.

www.higgins.com.au

S U P P LY C H A I N

based on volume and economies of scale.

“We were predominantly vacation ownership, which was quite simple in itself, as it enabled us to ensure consistency of product and manage supply. We are now also looking after the hotel group’s interest, which covers both managed and franchised hotels,” he explains.

“We also have a mixed-use model, where we have timeshare apartments and hotel rooms within the same building. Across the whole portfolio there are a lot of variations and moving parts to consider.”

Now overseeing around $190 million per year worth of supplier contracts across the Asia Pacific region, Parker says there is “a lot of ground work” behind the scenes to promote seamless processes at the front end.

“What we’ve got here is a very large direct spend, so that really helps in a lot of ways. With our resorts, we have a six to seven-year cycle where we refurbish on a cyclical basis. There are always three to four of these refurbishments going on at any one time, so

Year founded

2000

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there’s an ongoing relationship going projecting ahead to consider: what with some key suppliers,” Parker says. is our business going to look like in “As a result of this, we’ve got five to 10 years’ time?” he says. strong compliance and we’re “We wanted to work with supply able to provide our franchise partners who were keen to come on customers with that added value that journey with us and who had the as well as purchasing power.” footprint to deliver on an international When he joined Wyndham Vacation scale. Ecolab, Xerox and Samsung are Resorts Asia Pacific in 2004, good examples: they’re global Parker adds that there players. They’ve got were only three or people on the ground four properties to in various countries, consider; now which makes it Approximately with Wyndham a lot easier for Hotel Group us when we operating in move into a the region, new country, employees at there are more rather than Wyndham Vacation than 100. Their going in cold.”

Resorts Asia Pacific position now has Developing a not been arrived at by range of strategic accident, but is instead the alliances and relationships culmination of a long and considered with suppliers has been paramount approach that Parker has been to their success in building a positive building towards for over a decade. brand and guest experience, as it “We have always been looking allowed them to leverage group buying toward the future. We knew where power without sacrificing quality. we were going, so we put the work in However, fostering seamless with the suppliers that we partnered supplier partnerships is one side of the with. For example, we were always coin when managing procurement for

2,000

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“We’ve got strong compliance and we’re able to provide our franchise customers with that added value and that buying power” – Barry Robinson, President and Managing Director

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an international hotel chain; the other side involves factoring in each market’s unique characteristics.

“There are so many different countries we’re working in, and they each have their own systems and local customs, so we do have to be very mindful of that,” Parker says.

“About 18 months ago we were appointed to look after South East Asia, which had previously been handled out of China, and fortunately we get great support out of our Singapore office in this regard. They’re on the ground working hard and that helps us a great deal when we’re looking to initiate any procurements in those regions.”

He also leverages the resources of Wyndham Worldwide, based in the United States, which boasts a strategic sourcing and an international team that includes Parker and his colleagues in the UK, China and Latin America.

“We communicate on a regular basis and push out global initiatives where we can,” he says.

Whether working out of Wyndham’s Asia Pacific headquarters on the Gold Coast, collaborating with Parker’s global counterparts in various overseas markets, or leaning on their team in Singapore, one thing is clear: Wyndham’s extraordinary success in delivering superior procurement value and support is a team effort.

$

250 million Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific annual revenue

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Written by Nye Longman Produced by Charlotte Clarke

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ZALORA GROUP

With a footprint in seven Southeast Asian countries, ZALORA is transforming the fashion supply chain with a local presence and operational innovations

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s fashion trends change by the hour, one thing remains constant for ZALORA Group – the ability to adapt. ZALORA has achieved success in this industry, meeting the demands of different markets, through carefully delivering a responsive, locally-relevant supply chain, transforming old operational models.

Not only has the company strengthened an already renowned brand name in the region, it has also been able to pass benefits on to its customers. Business Review Australia & Asia speaks to Regional Operations Director Alessandro Durì about how ZALORA has effected this change and discusses the impact this has had for both the business and its customers.

Operations As the fastest growing online fashion retailer in Asia, ZALORA adds hundreds of new products every week to its 100,000-strong offering. These include top brands in men’s and women’s clothes, shoes,

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Alessandro Duri Regional Operations Director

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YCH Group

Proven Expertise and Commitment t – Driving e-Business Excellence in Pa Fueled by the rapid digitisation of retail markets, YCH Group believes the way forward is to leverage on domain knowledge and technology to optimise the supply chains of retail businesses for e-Commerce. Through continuous technological and process innovation in partnership with leading Supply Chain Technology provider Y3 Technologies, we are committed in shifting paradigms in an increasingly complex operating environment, empowering businesses with game changing capabilities and enhancing operational efficiencies.

As the region’s leading supply chain partner to some of the world’s most reputable and favourite brands bolstered by a comprehensive footprint and strong connectivity across the key hubs and cities of Asia, we strive tirelessly to innovate supply chain solutions for small and large companies – giving them a unique competitive edge. We offer customised e-Commerce centric solutions designed for scalability, ensuring they remain relevant in a multitude of business climates.

For e-C end con edg aut

Lev to o An the wit des lev

SINGAPORE | MALAYSIA | INDONESIA | THAILAND | PHILIPPINES | VIETNAM |

to Deliver artnership with Zalora

r close to two decades, YCH Group has been overseeing the full spectrum of Commerce activities for our global customers. Our services encompass an end-to d process from call centre management through the last mile fulfilment to the end nsumer. Scalability and efficiency are also enhanced through incorporating cutting ge technology into operations such as Internet-of-Things (IoT) enabled devices and tomation to ensure fulfilment requests are handled in a timely and reliable manner.

veraging on YCH’s proprietary The Last MileŽ (TLM) solution, our customers are able optimise route management and last mile distribution from their fulfilment centres. overall increase in logistical efficiency is gained through effective management of e last mile distribution network, enabling deeper reach and penetration into markets th challenging geographical layouts. Flexibility and scalability in infrastructural sign are also maximised through customised storage solutions which enable optimal vels of productivity.

INDIA | AUSTRALIA | HONG KONG | CHINA | KOREA

www.ych.com

ZALORA GROUP

accessories, sporting gear and beauty products. It sells the majority of these via its extensive online shop and mobile app to customers in seven countries across Asia. Not only has the company developed a strong presence in each of these countries, it has managed to achieve this in the face of a rapidly maturing and evolving market, where competitors close to the point of manufacture are all fighting for the same consumers.

Duri charts the journey ZALORA has taken to reach critical mass: “When we arrived the industry was definitely very far away from where an eCommerce industry should be. The learnings from developed e-comm markets like the US or China had not reached the market yet, so there was a lot of ground work that needed to be done.”

Since then the company has set about aligning its operations to suit both the nuanced fashion demands of the markets its serves while developing a supporting supply chain that is not only functional but also brings new competitive layers to the business.

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Supply chain and transformation Transforming ZALORA’s supply chain had to be approached from multiple angles, starting with the consolidation of its distribution centres into a single operation in Malaysia serving the majority of its markets.

“The key here is integration, on top of traditional e-commerce warehouse management systems and technology to manage our fulfilment centres,” notes Duri.

“The consolidation of our operation around a main hub based out of Malaysia was a great success for ZALORA. Despite major infrastructural changes in the order fulfillment, customer experience has remained untouched and our customers didn’t even perceive the change.

“We kept on delivering the next day to all destinations with exactly the same amount of orders we were doing the day before. This was a great team achievement and unique result in the e-commerce sphere made possible not only

S U P P LY C H A I N

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Automated guided vehicles from SSI Schaefer WEASEL® – Winner of the IFOY AWARD 2016 Innovations are developed with passion – and the latest WEASEL automated guided vehicle is no exception. The system has been designed by our SSI Schaefer engineers, who fully understand the requirements of our customers with regard to efficient intralogistics processes. The result is an automated guided vehicle that combines maximum performance with high cost-effectiveness. The WEASEL can be easily integrated into warehouse processes and masters almost all transport tasks for goods weighing up to 35 kg. The vehicle speeds up cycle times, without the need for permanently installed conveying systems or a complex control system. The solution is so impressive that it has been presented with the IFOY AWARD 2016 in the „Intralogistics Solutions“ category.

For more information about the cost-effectiveness and application areas of the WEASEL, please do not hesitate to contact us.

www.ssi-schaefer.com/weasel

Weasel® – innovative, creative, connective The automated guided vehicle (AGV) Weasel® from SSI Schaefer has been designed for internal goods transport. Its high flexibility and scalability allow for easy integration into warehouse transport processes.

From containers and cartons to miscellaneous products of various sizes, the Weasel masters practically every transport task.

I

ncreasingly short product life cycles and constantly changing market requirements call for a high level of flexibility. In some cases, tried and tested continuous conveyors are only able to satisfy this requirement to a limited extent. With the Weasel AGV, SSI Schaefer now offers an innovative solution that is highly impressive in terms of flexibility and scalability.

Changing customer requirements and fluctuations in demand can be managed at any time, both cost-effectively and at short notice.

Numerous advantages all add to the appeal of the Weasel. There are no access restrictions in the warehouse, creating room for personnel and material flow. The vehicles navigate along an optical track that can be installed quickly, easily and in a flexible manner.

Thanks to its compact design, this AGV can even be used in inaccessible areas.

From containers and cartons to trays or miscellaneous products of various sizes (up to 35 kg) the Weasel handles practically every transport task.

The goods are transported gently and securely to the intended destination.

Another advantage is the easy integration into existing systems. The Weasel is flexible in terms of system customisations and extensions. It can be integrated on a fixed or needs-related basis for handling peaks in output. Both manual and automated connections can be quickly established to internal goods flows.

Standardised control software permits a use independent from the customer

and its sector – there is no need for any complex installation and customisation work. As a result, short-term scaling of the system is no longer a problem. A fleet controller manages the orders generated by the in-house ERP system and assigns them to the relevant vehicles after release. The Weasel follows its route via predetermined waypoints. Power is supplied by maintenance-free rechargeable battery packs, which can be exchanged effortlessly via a quick-change frame and recharged. Low purchase and operating costs as well as low maintenance costs complete the profile of this AGV. With the new Weasel AGV, SSI Schaefer once again demonstrates a sustainable innovation and market-driven development while expanding its broad product portfolio.

www.ssi-schaefer.com/weasel

Your Go-to Global Specialist for

RETAIL SOLuTIONS In 2014, Zalora partnered APL Logistics as part of the company’s growth strategy to expand its presence rapidly across South East Asia. Throughout the partnership, APL Logistics has provided Zalora with the right solutions within the logistics spend.

APL Logistics prides itself to be innovative and adaptable. The dynamics of an ecommerce company deviates from the traditional brick and mortar set ups, and APL Logistics has stood up to the challenges to meet the requirement of fast growing Zalora.

In automating the processes through introduction of technology to reduce tedious manual work at the origins, APL Logistics has enabled Zalora to achieve cost savings as well as speed to market by having inventory readily available when cargoes arrive at the respective National Distribution Centre. This was not possible in the past with manual reworks required on the products at the destinations.

For more information, please visit www.apllogistics.com

Thanks to the partnership with

APL Logistics, ZALORA managed to achieve important productivity improvements inside its national distribution centers and smoothed out it’s upstream supply chain solutions leveraging the expertise and proficiency of APL Logistics in the industry. APL Logistics has been proved to be a trustworthy and visionnaire partner for a fast growing e-commerce player like ZALORA

ALESSANDRO DURI Regional Operations Director Zalora

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2000

Number of employees at Zalora

by the strong dedication of many Zalorians but also by our partners who supported us day and night.”

The company’s integration drive has benefited knowledge sharing with more developed economies and eCommerce markets: “ZALORA is part of a wider eCommerce fashion group; we share knowledge with our sister companies in Russia, Brazil, Middle East and Australia.”

Technology also plays a pivotal but sometimes difficult to manage role, Duri explains: “We have the

delivery data in our system, so that at any point in time we can provide visibility to our customers related to where their order sits.

“The industry generates a tremendous amount of data and it can be very challenging to put it all together. Integrating the various forms of system and data feeds into our databases and making them available to our customers is definitely a differentiation point with respect to competitors in this part of the world.”

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ZALORA GROUP

Thinking local “We have a very local footprint,” says Duri. “That is one of the key competitive advantages that we have in the market.” And this is no mean task. Given that not all of the countries covered by ZALORA can be reached by global logistics companies – not to mention patchy infrastructure connections – delivering world class order fulfilment becomes challenging.

But this has been surmounted.

“We’ve managed to partner with local logistics providers on our own in order to reach every corner of the country and provided a nationwide location delivery option to all customers,” Duri explains. “We cover first and second tier cities with our own fleet and then we partner with the local delivery providers that are key in order to have the best level of service and integration for our customers.”

And ZALORA’s plan isn’t to simply use local suppliers to fulfil a need – the company is actively engaging with them in order to enhance their capabilities. Duri says: “Across Southeast Asia, for example, on top

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“We have a very local footprint. That is one of the key competitive advantages that we have in the market�

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“As the fastest growing online fashion retailer in Asia, ZALORA adds hundreds of new products every week to its 100,000strong offering”

S U P P LY C H A I N

of building our own delivery fleet, we partnered and integrated into our data system more than 20 local providers assuring comparable service level and an enhanced offering to all our customers, no matter where they are located.

“Cash on delivery was another example. Back in 2012 only very few last mile delivery providers wanted to offer cash on delivery to customers. We patiently started with one of them, discussed and jointly developed the processes together and showed them that it was actually possible to perform this service at scale.

“In a short time this allowed us to be different to everyone else in the market and it became a virtuous cycle in the logistics industry. They see that together you can achieve certain results, and this allows you to raise them up to the next level.”

Alongside massively improved next day delivery services (more than half of the orders are delivered on the next working day across all Southeast Asia), ZALORA’s local strategy has enabled a

number of other key business benefits. By partnering with local convenience stores, the company has been able to offer customers free collections and returns, affording them an unprecedented level of service and choice.

“There is an educational component that we need to bring to markets with very low eCommerce penetration; we tried to build this confidence in the industry also through these added services. Convenience stores are a big request, especially in capital cities where the working hours are longer and customer wants to have something more convenient for when they are not at home,” Duri adds.

Having transformed its supply chain without compromising its dedication to the constantly evolving expectations of the modern fashion customer, ZALORA has found the sweet spot for supply chain management. Not afraid to invest in its partners in order to consistently meet customer expectations, the company’s future in Asia is assured.

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Written by Tom Wadlow Produced by Charlotte Clarke

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BURGER KING

Burger King India’s supply chain operation is expanding and innovating with suppliers at a rapid pace, leading the already popular QSR chain into new markets and territories

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urger King is enjoying a fast-track journey on a growth express in India; a journey which shows no sign of slowing down.

If anything, the quick service restaurant (QSR) operator is about to step up another gear as 60 stores becomes 100plus by 2017. The global fast food chain only arrived in the country towards the end of 2014, reaching 15 cities in very little time and offering added value through apps and home delivery much quicker than established rivals did several years ago.

A key driver of this expansion and a crucial backbone of ongoing product and service innovation is Burger King India’s supply chain,

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headed up by Chief Supply Chain Officer Sandeep Dey. Originally holding a packaging innovation background, Dey’s path took him from Unilever to franchise giant Yum!, where he spent six years heading up procurement operations for its brands before taking on the new challenge at Burger King. The journey has been non-stop since.

“The last 18 months has seen amazing growth,” Dey says. “We have successfully positioned our brand with consumers thanks to a uniquely localised menu, made entirely from scratch, with an incomparable guest experience.

“India is a unique market - the taste palate, though, is experimental; mostly people like to

BURGER KING

“As a brand that has just started from scratch, the initial phase involved very close collaboration over menus, kitchen equipment and logistics in order to launch successfully�

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savour the taste they are brought up with. That is why we have created an entirely new menu for India backed by extensive research and understanding of the local consumer preferences.

Special emphasis was given on the extensive vegetarian menu and both our vegetarian and non-vegetarian menu has been well appreciated by the guests across India.

“We are one of the fastest growing companies in the Indian QSR space and we welcome vendors operating in the industry to join us on the journey and leverage our growth.”

Supplier-led innovation Currently, Burger King India’s supply chain landscape contains fives distribution centres, 21 specialist multi-temperature trucks and around 20 vendors that are responsible for more than 140 skus. This amounts to a spend of 100 million Indian rupees a month, a figure set to double as more

restaurants open this year. The network helps to supply a menu containing a range of chicken, mutton and vegetarian products, form its best-selling whopper burgers to tandoori grills.

A rigorous vendor selection process ensures the food lives up to its customers’ high expectations.

This involves close examination

by Burger King’s global vendor approval programme as well as internal commercial and technical evaluations. Once approved, product samples are gathered and tested in labs at least twice a year.

Vista is the company’s most significant supplier partner, not only in India but also other parts of the world, providing the flagship whopper burger range and many of the menu’s value products.

Dey explains: “We work very closely with suppliers to get the most out of each other – this is our philosophy. As a brand that has just started from scratch, the initial phase involved very close collaboration over menus, kitchen

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BURGER KING

equipment and logistics in order to launch successfully. Our CEOs and top executives all communicate together to make sure we are all going in the same direction.

“Our Supplier-Led Innovation Programme (SLIP) involves partners coming up with their own ideas based on the gaps in our menu and the briefs we set them, who then work closely with our chefs and food scientists.”

Shortlisted entries then go on to consumer research, and once a winner is chosen it is test launched in a region before being rolled out across the wider network, with unsuccessful entries forming a promising backlog of innovation which can be tapped at a later date.

“The suppliers are also tasked to come up with cost reduction options through various product engineering, and we adopt the same process with multiple options being tested with customers in order to make sure quality is not sacrificed,” Dey adds.

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“We want to work with vendors who share this vision for innovation. We want to work with vendors who invest ahead of time in terms of people, processes and innovation capability so that we can achieve our goals together. Our volumes are going to increase quickly so there are some brilliant opportunities for suppliers all over the country.”

Rapid growth Burger King’s immediate rivals KFC and McDonald’s enjoy a reach of 350-400 stores across 30 or more cities, and it is these areas which Dey is targeting for quick expansion. The company is also committed to growing its presence in airports and train stations.

This presents a number of extra demands on the supply chain, but Dey has a number of initiatives in place. “We are creating regional distribution hubs ahead of time to become cost effective as we grow,” he says. “This involves opening a

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warehouse in an outsourced location which is already used by other QSR operators, meaning our overall costs will be reduced.

We are also encouraging our distribution partners to invest in these areas eight to 10 months in advance, ready for when we enter those markets.”

An example of this is distribution

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partner Coldex Logistics, which has raised close to US$20 million to expand its infrastructure and support Burger King’s future business activity.

Another way of controlling cost of sales in an expanding business is to get involved further upstream.

Burger King India has been negotiating with original ingredient suppliers on behalf of its own suppliers, speaking to farmers to ensure fair prices for higher volumes which will pass on savings further down the supply chain.

Technology is also helping Dey’s operations to become more cost effective. “We are optimising inventory levels with the help of technology,” he says. “Instead of analysing bases individually one store and one warehouse at a time, we can see everything in one system. We can see what products are where and how much is at each place – this takes away the need to create buffers.”

By continuing to grow quickly, innovate and impress customers

S U P P LY C H A I N

“Thanks to some extensive consumer research the new vegetarian, mutton and chicken products have been extremely well received and sales are phenomenally good” with its QSR experience, Burger King India is set to continue its express pace journey around the country. It is an exciting time for both its supply chain teams and suppliers, with Dey eager to welcome equally innovative and fast-moving partners on board.

“We want our suppliers to continue to invest with us, and we will continue to support and collaborate with our existing partners.

Vendors not associated with us we encourage to look at our growth and be part of it,” he concludes.

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A water business for tomorrow Written by John O’Hanlon Produced by Josef Smith

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U N I T Y WAT E R

George Theo CEO of Unitywater

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ENERGY

Unitywater operates in the heart of a booming sector of South-East Queensland. The water and sewerage utility is perfectly placed to leverage its youth and agility to meet the immediate needs of a growing population, while maintaining a sharp focus on the future.

U

nitywater was born against a backdrop of unprecedented industry reform.

In the early 2000s, the Queensland government made a decision to consolidate water and wastewater services, which previously had been the responsibility of local councils within South-East Queensland (SEQ). Australia had just endured the Millennium Drought, Queensland had suffered a full decade of record low rainfall and water security was the driving force behind much of the era’s decisionmaking. The political intent of Queensland’s water reforms was therefore to effectively droughtproof South-East Queensland.

In July 2010, Unitywater was established as part of this water

reform programme, as the entity that provides water supply, sewage and trade waste services to residential and business customers from Noosa in the north to Moreton Bay and the boundaries of Brisbane City in the south. In 2012 it was placed under the leadership of CEO George Theo, who brought a unique understanding of Queensland’s water challenges through 25 years’ experience in key roles within the water industry.

As it has been set up, Unitywater now has just three shareholders: the Noosa, Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay Councils, themselves reconfigured under a recent amalgamation programme.

It purchases bulk water from South-East Queensland Water (Seqwater) and distributes it to

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Industry Leading Technologies Through Strategic Partnerships

Detection Services is the largest leak detection specialist contractor in Australasia. Established in 1991, we are proud to be at the forefront of developing, sourcing and delivering better ways of managing our water resources.

Our success is grounded in offering our customers high quality results, measurable outcomes and long-term value.

Detection Services Queensland, Australia Phone: +61 448 893 274 Email: terryb@detectionservices.com.au

www.detectionservices.com.au

ENERGY

some 750,000 residents across the region. Another important part of its work is to collect, treat and dispose of sewage.

George Theo walked into a very complex situation when he took on the role of CEO. Unitywater was an amalgamation of six local authority water businesses serving the heavily populated and fast-growing area of South-East Queensland to the north of Brisbane. Moreton Bay Regional Council, for example, has

the third largest population of any local government area in Australia.

A lot of hard work lay ahead, he recalls: “We had inherited legacy and multiple technology systems that had to be replaced with fitfor-purpose systems – and we had to rationalise our accommodation as well as our extensive fleet of vehicles, plant and equipment. As an example, we were working out of 18 separate buildings; now we have just four.” In front of him lay

Maleny Sewage Treatment Plant

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U N I T Y WAT E R

the task of creating a refreshed, agile and people-focused business.

The technology challenge The legacy systems in use back in 2010 included two asset management systems, no fewer than 11 different supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems to remotely monitor and control water and sewerage assets, two geographical information systems (GIS), two people management and payroll systems and two finance platforms. On the other hand a proper document records system was non-existent, and the process for managing customer bills on a daily basis linked to consumption was inadequate. Clearly it was vital to replace the old technology systems with best-of-breed software.

Theo saw this as an essential part of the strategy to place Unitywater’s customers at the heart of the business by improving their customer experience with the organisation. The last six years have seen a huge amount of time and effort going into

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the task of transforming the IT platform and creating an agile and forward-thinking identity, and an inclusive culture.

The company delivered a consolidated asset management system based on IBM Maximo and ESRI ArcFM, a geographical information system to replace all those legacy systems. The result has been that staff working on managing the network, its treatment plants, its remote pump stations and water and sewerage fittings are able to tap in on portable devices to look at the condition of the assets, capture further information on condition and performance of assets and at the same time plan and cost any interventions that may be required. Our field workers are no longer just maintenance workers, he says, but information workers. “In SCADA alone we are now monitoring more than 1,000 different sites and operating them remotely using ClearSCADA installed by the IT automation specialist AIT. We have a human

ENERGY

Unitywater has made their customers’ experience an essential part of their strategy to improve the utility’s infrastructure

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Transforming Utilities.

Altis is Australia and New Zealand’s largest Information Management consultancy, partnering with utilities to reduce costs, improve decision making and efficiency, expedite strategic and regulatory reporting and discover new revenue streams.

Whether it’s analytics, big data, reporting or leveraging the cloud, Altis has the proven capability to deliver tangible outcomes across the utilities sector.

We draw on the experiences of our 90+ team members to provide ideas and solutions across the operational landscape including asset and works management, network performance, board and regulatory reporting, customer service, revenue assurance and credit management.

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ENERGY

resources information system (HRIS), and a single documents management system from Sydney-based Objective Corporation.”

This year, the organisation rolled out a business intelligence platform which is all about leveraging technology to achieve efficiencies.

A prime example of this is the current campaign to encourage customers to move from paper to electronic bills. Already more than 68,000 of 300,000 account holders have signed up to e-billing. “We are working hard to raise that number significantly. It’s all part of our goal to be a hassle-free business for our customers. We compare the Unitywater customer experience with other leading-edge service providers in banking, insurance, airlines and the like. They are our benchmark, not other water companies.

68k+ The number of customers with e-billing accounts

Unitywater’s e-billing service

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Digital technology is at the forefront of change, so we have embarked on a programme to make our website and online tools as simple as possible for our customers.”

Efficient – and green The technology transformation delivered a reduction in staff numbers from around 835 in 2010 to 708 today.

Over the last six years A$133 million of operating cost has been taken out of the organisation, and in the same period capital expenditure has come down by more than A$150 million each year compared to when the organisation was formed. Energy is a big part of

the cost of running a utility company, he points out, and in a programme to optimise the largest of Unitywater’s 17 sewage treatment plants (STPs), and the hundreds of pump stations he notes that in the last year alone A$1.2 million was saved on electricity cost.

Solar panels have been installed on the roof of one of the main administration buildings, saving 25 percent of its electricity use, he says. “At the same time we have looked at challenging the institutionalised operating arrangements in our network of water supply and sewerage assets, which has led to reconfiguring processes within the sewerage treatment plants, and taken a critical review of the way water and sewerage is transported through the network.” Over the long term, there are opportunities to make even greater savings at the STPs and within the network.

One major investment currently being considered is a wasteto-energy facility at

ENERGY

Solar array at Unitywater’s Northern Service Centre the Kawana sewage treatment plant: scheduled to open by late 2019. The plant will take the biosolids from other STPs and will also be able to use the fats, oils and greases generated by trade waste customers. “One of the goals we have as an organisation is to minimise our environmental footprint,” says George Theo. “The new plant will reduce our reliance on coal-fired plants. If we can find enough smart ways to generate energy we aim to become selfsufficient in 10 to 15 years. Over

the next three years though we will reduce our electricity consumption by 30 percent at this plant. In the future we may also produce enough bio-gas to potentially run a fleet of buses and vehicles.

Imagine taking the number 2 bus powered by bio-gas from a local sewage treatment plant, now that would be something!”

Another STP, at Maleny, won the award for Best Specific Environmental Initiative at the UN World Environment Day Awards, presented in Melbourne

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ENERGY

in June 2015. The award recognised a A$17 million investment in the plant, which uses a membrane bio-reactor to treat effluent to a very high standard before sending it to a newly created irrigated rainforest and wetlands area in the district. While he is very content to win awards of this sort – and with more than 30 in its pocket, he admits that looks like an addiction – what really makes him proud is the knowledge that while back in 2010 most of the STPs were non-compliant with their licence obligations, they are all fully compliant today.

“Maybe the biggest achievement on the STP front though was that we turned one off! By reconfiguring three plants, we were able to close one of them completely.” That project won Unitywater the

30+ The number of awards won by Unitywater for its projects

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national Infrastructure Project Innovation Award at the 2016 Australian Water Awards.

Training to succeed Theo set out to create a unified Unitywater culture based on the way the new organisation wanted to do business and to be recognised for a workforce that is safe in the work it does, agile, innovative and reliable in delivering customer and environmental outcomes that are wanted. The IT transformation is part of the new thinking, he says: “We need people who can respectfully challenge the status quo and be comfortable in the big data world by developing the

skills they will need to succeed. Are we ready to meet those challenges? We are heavily investing in and supporting our people to make sure they have every opportunity to succeed.” The better equipped they are, the better they can face up to the exponential growth of technology, data and customer expectations, he believes.

That’s why training has taken a front seat. It’s vital that all our people understand that Unitywater wants excellent leaders, why?

Because the workforce deserves to have excellent leaders.: Leadership can be learnt, he believes, and he has brought in a leading organisational psychology

“We have seen better decision making, better engagement, and people adding leadership to technical skills and enjoying the challenges before them” – George Theo, CEO Unitywater

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Unitywater Contact Centre company Change Focus to deliver a programme that uses well proven tools to make people aware of their leadership qualities and use them consciously. These include 360-degree feedback from peers, managers and subordinates. “We have given 100 people who have leadership roles within the organization objective information based on the feedback from the people they work with, then buddied them with organisational psychologists who give them one-to-one

coaching over twelve months.

Then we go back at the end of that period and re-run the 360 degree feedback.” This, he adds, reveals managers’ blind spots.

“We have seen better decision making, better engagement, and people adding leadership to technical skills and enjoying the challenges before them.”

In the fabric of the community Queensland has invested heavily in desalination plants, and notably, the state has installed a A$9 billion pipeline

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interconnector linking Noosa in the north to the Gold Coast in the south. “There is plenty of secure water for customers now – and we are finding the average water consumption is declining year on year.

The experience of the millennium drought changed behaviours and instilled a greater value in the mind of the public on how water is best used,” Theo reflects.

George Theo is passionate about corporate excellence, but his eyes really light up when he starts talking about community engagement.

“We don’t want to be just someone you get a quarterly bill from.” His headline initiative is the under-resourced, under-the-table issue of domestic violence, and supporting one particular

“The experience of the millennium drought changed behaviours and instilled a greater value in the mind of the public on how water is best used” – George Theo, CEO Unitywater

Laboratory staff testing water quality

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women’s refuge in Queensland.

“It’s a safe place for women and their children to escape to – some of them are fleeing quite horrific abuse.” Unitywater prides itself on its good gender balance and equal opportunities but facing the statistic that one in four Australians have either experienced domestic violence or know someone who has, a number of our employees must come into that category – and the rest need to be made

aware. As well as giving direct support to the refuge, Unitywater has programmes to teach staff about healthy relationships and raise awareness of the issue. “I am really pleased that we are taking a stand on the issue of domestic violence in our community,” he says. He wants his two young daughters and all young Australian children to grow up in a society where abuse is never tolerated.

The list of Unitywater’s social Creekside Greening Pine Rivers

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Deception Bay Men’s Shed members with Unitywater CEO George Theo engagement programmes and sponsorships is a long one. In 2013, it became a corporate sponsor of WaterAid, providing vital funds to help the charity improve access to safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation in the world’s poorest communities.

That’s a global initiative, on a local level it likes to bring local people and bush care groups together to support initiatives like the Creekside Greening programme.

Native seedlings are planted in

reserves and wetlands, resulting in improved water quality and habitat regeneration for a variety of wildlife. Unitywater also commits to sponsorship of local Men’s Shed facilities, which contribute to improved mental health and wellbeing of retired men, as well as a programme that gifts free books to children to improve the literacy of pre-schoolers. In a higher-profile gesture, the company doesn’t mind making some of its facilities available for large scale artwork

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“We are an innovative company with energetic and passionate people who are always challenging the status quo.

We want to continue to deliver minimal price increases through efficiencies and operational excellence” – George Theo, CEO Unitywater

Point Cartwright Reservoir with its artwork complete

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– the Ferny Hills, Caloundra, Peregian Beach and Pt Cartwright reservoir artwork projects have engaged whole communities and at the same time turned bland concrete reservoirs into bright pieces of eye-catching public art.

On the lighter side of social engagement, Unitywater is reaching its future customers through their universal passion, sport. “We are distributing tens of thousands of Unitywaterbranded drink bottles through sporting clubs and we want every child in the region to have one.

We also sponsor scoreboards at small locally run football and cricket grounds. We are keen to be seen as part of the fabric of the community.” Another initiative in the pipeline is to allow each of Unitywater’s employees the opportunity to take a day out on full pay to volunteer with local charities and community organisations.

There’s a sound business case for all these initiatives, George Theo concludes. Inclusiveness, of employees and customers,

is part of his vision for the company, reflecting the way he wants it to be positioned.

“We are an innovative company with energetic and passionate people who are always challenging the status quo. We want to continue to deliver minimal price increases through efficiencies and operational excellence.”

“We may be the only water partner our customers have for now, but that could change, so we treat our customers as if they could walk out at any point in our relationship. We’d like our customers to become our advocates so that when things go wrong, as they sometimes do, they will say that Unitywater is an excellent company that puts things right, listens, and always responds positively.”

Theo says: “We want to be different and we are keen to create something special at Unitywater that everyone can be proud of.”

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Building road

ds and breaking barriers

The Torrens Road to River Torrens Project is doing more than just improving the quality of a well-travelled route, it is also improving the quality of life for local residents in South Australia Written by Jennifer Johnson Produced by Tom Venturo

T2T ALLIANCE

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R

oad improvement projects can offer more than just a smoother road surface or reduced travel times to a local community. For the people of South Australia, the Torrens Road to River Torrens Project will bring social and economic — as well as logistical — benefits.

In 2015, the T2T Alliance, a consortium comprised of construction companies CPB and York Civil, consulting engineers Aurecon Australia and South Australia’s Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, broke ground on the originally-proposed project for a 3km non-stop roadway north of Adelaide. The scope of the project included 2km of lowered motorway; three lanes in each direction from South of Torrens Road to North of Ashwin Parade; parallel surface roads; two lanes in each direction, each side of the lowered motorway; improved cycling and pedestrian facilities and landscaping

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T2T ALLIANCE

$

896 million T2T Alliance annual revenue

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and noise barriers where required.

In December 2015, the project was expanded to include the grade separation of Torrens Road, increasing the scope of the project to 4km of nonstop roadway, with a 3km lowered motorway.

Approximately 30 to 50 thousand vehicles per day travel this section South Road, with only two lanes of traffic extending in each direction.

CONSTRUCTION

On paper, the scale of the project could seem indicative of a significant travel interruption for commuters.

However, the T2T Alliance is committed to ensuring that this isn’t the case, with all disruptive work taking place outside of business hours.

“We don’t actually alter any of the

existing travel lanes during the normal business hours through Monday to Friday,” says Paul Steendyk, Alliance General Manager. “We have had positive feedback from local stakeholders, businesses and residents. They very much value the fact that normal business and getting

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Paul Steendyk Alliance General Manager

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to work hasn’t changed. They can, therefore, allow the time at weekends to manage the impact of what we do.”

Both Steendyk and Jon Whelan, the Project Director, emphasise the importance of community consultation throughout the duration of works. Responsibility and respect are the values at the core of their interaction with the local residents.

“We have a strong community liaison group that has representation from businesses, local community and the surrounding council that meets to discuss the project on a regular basis,” Steendyk explains.

Ultimately, local people and businesses will be first to feel the positive impacts of the Torrens Road to River Torrens project, with an average of 480 jobs created during each year of the construction phase.

“This was the first major road infrastructure project that went to tender at that time,” says Whelan of the

construction market at the project’s inception. “This was near-on seen as the saviour for a lot of industries and a lot of people out of work.”

The T2T Alliance has committed to providing employment opportunities for a ‘target’ demographic identified by the Government of South Australia — including Aboriginal people, trainees and apprentices, local people with barriers to employment and displaced

Jon Whelan Project Director

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“With this project we put a lot of emphasis on urban uplift”

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automotive sector employees. Twenty percent of the project’s total onsite labour hours will be carried out by employees hired from the target group.

“With this project we put a lot of emphasis on urban uplift,” says Steendyk.

The landscaping and public spaces incorporated within the new road

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corridor are further designed with the wellbeing of local residents in mind.

“They’re not just concrete structures,” Steendyk says. “There is green space, some green area for people to use, noise walls. The existing traffic on the current road must have been unbearable at some properties.”

The T2T project is a part of a broader north-south corridor which is crucial for freight and commuter travel through metropolitan Adelaide. According to Whelan and Steendyk, the new road will improve travel times significantly.

“This road carries around the 10 to 15 percent commercial vehicles,” Steendyk says. “By actually improving the road network, not only the lowered motorway, but also the surface road, you’ll actually increase the productivity of freight and movement of produce within the local area.”

The safety of both road users and construction workers is a paramount

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concern for the T2T Alliance, and was factored into both the design and construction processes.

“When you build a new road corridor that incorporates a lowered motorway with three lanes in each direction and two lanes on the surface roads it is

about reducing the risk of crashes,” Steendyk says. “You’re separating the conflicts at intersections.”

‘Rubbernecking’ is a well-known phenomenon at construction sites, with drivers craning their heads to observe work in motion. T2T

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T2T ALLIANCE

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500

number of employees at T2T Alliance

workers are instructed to use a combination of ‘gawk screens’ and concrete barriers to ensure that prying eyes stay on the road.

At the end of the day, success in construction is about combining efficacy in design with effectiveness in execution. By all accounts, T2T is on the right track.

“It’s about having the right skill sets and being able to demonstrate a construction methodology that meets requirements and challenges,” Whelan says.

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Setting global standards in water security Written by Sarah Megginson Produced by Tom Venturo

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JOHN HOLLAND GROUP - UTILITIES DIVISION

John Holland’s utilities division offers end-toend solutions for complex issues surrounding the water cycle. But the projects that John Holland’s team delivers aren’t just at the peak of the industry standard. Rather, they are innovating at a global level, with world-first projects that are set to change the game

J

ohn Holland is one of the largest multi-disciplined engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors in Australia.

John Holland Water & Enviro, now rebadged to John Holland Utilities, offers end-to-end solutions to the Australian and international water sector, focused on meeting the needs and objectives of its customers and now with the ability to provide investment options such as Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Capabilities range across the complete water cycle including bulk water management, irrigation systems dam and pipelines, to complexed treatment solutions of

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water and wastewater. The division also looks after power and gas.

With operations throughout Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, the company has “established a strong reputation in the water market through deep engagement with our clients to fully understand their strategies and needs”, explains Mal Shepherd, Industry General Manager for Utilities.

“The Australian and global water and utilities market is being shaped by demand lead mega trends such as urbanisation, the food, water, energy nexus, climate change and technology.

Operating models are being

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re-shaped by major forces, such the changing role of the customer, as climate change, technological and we recognise the changing role advances and societal demands of our customers’ customers.” for smart and more livable cities.

Part of John Holland’s success The reality is that tomorrow is is owing to the passion and happening now. The question is pragmatism, which underscores how this changing environment will its approach to everything impact the future model of utility it sets out to achieve. companies, the effects of In this respect, it all comes which will be seen on back to the basics, which their assets, the is the fundamental technology that understanding that they deploy, how safe, clean water they are regulated is the bedrock of John Holland’s and customer a safe economy.

Utilities Division engagement.” is headquartered “John Holland Water as an in Melbourne has a rich history economic enabler in the water sector.

In a global context, We’ve been purely around 15 percent of all focusing on delivering services people – or more than 650 million and projects to the water sector for people – don’t have access to over 20 years, and with that comes clean, hygienic drinking water, a cohort of water professionals and at least that multiples circa within our business group who 1.8 billion again don’t have truly understand all aspects of access to good sanitation. the water cycle,” he explains.

These are facts that Shepherd “What really differentiates us in doesn’t treat lightly, as he believes the market, is that we recognise technological advances in the

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JOHN HOLLAND GROUP - UTILITIES DIVISION

provision of water security and reliable sanitation systems which are the key to a healthier and more prosperous future.

“Water has largely been recognised as an economic enabler, because without good water and sanitation in a country, it really limits their ability to grow their economy,” Shepherd says.

“Without good health in society you cannot establish industry. In our emerging water economies the health of the people within those economies is at times so desperate that their ability to generate any investment and economic activity is significantly impacted. If you consider developed economies, they have already gone through that passage of [understanding] the importance of water.”

The well-known Broad St pump in London has been used as an example of the impact that poor sanitation system and the effect on water quality can have of society.

Dr John Snow in 1854 mapped the well as the cause of the Cholera outbreak. In contemporary

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terms albeit different context the Flint Michigan underscored the importance of safe and reliable water sources,” Shepherd reflects.

As a result, water is an industry Shepherd is ‘very passionate about’.

“I consider water to be a finite resource,” he says. “We can look at desalinisation as an alternate water source, but not all countries have access to the ocean.”

In Australia, the oceans are not something we lack access to. Perhaps that’s why, in terms of desalinisation, John Holland Utilities has been at the forefront of the industry in Australia, delivering two of the nation’s desal plants: one on the Gold Coast and another in Sydney.

“Our first large-scale desalinisation project was the Gold Coast desalination plant, which was delivered under an alliance agreement as a collaboration between Veolia, The Gold Coast City Council and John Holland.

This project was initiated in response to the millennium drought, when water storages in

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“Water has largely been recognised as an economic enabler, because without good water and sanitation in a country, it really limits their ability to grow their economy”

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Queensland were approaching critical levels,” Shepherd says.

“The innovation was around the procurement and delivery model, and the ability within that model to quickly derive an efficient design, leveraging the experience of both John Holland and our technology partner, Veolia.”

The company has also worked on a number of other large-scale water projects in recent times, including a major capital works project with Melbourne Water, and a large-scale irrigation scheme in Christchurch, New Zealand. It has also carried out important work with Sydney Water.

Under-valued and under-rated – but not for long Despite his personal passion for the industry, Shepherd is well aware that water has a reputation as one of the most under-valued and underrated commodities in the world.

However globally, he is seeing a subtle shift in which water is being recognised for its true value, and for the economic

benefit it brings about.

“Water is a truly valuable commodity, yet in Australia, it is one of the most undervalued resources we have when you consider the relative low cost we pay for either urban and rural water,” he says.

“In Australia, we live in the driest continent in the world. As a result, the rest of the world looks to us in terms of the work we’re doing in river basin management and the irrigation space, along with the work we’re doing in the urban context to make our cities more livable.”

Creating a liveable city is one thing; creating an enterprise that is capable of existing completely off the grid is quite another. As the world’s population continues to grow, traditional agricultural practices are putting increasing pressure on our planet’s finite resources, which has led John Holland Utilities to partner on one of its most ambitious projects to date, for its client, Sundrop Farms.

Sundrop Farms is a solar thermal desalination greenhouse project

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that essentially decouples food production from those resources, by relying on nature’s abundance of sunlight and saltwater to grow the world’s food industry — not just profitably, but also sustainably.

“Sundrop Farms is using solar energy to provide power to the greenhouse, heat within the greenhouse, and to run the thermal desalination plant that provides water to the greenhouse,” Shepherd explains.

“It’s a truly ‘off grid’ agricultural enterprise, in that it can run predominately if not solely off of the water grid and off the power grid. It is the first time the combination of all of those pieces of technology has been brought together in one integrated solution.”

Sundrop Farms recently produced its first crop, and it will ultimately deliver around 16,000 tonnes of tomatoes to national supermarket chain, Coles.

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The farm is strategically located at Port Augusta in South Australia, due to its positive Direct Normal Irradiance, and also because its produce can be readily ferried to the eastern states and western Australia by intermodal transport..

“It’s an exciting project to be a part of and it’s certainly very satisfying to see that first crop of red tomatoes. As the world population increases, and we end up with a megatrend of urbanisation happening across some very large, intensively populated countries, how people are catered for is going to become an increasingly important question,” Shepherd says.

“Innovation and technology has no small part to play in the future of the water sector globally, and with continued urbanisation of the world, secure water is at the heart of creating economic prosperity, and liveable cities that meet societal needs.”

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Building Sustainable Cities for the Future

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SGBC

The Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) is in a very unique position: it is able to work very closely with the nation’s public agencies for building while also maintaining amiable relationships with the private sector.

D

eep involvement in the building and construction industry has allowed SGBC to observe the entire sector on a holistic level, taking into consideration every element of the value chain. This allows for a myriad of specially tailored programmes and initiatives custom-made to each and every demand.

At its core, SGBC advocates green building technology and design as well as driving environment sustainability in the building and construction sector. With the onset of global warming and climate change, buildings are in a great position to help mitigate the effects as they are responsible for 50 percent of the world’s carbon emissions while occupying only three percent of the Earth’s total land mass. Therefore, there is a lot of room for green building to combat this global issue, but it has to be an industry-wide effort in order to effect actionable change.

As a members-based organisation, SGBC counts more than 400 active companies and organisations in its growing membership. Once again reflecting its unique position in the ecosystem, SGBC’s membership consists of a number of Singapore government agencies.

In fact, representatives from key government agencies

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sit on the Board of the SGBC, helping to formulate and drive programmes together with their partners from the private sector.

Membership from the private sector is also diverse, counting listed developers, architectural firms, building consultants as well as building product manufacturers and suppliers. While the bulk of SGBC’s membership is rooted in Singapore, some international corporations operating in the regional space are also corporate members, tapping on SGBC’s network and expertise to create or better their foothold in the local marketplace.

Being a lean organisation, SGBC relies on its wide network

of like-minded organisations and individuals to fuel the green building movement in Singapore.

Collaborating with member organisations, SGBC regularly organises workshops, seminars and conferences to build knowledge and capability on green building.

Topics for these events range from improving energy efficiency in existing buildings to the benefits of using green building products, ensuring that every knowledge gap can be addressed.

Building on feedback, SGBC has organised a number of informal networking sessions for its member companies. Held in a cosier location, these Thirstday networking

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sessions allow representatives from SGBC member companies to let their hair down and mingle over food and drink, in the process striking up new friendships and possibly new collaborator partnerships. These sessions have received a tremendously good response, and SGBC will continue to organise more of these in future, perhaps with varying themes.

For the Industry, by the Industry Apart from helping the industry indirectly through its capabilitybuilding programmes and initiatives,

SGBC also takes a more direct approach to aid the industry in going green. The Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP) labelling scheme is the first and only dedicated green building product assessment programme, evaluating and rating green building materials through a holistic framework.

Each assessable product category is under the charge of its corresponding technical committee, which are in turn under the overwatch of SGBC’s Board Technical Coordinator.

These technical committees are made up of industry professionals

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well-versed in their respective fields and meet regularly to develop assessment criteria for specific products, review existing criteria to reflect changes in the dynamic business environment as well as to provide crucial advice on complex certification cases.

This essentially allows for the SGBP criteria to be self-regulating: project demands and changing public expectations will influence the yardstick to define green building products, confirming its continued relevance in an ever-changing marketplace.

The SGBP is also highly

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recognised by Singapore’s national green building rating tool the Green Mark Scheme (administered by the Building and Construction Authority), with SGBP products able to score bonus points for the projects they are used in, contributing to a higher Green Mark rating. This ultimately results in a greener, healthier building. To date, there are over 900 SGBP-certified products out in the market, with varying degrees of use in buildings.

To encourage more industry players to obtain certification for their products, SGBC has collaborated with SPRING Singapore to provide eligible building manufacturers and suppliers with Capability Development Grant (CDG) support for their standards adoption and accreditation projects. The CDG is a government scheme which supports SMEs’ upgrading efforts in 10 business areas, including projects that enhance their quality and standards. Eligible SMEs may apply for the grant to defray

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up to 70 percent of qualifying certification-related costs for up to two green building products (capped at $30,000 per project).

This grant covers product testing, development and enhancement costs, allowing product companies to green their product line to the requirements of SGBP certification without being discouraged by the costs involved. The CDG also supports SMEs’ ISO 14001:2015 certification projects, helping companies adopt international environmental management standards and improve their green credentials – essential aspects for companies that aim to gain prominence in the building and construction sector.

About Better Places for People As the general public grows more cognisant of green building, there is a need to raise awareness on what green building means.

Although people are used to living, playing and working in buildings, not everyone appreciates or

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understands the full spectrum of what green building actually entails. Research has also shown that a building’s design has a direct impact on the health, wellbeing and productivity of its occupants.

To address this gap, the World Green Building Council has launched an awareness programme called Better Places for People.

Just like its name suggests, the programme revolves around creating better places for people to live, work and play in through the adoption of green building design and technologies. SGBC works with the BCA and its programme

partners to bring this initiative to Singapore, tailored to the local context and situation. Through a series of powerful talks that gather expertise from a broad swathe across the entire building and construction value chain, the average man-on-the-street is able to glean a much better idea of what a green building is and what he/she can do to improve productivity in the office.

Banking on its unique position in the industry, SGBC will continue to explore new ways to advance the green building movement locally and beyond.

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