Singtel Sustainability Report 2012

		Manage wastes and hazardous materials responsibly		Manage efficient energy consumption		Reduce impact on climate change and GHG emissions		Conserve and manage water usage
		Other environmental issues		FY2012 Performance		FY2013 Targets

01 02 03

Hazardous and non-hazardous waste

The responsible disposal of waste materials generated within our operations is a key focus of our environmental management programme. We have continued to monitor our major sources of waste and track targets to assess the types and amount of materials we dispose of.

We ensure that all hazardous electrical and electronic components as well as inflammable fuels are handled and disposed of responsibly, by registered and licensed waste management companies.

The disposal of lead acid batteries has fallen by 12.1% this year, from 376 to 324 tonnes. The sharp increase in scrap copper cables to 1,418 tonnes in FY2012 compared to 958 tonnes the previous year was mainly due to the commencement of a replacement initiative to install optical fibres as an alternative to copper cables. There was also an increase in scrap optical fibre cables, up to 602 tonnes compared to 372 tonnes in the previous year.

Non-Hazardous Waste
(tonnes)

This was mainly due to underground cable re-routing undertaken as part of a major public transport project. All affected fibre cables had to be removed and scrapped, and resulted in our overall hazardous waste generation increasing by 37% in FY2012.

For non-hazardous waste, general solids waste decreased significantly from 2,532 tonnes in FY2011 to 1,711 tonnes in FY2012. Cafeteria waste generated increased to 374 tonnes in FY2012 from 229 tonnes in the previous year.

Hazardous Waste
(tonnes)

Moving forward we will explore an e-tender initiative which will enable vendors to bid for projects online. This initiative will reduce paper usage and carbon emissions by eliminating the need for physical tenders to be delivered to Singtel’s headquarters.

We have increased the procurement of FSC Certified A4 paper to 8%, despite a 13% cost premium compared to non-FSC paper. Our Singtel-branded 100% recycled paper bags are used at our retail shops as well as the new bio-degradable plastic bags for the trading-in of mobile phones.

In FY2012, we started tracking the amount of paper purchased as well as the consumption of paper via the Managed Printing System (MPS). With more MPS initiatives planned in the year, we expect to further reduce the use of paper.