Nine CCs to lead South West District’s eco-friendly movement

SINGAPORE — Nine community clubs (CCs) in the South West District will lead the district’s latest green effort by implementing eco-friendly practices such as setting air-conditioning temperatures at 25°C on their premises.

The move is part of the newly launched Cool CCs @ South West programme, aimed at inculcating green habits among residents through the CCs.

“Our CCs are important social gathering places for the community and provide many touchpoints with our residents. We visit CCs for sports, recreation, social interactions or enrichment activities,” Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu said at today’s (Oct 4) launch.

“Our CCs use energy resources and generate various types of waste. Hence, we believe our CCs are in prime position to set an example for the entire community.”

Ms Fu is also the Member of Parliament for the Yuhua single-seat ward and the adviser to Yuhua grassroots organisations.

The nine participating CCs are Ayer Rajah, Bukit Batok East, Bukit Gombak, Clementi, Gek Poh Ville, Hong Kah North, Jurong Spring, The Frontier @ Pioneer, and Yuhua.

South West District Mayor Low Yen Ling said her team will be working to bring the district’s remaining 11 CCs on board.

All participating CCs will be given starter packs that include educational posters and stickers with energy-saving tips to be pasted on their premises. 

They will also receive a complementary audit by the National Environment Agency to identify areas for improvement.

Besides adjusting air-conditioning temperatures higher, other practices the CCs will adopt include switching off appliances at the wall sockets and switching off lights whenever users have finished using the rooms and facilities.

Yuhua Community Club Management Committee vice-chairman James Teo said the initiative will allow the CC to “positively influence” more residents to adopt practices that can lead to better energy savings.

“Before this, the air conditioners were usually set around 22 or 23°C. Through this initiative, we’re going to place labels at places where the air-con remote controls are, and ... remind our residents to set the temperature at 25°C,” he said.

“We’re hoping that we’ll be able to save about 10 to 15 per cent of our monthly energy usage.”

Ms Fu noted that the South West community has always been an advocate of the environmental movement.

For the 11th time, the district will be awarded the annual Clean and Green Singapore Best Community Achievement Award, which Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will present on Oct 31.

“Over the past year, we’ve rolled out a total of 85 district-wide environmental programmes, involving almost 30,000 volunteers, reaching out to nearly 800,000 residents,” said Ms Fu, who urged people to continue supporting the district’s green programmes.