Samsonite upcycles pre-loved luggage with sustainable plastic collaboration

Samsonite Singapore has teamed up with Singapore design company STUDIO DAM to upcycle pre-loved luggage following the launch of its 2022 Luggage Trade-In campaign.

Under the terms of the Luggage Trade-In campaign, pre-loved luggage can be traded in at any Samsonite retail store until April 30. For every piece traded, Samsonite Singapore has committed to a S$10 donation to the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF-Singapore).

The Luggage Trade-In Campaign forms part of Samsonite Singapore’s strategy for environmental responsibility, which focuses on the whole journey – from how Samsonite Singapore’s products are made to how they endure; how the company plays its part in reducing its impact on the planet and how it ensures that its people, partners and communities engage in and benefit from this progress. This sustainable push supports a design agency that champions recycling efforts.

In a bid to support a circular economy, Samsonite Singapore’s tie-up with STUDIO DAM, a firm of sustainable design in Singapore, will see pre-loved luggage upcycled into two-piece sets of coasters which customers can redeem at Samsonite’s ION (#B3-08) and Suntec City outlets (#01-463/466, North Wing). The offer begins in May, with details to be posted on Samsonite’s social networks (Instagram: @samsonite_sg). 

Said Samsonite’s SEA Head of Marketing and Brand Strategy Hazlina Dayangku: “We are pleased to share the news of our partnership with STUDIO DAM in our ongoing efforts to reduce wastage and increase sustainable initiatives within our company. It’s truly encouraging for us that travellers have embraced this campaign and we take this as a positive move forward towards creating a beneficial impact on the way we engage with our sustainable goals.”

Source: Samsonite. STUDIO DAM is working
with Samsonite Singapore to morph used
luggage into brand-new items that stay
true to the brand's sleek identity.

STUDIO DAM is a multidisciplinary design studio which focuses on upcycling waste through its DAM GOOD PLASTIC enterprise into a variety of products including trays, coasters and plant pots. Said Matthijs Rikken, Co-Founder – Creative Director – Maker: “From preloved luggage to 100% upcycled all-purpose trays, this collaboration between Samsonite and DAM GOOD PLASTIC is so meaningful as we witness the company taking steps to create a tangible, 100% up-cycled plastic object made locally in Singapore from their own waste.”

Formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund, WWF-Singapore is an international non-governmental organisation founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. Samsonite’s donations to WWF-Singapore go towards the environmental group’s No Plastic In Nature Initiative, Plastic ACTion (PACT), a programme that empowers companies to adapt their business models and processes to be more resource-efficient.

Priceless Planet Coalition expands

Mastercard has welcomed new global coalition partners to the Priceless Planet Coalition, as well as environmental experts to the newly-announced Advisory Committee.

New partners based in the Asia Pacific and Middle East (APME) include: Australia's Archa, Emirates NBD, Expo 2020 Dubai, Frank Green of Australia, UAE-headquartered payments solution provider Network International, and Australian fintech 1derful join existing coalition members from the US and UK. New partners HSBC and Scotiabank have a significant presence in APME, while another new partner, payment solutions provider EedenBull, has Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore.

Launched in January 2020, the Priceless Planet Coalition unites the efforts of consumers, financial institutions, merchants and cities to fight climate change through the restoration of 100 million trees over five years – together with climate science and forest restoration experts Conservation International (CI) and World Resources Institute (WRI). Coalition partners in multiple regions are launching campaigns to enlist consumers in environmental action and reforestation efforts with innovative donation technologies.

“Mastercard is committed to building a more inclusive and sustainable digital economy, where people, communities and the planet can thrive. Through the Priceless Planet Coalition, we are empowering our global network of partners and consumers – who share our commitment to being a force for good in the world – to unite in action and create exponential impact for the environment,” said Jorn Lambert, Chief Digital Officer, Mastercard.

“We continue to embed sustainability into the very fabric of our business – including our digital product strategy – as more consumers look to change their behaviour and make mindful spending choices that are better for the planet.”

A new Advisory Committee will support the development of the Priceless Planet Coalition’s work. Committee members will use the latest scientific research and data to ensure that the Priceless Planet Coalition makes the greatest positive impact on both the climate globally and on local communities.

Core to the Priceless Planet Coalition’s mission is empowering and inspiring consumers to take action against climate change. The Priceless Planet Coalition aims to reinforce a restoration model that’s not only focused on planting trees, but on regrowing forests in geographies with the greatest need and most potential for a positive climate, community and biodiversity impact. 

Guided by CI, WRI, and its new Advisory Committee, the Coalition plans to use rigorous science-based best practices to identify three restoration locations for 2021 in Kenya, Brazil and Australia. Beyond these initial projects, the project portfolio will be expanded to include other locations that meet established criteria.

Mastercard continues to develop environmentally-conscious solutions that enable more people to embrace a sustainable lifestyle through their spending choices:

- A collaboration with the Swedish fintech startup and new coalition partner Doconomy enables people to track, understand and take accountability of their environmental footprint through digital tools that set a new standard for purpose-driven payment solutions.

- For people interested in contributing to reforestation projects and other environmental causes, a Mastercard donation platform and soon-to-be-available mobile app enable direct donations to the reforestation partners of the Priceless Planet Coalition and round up everyday purchases.

- Mastercard also offers a widget, a web API that can facilitate banks and merchants to enable cardholder donations in diverse points of the consumer journey.

- Mastercard is also embedding the coalition into loyalty programmes run on behalf of issuers and merchants. For example, the company will enable cardholders to redeem reward points for trees through their gift catalogue and in real time through Mastercard Pay with Rewards.

- To enable issuers to offer cards made from more sustainable materials, Mastercard recently launched the Sustainable Materials Directory, encouraging wider adoption of certified eco-friendly solutions. Mastercard has approved 34 different sustainable card products to date, which have been issued by more than 60 financial institutions.

- Mastercard continues to target the reduction of first-use polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and to research alternative materials for cards, including recyclable, bio-sourced and biodegradable material in collaboration with leading vendors through its leadership of the Greener Payments Partnership (GPP).

Earlier this year, Mastercard was the first in the payments industry to receive approval from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for an updated emissions target, which aligns to a 1.5-degree Celsius climate trajectory. The company also joined RE100, formalising a commitment to continue using 100% renewable energy across all of its global operations.

Hashtag: #pricelessplanet

Six Senses joins Global Tourism Plastics Initiative

Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas has become one of the first signatories of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, led by the UN Environment Programme and UN World Tourism Organization, in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

As a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, Six Senses furthers its commitment to eliminating, innovating and circulating its use of plastics by 2025, although the brand is on its way to being plastic-free in 2022.

According to Six Senses, sustainability is the only choice in a shared world of limited natural resources and fragile ecosystems. "It demands doing what is right rather than what is easy," the company said in a statement.

"This strategy is based on the life cycle assessment of plastics and understanding the impact these products have on the environment from fossil fuel extraction through to disposal. It’s an approach that focuses on upstream suppliers, seeking innovative solutions and promoting a de-plasticised lifestyle by providing more sustainable alternatives," the company said.

Under the Global Tourism Plastics initiative, Six Senses has pledged to:

- Eliminate remaining unnecessary plastic packaging from our rooms and bathrooms by 2022.

- Eliminate all unnecessary plastic packaging from service areas by 2022.

- Introduce more reusable solutions in kitchens to replace unnecessary plastic packaging (cling film and plastic packaging of fresh products) by 2022.

- Introduce reusable solutions in service areas (host shops) to replace single-use packaging by 2022.

- Source naturally compostable packing and other materials where appropriate.

- Work with suppliers to avoid plastic packaging, source plastic-free alternative products, and arrange packaging take-back programs wherever possible.

- Work with other hotels and industry partners to share best practices, supplier recommendations, and other information to help the industry move away from plastic.

- Sort all waste materials, upcycling or composting when possible on site, sending to offsite recycling where available - all with the aim of zero waste to landfill.

Six Senses is already committed to:

- Eliminating all plastics from its operations by the year 2022, with priority on single-use plastics and going beyond that to remove 100% virgin plastic sourcing.

- Zero waste to landfills as a general goal for all Six Senses resorts.

- Continuing its policy of no single-use shampoo and amenity bottles, plastic water bottles and plastic straws.

“The travel industry is growing at a rapid rate on a planet that has limited natural resources. That means all hospitality leaders have a responsibility to stand up and be accountable for making a sustainable difference and achieving measurable results. Our health and wellness ethos is around making our guests feel better inside and out, so it makes sense for our social and environmental policies to make them feel good about their choice of vacation and their impact on the ecosystems around them too,” said Neil Jacobs, CEO, Six Sense Hotels Resorts Spas.

Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas manages 15 hotels and resorts and 28 spas in 20 countries under the brand names Six Senses, Evason and Six Senses Spas, and has signed a further 27 properties into the development pipeline. Six Senses is part of the IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) family.

*As of June 2020

The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative is developed by the Sustainable Tourism Programme of the One Planet network, a multi-stakeholder partnership to implement SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production. The Global Tourism Plastic Initiative acts as the tourism interface of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.

Source: Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas. A plastic-free
table setting with a glass water bottle and two glasses.

The initiative unites more than 450 businesses, governments, and other organisations behind a common vision and targets to address plastic waste and pollution at its source. To realise this vision, tourism companies and destinations commit to eliminate the plastic items they don’t need; innovate so all plastics they do need are designed to be safely reused, recycled, or composted; and circulate everything they use to keep it in the economy and out of the environment.

By taking serious action in a coordinated and determined manner on plastic pollution, the tourism sector can help preserve and protect the places and wildlife that make destinations worth visiting.

Reduce waste and help others through the Freegood app

- Freegood app to facilitate giving away and getting goods for free to reduce waste and help others

- Seamless transaction to give and get things for freeSave the environment and foster community spirit

Free Good, a Singapore-based startup founded to inspire good in people through giving, has developed a social app to help give away and request for goods.

Source: Play Store. Screen captures from the Freegood app.

The free Freegood app was created to provide a hassle-free platform for individuals and organisations to give and receive goods for free. Users to request for and list their own items, as well as arrange meetups with other users of the platform. Location-based functionality matches users with similar listings within a community for convenience, and an in-app currency called Tokens allow users to show their appreciation.

Said Free Good co-founder Sidharth Bhasin, "It's a known fact that the world has a waste problem that has been fuelled by commercialism.  People constantly buy things, sell things and throw things. We have countless apps out there that have made it easy for people sell things with an emphasis on 'me' and making money, however there is nothing out there that makes it easy for people to help others by giving away unwanted items - and saving the environment. So, we created Freegood and our mission is to Inspire good in people through giving and that is exactly what our mobile app aims to do."

"Doing good for the environment and helping others at the same time should be made as easy as possible," added Free Good co-founder Yuvi Bhasin. "With Freegood we address both those challenges.  Unique features in the app ensure that users get tokens of appreciation when they successfully give things away. Ultimately it's all about doing good and feeling good."

Details:

Freegood is available for iOS and Android devices.  

Environmentally friendly GROHE smart water system growing in popularity in Asia

Source: GROHE. The GROHE Blue system in action.

The GROHE Blue smart water system has seen significant takeup in Asia since a May 2014 study* which found that its carbon footprint is smaller than that of bottled mineral water. 

Estimated greenhouse gas emissions were 17.96 g CO2-eq/litre for the GROHE Blue system against emissions of 70 to 600 g CO2-eq/litre for bottled mineral water, depending on the type of packaging and the place of origin. The values achieved by GROHE Blue are also lower than those of conventional water dispensers, which range from about 35 to 50 g CO2-eq/litre. This means that GROHE Blue allows users to save greenhouse gas emissions of at least 25 to 50% over other alternatives. 

The system supplies filtered and chilled water in three different variants - sparkling, medium and still - directly from the same custom kitchen faucet, allowing different users in an organisation to enjoy their preferred type of water at any time. Unlike typical office potable water arrangements, no bottles have to be filled, transported or recycled in order to obtain the three types of water from a GROHE Blue system, which adds to its environmental friendliness.

Dorit Grueber, GROHE’s Vice President (Marketing), Asia, noted that Asian businesses are becoming more green and are attracted to GROHE Blue especially in matured markets, where their employees are more time-strapped.

There is definitely an increasing trend as consumers become more environmentally conscious," she said, naming Vodafone and Miele as customers of the product. "Since the publication of the study, we’ve seen a significant increase in orders that have been recorded, especially in the B2B sector. The main attraction for GROHE Blue for businesses would be the convenience of getting filtered water straight from the faucet, and an outstanding design which combines pure drinking water and washing water in a single faucet."

*The May 2014 study was carried out by the Production and Logistics Chair of GeorgAugust University in Göttingen in cooperation with Grohe. Between July and November 2013, the scientists of Göttingen University compared the carbon footprint of one litre of water tapped from the GROHE Blue system with the footprint of one litre of bottled water. The scenario was based on the assumption of 30 users per day who drink one litre of bottled water on 220 days of the year over a period of five years. The calculation of the carbon footprint covered all five lifecycles of GROHE Blue and of bottled mineral water, which range from production and transport of the raw materials as well as transport of the finished product to consumption and disposal. 

EIU identifies six areas of growth for Asia

The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU's) "industry dynamism" barometer, commissioned by InvestKL, Greater Kuala Lumpur's investment promotion agency, has seen a bright future for six industry sectors across Asia: engineering services, environmental technology, food processing, healthcare, oil & gas, and wholesale & retail. 

The findings indicate that continued corporate investment in Asia will support longer-term opportunities. Speaking at the launch of six reports under the barometer umbrella, Zainal Amanshah, CEO of InvestKL, said that the findings "reinforce the importance of Asian cities as drivers of the region's growth." 

The six sectors are:

Engineering Services 

Rapid economic growth has translated into engineering opportunities for US$8 to US$9 trillion of new infrastructure needed between 2010 and 2020. Asia's engineering companies are growing at breakneck speed as they capitalise on these opportunities. Between 2005 and 2011, the approximately 120 engineering companies listed on the region's stock exchanges grew top-line revenues by an average of 20% every year. 

"Remarkable rates of economic growth make Asia the part of the world for engineering services firms, with this region accounting for 36.6% of global GDP in 2013, up from 26.8% in 2001," said Amanshah of the findings in this sector, which is also a key economic area identified by the Malaysian government.

Environmental Technology  

Policy support for renewable energy in Europe may have fallen, but is strong in Asia. Asia is experiencing record levels of cleantech investment – across the six years of this study, value of fixed assets per company increased by an average of 9% every year. The combined revenues of Asia's cleantech firms more than doubled from 2005 to 2011, while growth rates were at nearly 13% a year for the same period.

"The huge wave of urbanisation sweeping Asia requires a lot more investment in ensuring our urban environments and infrastructure are more efficient," Amanshah noted. "The opportunities for companies that can provide sustainable solutions limiting the environmental impact of our rising population are significant - to put them into context, this region already emits more carbon dioxide than the US, EU and Russian Federation combined."

Food Processing 

Rapid urbanisation is changing food consumption patterns, and creating opportunities for more efficient distribution, including upstream into rural supply chains. Asia's food companies are thriving as they leverage these opportunities. Between 2005 and 2011, the 400 or so food companies listed on the region's stock exchanges grew top-line revenues by an average of 23% every year.

However, companies will need to invest in innovation in order to tailor their products to the diverse local taste preferences across the region – global brands will have to localise their products, while Asia will be a source of new home-grown food ideas (such as the halal-certified food market). 

"We already account for more than half of the world's population. By 2040, we will add another 800 million people to our count – all of whom are rapidly getting richer," said the CEO of InvestKL. "Asia's spending on food is forecast to double between 2007 and 2050 in real terms – representing three quarters of the global increase over the same period."
 
Healthcare

In the hospital sector, Asia will need an additional 180 million new hospital beds in the next decade. In pharmaceuticals, Asia's market will grow more than 13% annually – from US$214.2 billion in 2010 to US$386bn by 2016.
 
In 2007, Asia and Oceania together accounted for 18.1% of global biomedical research. By 2012, that share had grown to 23.8%. Between 2005 and 2011, revenues at Asia's listed healthcare fims rose by almost 23% a year. Profits rose even more swiftly, by 31% a year.
 
Challenges on the horizon include competition that is intensifying as the number of firms entering the sector grows. Costs, especially labour-related, are rising rapidly. And regulations are getting much more stringent as a growing middle class demands greater safety, security and consumer protection. 

With populations and incomes rising, Amanshah noted that "health spending is growing even faster – Asia's share of world health spending is expected to rise from 21% in 2012 to 24% by 2017. Although parts of our region's population are still in need of basic healthcare services, more and more are beginning to require treatment for 'diseases of the affluent'." 

Oil & Gas

"ExxonMobil expects a significant rise in Asia's share of global energy consumption, from 38% in 2010 to 45% by 2040," said Amanshah. "Meeting this rising demand for oil and gas in this region will be challenging, even though some countries are net energy exporters (such as Malaysia and Brunei)."
 
Growth in the demand for gas will outstrip all other fuels, given its cleaner environmental characteristics and superior flexibility.
 
Most countries import more than they produce. BP calculates that Asia produced 8.3 million barrels of oil a day in 2012, or 9.6% of global production, but consumed 29.8 million barrels of oil a day, 33.5% of global consumption. 

Despite being a net energy importer, the Asia Pacific region still has plenty of potential for upstream development. The biggest opportunities exist in new gas fields, such as in Myanmar and Papua New Guinea. In order to extract gas from Asia's more complicated fields, regional oil and gas companies are investing more heavily in new technologies. In 2011, Asia's 50 listed oil & gas firms spent US$2.13 billion on R&D, up from US$368 million in 2004.

Given the landscape of opportunity in Asia, the region's listed oil and gas companies are reporting strong revenue growth. In 2004, revenue per company in the sector stood at US$2.9 billion. By 2011 that had grown to US$10.2 billion, an average annual growth rate of 20%.
 
But while growth is rapid, the industry also faces challenges in the form of increased competition and costs, and talent shortages. These issues contributed to the return on capital employed for Asia's listed oil and gas sector falling from 19% in 2004 to 8.3% in 2011.

Wholesale and Retail

"The population of Asia is predicted to be 4.6 billion by 2040, with average consumer wealth rising in tandem," said Amanshah. "To put the impact of this population increase in perspective, in 2001 Asia accounted for 26.8% of global GDP measured using purchasing power parity – by 2013, our share had risen to 36.6%. Significant urbanisation and penetration of modern retail formats are driving sales."
 
Asia's homegrown retail companies are growing. Between 2005 and 2011, revenues at Asia's listed retail and wholesale firms rose by an average of 21% every year. Most of this growth was organic in character. Between 2013 and 2018, the EIU forecasts that retail sales in Asia Pacific will grow by 10.2% every year, whereas globally retail sales will grow by only 6.9% a year. In 2013, Asia had 80m square meters of modern retail space, but this will rise to 135m square meters by 2018. 


Retail opportunities are highly varied, from mass market grocery chains and fast-food outlets to high-end fashion stores and luxury boutiques. The opportunities for online retail look especially good, with growth rates of close to 17% a year.  

While topline growth is exciting, a number of structural issues are making profits growth harder to achieve. Human capital with retail skills is in short supply, forcing companies to invest heavily in training. Wages are rising, with staff costs up from 3.5% of operating revenues in 2005 to 5% by 2011.

Further reinforcing the eastward shift of power is a study by McKinsey & Co quoted by the EIU in the reports, which notes that 420 cities in emerging markets (more than half of which are in Asia) are expected to contribute 45% of global GDP growth between 2010 and 2015. The report further notes that Southeast Asia will have many significant economic engines of its own, with urban population growth and productivity improvements rising faster than in rural areas, driving incomes up at a much faster pace. This combination of faster population growth and faster income growth led the EIU to conclude that it "makes cities the dynamos of the future".

The six papers, covering engineering services, environmental technology, food processing, healthcare, oil & gas, and wholesale & retail sectors, can be found here.