Public Transport Day: Promoting Carbon Offsetting in Singapore

Some companies pay lip service to carbon offsetting. We look at one firm which has taken the proactive approach.

Some companies pay lip service to carbon offsetting, while others take a more active role in promoting it among their people. We look at one firm which has taken the proactive approach.

In Singapore, owning a car is expensive. In addition to having to pay a super-tax on the car, a would-be owner would also have to pay for the privilege of buying a car (a so-called Certificate of Entitlement), in addition to steep driver license fees, unsubsidized fuel and of course, Electric Road Pricing (ERP).

As an obvious result, the vast majority of Singaporeans take public transport to and from work, which is not that difficult given the excellent and extensive coverage of the rail and bus systems, as well as fairly affordable taxi fares.

One of the ways that KPMG Singapore promotes public transport awareness is to hold regular public transport days, in order to help reduce the carbon footprint. In recognition of people who take public transport, and others who give up their cars and make an effort to do so, the firm gives out “green” things on those days. In the previous month, they gave out green apples with stickers attached to them.

It’s a nice gesture, and even though small, does provide internal marketing to show that the firm does care about their role in society.