Wei-Shan Chua’s eldest son has always had eczema attacks whenever there is an adverse change in weather conditions and temperatures.
A while ago, the 35-year-old noticed that the change in weather conditions was getting more frequent – and her son’s eczema attacks.
She figured the occurrence was because of climate change, as she had seen the news about rising sea levels and forest fires.
She said: “It is quite worrying that climate change does not just affect our health, it also affects our lifestyle, and eventually, our livelihood.”
From then on, she vowed to do her part in combating climate change, starting with her business.
Wei-Shan is the founder of BX Creatives, which does various product designs on electronics, stationery, and apparel. In addition, she has been doing her part as a business owner on sustainability, such as recommending her clients greener options on packaging and materials.
She added: “We try to avoid single-use products. It is more sustainable, something that people can use for a longer period without going into the bin after receiving.”
Getting her clients to come on board is not without its challenges.
She said most customers want their company logos or branding displayed prominently on the products. However, she noted that eco-friendly options should not come at the expense of covering up their logos.
She added: “Packaging has to be transparent, and what is the most transparent material? Plastic. The main hindrance [to eco-friendly adoption] is the customer preferences for their marketing objective.”
Wei-Shan acknowledged various initiatives by the Government to go green, such as the carbon tax and plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
She said, on a personal level, she is already doing her part.
“We tried to take greener options, following household guidelines like keeping your aircon above 26 degrees Celsius or doing basic recycling and reduction, and obviously, waste reduction,” she said.
But she added businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, need more help going green.
She explained: “I think as a business, there are probably more things that we can do that we don’t know yet. For young businesses, especially, we need more help and advice on what it means to be greener. How do you actually reduce emissions?
“I think we need to understand whether we can contribute meaningfully to move the needle for Singapore and maybe even the rest of the world.”
Wei-Shan participated in a recent focus group discussion organised by NTUC to address the growing interest in sustainability, issues on Enterprise, Social, Governance, and the green economy.
The discussion gave her a diverse perspective on how other businesses take on the green transition.
Wei-Shan said she heard views from another participant from the finance sector, who shared that going green does not always mean higher costs.
She added: “There is a misconception and misunderstanding about it. Companies can look out for other ways, programmes, and avenues.”
She cited the Company Training Committee programme that can help companies take on the journey towards going green faster and easier.
The focus group discussion was part of the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations, a larger-scale series of engagements by the Labour Movement to engage all workers across various life stages.
Find out more about the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations at conversations.ntuc.sg.
