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DBS Bank and Mediacorp join hands on CNA Insider special to fight food waste

Available now on cnainsider.asia and CNA Insider YouTube, ‘Food, Wasted’ is a three-part digital exclusive produced by Mediacorp in partnership with DBS that aims to raise awareness of food waste across the supply chain.

Singapore, 19 March 2021 – An estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food goes to waste globally every year1 – an amount sufficient to feed three billion people. This is a sobering statistic that DBS Bank (DBS) and Mediacorp are bringing to wider public attention in a collaborative special with CNA Insider

Available now on cnainsider.asia and CNA Insider YouTube, ‘Food, Wasted’ is a three-part digital exclusive produced by Mediacorp in partnership with DBS that aims to raise awareness of food waste across the supply chain. Each video and accompanying article on cnainsider.asia will offer easy tips on embracing food purchasing and preparation habits that can minimise waste, shrink carbon footprints and ultimately combat climate change and forge a food-secure future.

The broad objectives of this series dovetail with DBS’ and Mediacorp’s core corporate responsibility pillar of driving sustainability efforts through informative content that can positively influence consumer behaviour and actions. This collaborative series also complements Mediacorp’s multi-year commitment to sustained environmental coverage, in support of Singapore’s Green Plan 2030 and the national interest in climate action.  

Likewise, DBS seeks to create value for the long term by managing its business and working with partners in a balanced and responsible way. Through the DBS Foundation, the bank has been nurturing social enterprises across Asia since 2014, with SGD 50 million set aside to support the ambitions of social enterprises with businesses built around solving pertinent social and environmental challenges.

One of the key areas the bank has been focusing on is food waste, which is an issue that has come to fore in recent months amid heightening concerns of climate change and disruptions to global food supply chains. Through its engagements with employees, clients and strategic partners to encourage a positive change in mindsets and behaviours, DBS has generated around 200,000 kg of food impact comprising food waste reduced, recycled, or redistributed, across Singapore and the region in 2020, and aims to further build on efforts this year.

‘Food, Wasted’ audiences can look forward to inspiring stories of social enterprises supported by the DBS Foundation and other community partners, and their efforts to work towards a zero food waste future. Stories include anecdotes of how these social enterprises and community partners have identified and plugged leaks along the food production pipeline: from harvesting and transportation to inventory management and to the end consumer in supermarkets and restaurants, to bring us one step closer to a zero food waste future. These change leaders include DBS Foundation Grant recipients TreeDots, the first online platform in Asia connecting suppliers of surplus and imperfect food with businesses and households; S4S Technologies, who creates innovative technologies designed to preserve and process high quality foods to restore the agriculture supply chain; and Rooftop Republic, a social enterprise championing urban farming communities. Please refer to Annex A for a full list of partners and DBS Foundation-supported social enterprises featured in ‘Food, Wasted’.

Karen Ngui, DBS Group Head of Strategic Marketing & Communications said: “The volume of food waste generated in Singapore has increased at a staggering rate over the past decade. Food waste accounts for 8% of greenhouse gases produced and undoubtedly, exacerbates the rate of climate change globally. As a purpose-driven bank, we believe that by working with like-minded partners, social enterprises and the community at large, we can inculcate a greater sense of social consciousness and spark positive change. It is critical to have all hands on deck as only through the strength of the collective, can we make a lasting difference. We hope that the ‘Food, Wasted’ CNA Insider special series helps to fuel greater awareness and understanding of the sustainability issues caused by food that is wasted and/or lost across the entire food supply chain.”

Parminder Singh, Chief Commercial and Digital Officer, Mediacorp said: “We are glad to work with like-minded partners such as DBS Singapore to create engaging content that complements our corporate responsibility efforts to encourage sustainable lifestyles. As the national media network, we are uniquely positioned to leverage our creative capabilities, journalistic expertise, and the wide reach of our platforms to support the national interest in sustainable practices. We hope the ‘Food, Wasted’ CNA Insider special will make us all more thoughtful about our food habits and motivate us to waste less and go green!”

[1] According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Download selected stills from ‘Food, Wasted’ at this link.
Read more about DBS’ zero food waste efforts at this link.

Annex A – List of featured partners and social enterprises supported by DBS Foundation​​​​​​​

Video/ Article

Social enterprises

Video 1 – Why are we throwing away perfectly edible food?

TreeDots

DBS Foundation Grant Awardee 2018

Treatsure

Partner

GreenPrice

DBS Foundation Grant Awardee 2020

Goodwill Foods

Partner

Food Bank Singapore

Partner

Video 2 – Why So Much Food Is Lost In The Supply Chain

S4S Technologies

DBS Foundation Grant Awardee 2019

Video 3 – Can Urban Farming Fix Our Broken Relationship With Food?

Rooftop Republic

DBS Foundation Grant Awardee 2018

Edible Garden City

DBS Foundation Grant Awardee 2017

– ends

Media contacts
Eugene Quek
Mediacorp
Communications Specialist
Eugene.Quek@mediacorp.com.sg

Michelle Tan
DBS Bank
Group Strategic Marketing and Communications
michelletanyz@dbs.com

About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings are among the highest in the world.

Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “World’s Best Bank” by Euromoney, “Global Bank of the Year” by The Banker and “Best Bank in the World” by Global Finance. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “Safest Bank in Asia” award by Global Finance for 12 consecutive years from 2009 to 2020.

DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.

About Mediacorp
Mediacorp is Singapore’s national media network and largest content creator. Its purpose is to create engaging and trusted content, as well as to connect communities and inspire people. Mediacorp engages over three million people in Singapore daily across four languages on its digital platforms including meWATCH, meLISTEN and CNA.asia, six TV channels and 11 radio stations. Beyond Singapore, Mediacorp also has a growing international audience through CNA and content distributed across markets.

With a focus on nurturing talent and growing the sector, the company is committed to investing in nation-wide initiatives like Star Search, Anugerah, Yaar Antha Star and SPOP, commissioning a wide variety of work from local content creators, and collaborating with institutes of higher learning. As Singapore’s first local Multi-Channel Network in partnership with YouTube, Mediacorp is also committed to developing a network of digital content creators.

For advertisers, Mediacorp has partnered industry-leading brands like ESPN, Mothership, Popcorn, Singapore Tatler, theAsianparent, VICE, YouTube and 99.co to form the Mediacorp Digital Network in offering more effective content-driven solutions.

Mediacorp is the recipient of industry accolades including New York Festivals, World Media Festivals, PromaxBDA (World and Asia) and Asian Academy Creative Awards.

For more information, please visit mediacorp.sg.

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