Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility

StarHub Green Movement

Building More Energy-Efficient Networks

StarHub acknowledges the fact that we need to act in an environmentally responsible manner throughout our operations in order to minimise our overall footprint impacting the environment. In 2009, we established a six-point commitment on our environmental policy as outlined below:

StarHub will adopt responsible and sustainable practices in our corporate activities to minimise the environmental impact of our operations. We will continually review our goals and commitment to protect the global environment as much as possible.
We will adhere to as much as possible environmental recommendations by the relevant authorities and also implement in-house targets to improve our environmental performance.
We will reduce our environmental loads by efficiently using resources, saving energy, reducing waste, encouraging material recycling, and minimising emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances.
We will minimise environmental loads and adopt environmentally friendly technologies as far as possible, when ordering and purchasing necessary resources.
We will implement education programmes to raise environmental awareness among our employees and to ensure that they recognise the essence of this Green Policy by actively addressing environmental concerns.
We will make social contributions in close partnership with local communities by disclosing environmental information and supporting environmental conservation initiatives.

Following these policies, StarHub has introduced a number of initiatives:

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Building More Energy-Efficient Networks

We have enhanced our mobile network to be more energy efficient. We have upgraded our 3G radio network to lower power consumption by more than 10%. In addition, our mobile core network is being enhanced to reduce power consumption by up to 50%, resulting in an estimated saving of 2,940 kWh of energy per BTS annually.

We have also used green technology to innovate. For example, we have two solar-powered mobile base transceiver stations (BTS). Situated at StarHub Green and on the roof of IKEA at Alexandra Road since September 2010, these helped us save more than 8,000 kWh of energy or about 3,900 kg of CO2 in 2011.

We have also introduced Singapore's first solar-powered cellular BTS-enabled vehicle, the Mobile 'Greenergy' vehicle. The cellular BTS in the van is self-sustaining, using four solar-panels and a bank of rechargeable batteries to power up mobile communications temporarily up to a 500m area for at least eight hours.

In terms of our backend infrastructure, StarHub has enhanced the cabling management and air-conditioning efficiency of our data centres in order to reduce energy consumption, and ensure that the servers in the data centres can run more efficiently.


As part of its efforts to go “green”, StarHub deployed Singapore’s first solar-powered mobile base station on the roof of StarHub’s main office, StarHub Green, in August 2009.	StarHub introduced Singapore’s first solar-based cellular base station (BTS) enabled vehicle, the Mobile “Greenergy” vehicle, in November 2010.

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Green Marketing

StarHub has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce our dependence on printed material for our marketing efforts.

For example, a majority of our invitations to our marketing events are issued as e-invites; we have also used e-cards during festive seasons rather than printed greeting cards. In terms of our newsletters to business customers, we have made available an electronic version of the latest issues online on our website.

In 2009, we started to make our Annual Reports and EGM Circulars primarily available in electronic format and now print the minimum number possible for shareholders who require a hard copy. These Annual Reports are printed on FSC-certified paper.

In 2010, we reduced the number of physical printed copies of our newsletters, compared to 2009.

In 2011, we introduced an alternative payment system via Recurring Credit Card (RCC) to replace Business Reply Envelopes (BREs). As of October 2011, StarHub had 244,206 customers paying by RCC. From 1 October 2011, we removed BREs that used to be inserted into the envelopes containing the bills of RCC customers. Customers requiring a BRE can now print one off the StarHub Corporate website and fold it themselves, following the on-envelope instructions.

The initiative helped in eliminating almost 250,000 printed BREs a month, translating to an estimated savings of more than 1,200 kg of paper and over $5,000 every month.

In 2012, we rolled out the My StarHub e-billl, allowing our consumers to opt for electronic statements to be sent to them, minimising paper usage for us and reducing physical clutter for our customers. As of August 2012, we have over 21,000 billing accounts on the My StarHub e-bill. If you are a StarHub customer and still receiving paper bills, we urge you to log in to My Manager and go paperless with us.

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Improving Internal Operations

StarHub incentivises staff to go green by including environmental components in the company-wide Balance Scorecard, a strategic performance management tool used to keep track of the performance level of the company’s various departments. All staff’s bonuses are affected in part by the achievement of these green targets. Currently, they focus mainly on increasing paper recycling, paper usage reduction and electrical consumption in the offices.

To encourage paper recycling, we have paper-recycling bins at our offices in StarHub Green, Noble House, Tai Seng, Techlink, Haw Par and Ayer Rajah. In 2011, StarHub had recycled 8,380 kilograms in waste paper, which translates to be about 142 trees saved during the year.

We also have an electronic waste recycling bin at our StarHub Green office, which was a part of our launch of an electronic waste recycling programme for consumers.

Finally, all paper consumed by StarHub for its internal processes is FSC-certified. Forest Stewardship Council certification provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value.

StarHub’s main office StarHub Green at Ubi was awarded the Green Mark Gold by the Building and Construction Authority in Singapore in 2009. The Green Mark certification is a benchmarking scheme which incorporates internationally recognised best practices in environmental design and performance in buildings. For instance, we save energy by including motion-sensor activated lighting in our offices after normal working hours.

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Educating Our Staff

StarHub recognises the need to start sowing the green seed on its home turf. In 2011, we began creating green events in which our staff could participate and thus gain greater awareness of our environment. October 2011 saw a two-day My Green Office Exhibition and Roadshow where staff could learn green tips that they could adopt right at their desk, buy environmentally-friendly products and learn more about the dangers our planet is facing today.

In February 2011, we screened three movies with green themes over three days: The Day The earth Stood Still, Food Inc and Bag It! Each movie screening was accompanied by a facilitated sharing session on how staff could help save the earth in their own ways.

In May 2011, as part of StarHub's "I Will If You Will" challenge to the public to recycle electronic waste, 22 StarHub staff trudged in wellington boots to plant 30 trees in the mud of Sungei Buloh Wetlands reserve. They were the first corporate group to take part in NParks’ Plant-A-Tree programme at that location.

All new hires go through an induction session where they learn about StarHub's green initiatives and how they can get involved.

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Engaging the Community

StarHub continues to engage both its employees and the community at large on Green issues. StarHub has lent its support to Earth Hour, a global awareness campaign designed to raise awareness of climate change by asking participants to switch off their lights for a pre-determined hour. Our support has traditionally been to switch off or dim lights in our stores and service centres, as well as help to publicise Earth Hour over some of our channels. For Earth Hour 2012, StarHub won the award for "Biggest Step Beyond The Hour" with our Electronic Waste Recycling Programme.

We have also participated in a number of school-drive Green programmes with the belief that adopting a greener lifestyle should start at a young age.

For example, we supported the National Youth EnvirOlympics Challenge 2010 (NYEC 2010), which was organised in conjunction with World Environment Day on 5th June 2010. StarHub was also the media sponsor for 2010's Clean & Green Schools Carnival, held at Anchor Green Primary School on 10 and 11 November 2010, as a culmination of Clean & Green Singapore (CGS), an annual nation-wide campaign organised by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to serve as a platform to promote environmental ownership to the general public and to showcase and recognise the environmental sustainability efforts by the various organisations in Singapore.

We even try to incorporate environmental aspects in our social outreach efforts. For instance, in December 2011, we took members from the Society for the Physically Disabled to clean up Changi Beach Park. In February 2012, we built terrariums with Boys' Town boys and auctioned the terrariums, in order to raise money for their building fund.

Earlier this year, StarHub initiated a massive consumer-oriented environmental programme. Electronic waste (e-waste), which includes items such as mobile phones, cable modems, laptops and lithium-ion batteries, accounts for over 70% of the toxic waste in landfills and this improper disposal leads to serious pollution and health problems. Yet there are very few avenues for individual consumers to recycle their e-waste.

That is why StarHub, as a provider of electronic services and products, decided to provide consumers with avenues to responsibly dispose of their electronic products. We partnered with home-grown e-waste recycler TES-AMM to launch the StarHub E-Waste Recycling Programme on 31 March 2012, Earth Hour.

The five bins, located at our Customer Service Centres and one other location in town, collected over one tonne of e-waste within five months. Buoyed by the success and with the aim of making e-waste more convenient by providing more locations of recycling, StarHub launched another 34 e-waste recycling bins at 15 Community Centres, condominiums, public buildings and schools around Singapore.

All e-waste recycling bins are provided at StarHub’s expense while collection costs are borne by TES-AMM. Do your part for the environment. Recycle your electronic waste in any of StarHub’s e-waste recycling bins:

East

Level 3 South Wing, StarHub Green, 67 Ubi Avenue 1

#02-26, Tampines Mall, 4 Tampines Central

10 Simei Street 2, Changi-Simei Community Building

5 Lengkong Tiga, Kampong Kembangan Community Club
3 Hougang Avenue 6, Punggol Community Centre

Central

Level 4, *SCAPE, 2 Orchard Link

#B2-52, Marina Bay Link Mall

#B2-17/18, Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road

Level 2, Environment Building

West (condominiums)

Blue Horizon (31 West Coast Crescent, #01-31)

Carabelle (67 West Coast Way, #01-30)

Clementi Woods (84 West Coast Road, #B1-01)

The Infiniti (39D West Coast Park, #01-13)

Varsity Park (34 West Coast Road)

West Bay Condominium (58 West Coast Crescent)

West Cove Condominium (14 West Coast Crescent, #01-01)

West (schools)

Anglo-Chinese Junior College (25 Dover Close East)

Nan Hua High School (41 Clementi Avenue 1)

New Town Secondary School (1020 Dover Road)

Zheng Hua Primary School (9 Fajar Road)

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Sustainability Reporting

Prior to 2011, StarHub’s annual reports only featured a few pages of our social outreach and environmental efforts. However, the annual report for FY2011 showcases our first full-fledged sustainability report. The report can be found here: http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/18/183543/AR2011/Interactive%20Version/flipviewerxpress.html

We adopted several performance indicators from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Framework for disclosing our environmental impact. In addition, we began for the first time to measure our carbon footprint—in conformance with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, the internationally recognised framework for measuring and reporting corporate carbon footprint. We also started tracking and measuring water consumption by using the globally recognised Water Footprint Network standards. Another initiative involved measuring the amount of waste. These endeavours have enabled us to establish a baseline against which we would measure our future performance.

Our direct impact on the environment comes mainly from the use of electricity, fuel, water and the generation of waste across our business activities. Now that we have begun to measure our impact, we hope to expand on our current efforts and develop more ways in which we can minimise that impact for more sustainable operations.

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Corporate Structure