• StarHub Green Movement

  • StarHub Green Movement

Green is more than just a colour to us. It’s part of our philosophy.

Establishing our commitment

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

  1. Minimising the environmental impact of our operations and continually review our goals and commitment to protect the global environment.
  2. Adhere to environmental recommendations by the relevant authorities.
  3. Reduce our environmental impact by efficiently using resources, saving energy, reducing waste, encouraging material recycling, minimizing emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances, and using environmentally friendly materials.
  4. Minimise environmental loads by adopting environmentally friendly technologies.
  5. Employee education to raise environmental awareness.
  6. Disclosure of environmental information and support of environmental conservation initiatives.
Following these policies, StarHub has introduced a number of green initiatives for sustainable and responsible practices, green marketing strategies and efforts in educating and raising awareness amongst our employees and community.

Minimising electronic waste

Electronic waste (e-waste) refers to discarded electrical and electronic items such as wires, mobile phones, computers, and batteries. E-waste contains toxic substances and improper disposal causes serious pollution and health problems. According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore produces 60,000 tonnes of e-waste annually. That’s equivalent to discarding about 70 mobile phones per person in Singapore. E-waste is a huge problem to solve.

 

In response, StarHub in 2012 pioneered a nationwide e-waste recycling programme called RENEW (Recycling the Nation’s Electronic Waste), in partnership with TES and DHL Express and with support from NEA, to promote and encourage everyone to dispose of their e-waste in a responsible manner. Over nine years, RENEW, Singapore’s largest company-led voluntary e-waste recycling effort, delivered real and measurable impact in environmental sustainability. More than 780 tonnes of e-waste, equivalent to the weight of close to three Airbus A380, were safely recycled through RENEW. Carbon emissions of approximately 850 tonnes were avoided.

 

Having filled a gap for almost a decade, StarHub ended its RENEW programme at the end of June 2021,  paving the way for a smooth transition to NEA’s new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) e-waste management initiative. As a responsible retailer, StarHub continues to facilitate sustainable and responsible ways to handle e-waste through in-store collection and one-for-one take-back.

In-store collection of e-waste

In support of Singapore's EPR initiative, e-waste recycling bins will continue to be available at StarHub Shops in Plaza Singapura and Tampines Mall. Consumers can drop in their spoilt or deprecated devices, including phones, modems, routers, li-ion batteries and charging cables. Answers to frequently asked questions are available.

One-for-one take-back service

During the delivery of a product, customers can choose to dispose of old devices of the same class or type and quantity. For example: After taking receipt of a new StarHub Smart WiFi Pro router, customers can pass their unwanted WiFi router to the StarHub Hub Trooper for safe disposal, at no extra cost. Answers to frequently asked questions are available.

Sustainable and responsible practices

Innovations with Green Technology

Singapore’s first solar-powered mobile Base Transmission Station (BTS) was deployed on the roof of our main office, StarHub Green, in 2009. Another BTS situated on the roof of IKEA at Alexandra.

The Mobile ‘Greenergy’ vehicle, Singapore’s first solar-powered cellular BTS-enabled vehicle was introduced in 2010. Using 4 solar-panels and a bank of rechargeable batteries, the cellular BTS in the van is self-sustaining to power mobile communications for a 500m wide area for at least 8 hours. This allowed us to boost our mobile signal strength when and where required, using renewable energy.

Reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions & Enhancing Climate Resilience

We have enhanced our mobile network and infrastructures to be more energy-efficient. The modernising and upgrading of our networks have lowered our power consumption.

Improved cabling management and air-conditioning efficiency of StarHub’s data centres have resulted in electicity savings while ensuring that servers in the data centres can run efficiently.

In addition, our infrastructure is built on raised grounds to mitigate the impact of potential flash floods as a result of climate change.

Green Buildings

StarHub Green was awarded the Green Mark Gold by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in Singapore in 2016, which recognises 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. StarHub was also certified as an Eco Office by the Singapore Environment Council in 2018.

Green Marketing

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

  1. Going Paperless
    • Sending e-invites and e-cards during festive seasons.
    • Electronic newsletters.
    • Annual Reports and EGM Circulars are available in electronic format.
  2. My StarHub e-Bill
    • Customers to receive electronic statements instead of printed bills.
    • My StarHub app to complement e-bill, by allowing customers to manage their accounts.
  3. Responsible Consumerism
    • Encouraging customers to 'Skip the Bag' and bring their own bags.
  4. Waste-less Retail
    • Reducing paper consumption through the use of electronic vouchers, sales agreements and work orders.

Related links

Corporate Sustainability

Innovations & Opportunities

Community Investments