14 Social Enterprises in Singapore that are doing good for the environment

Social Enterprises are business entities set up with clear social and/or environmental goals, and where there is clear management intent and resources allocated to fulfil their social and/or environmental objectives.

The Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE) was set up in 2015 to develop the social enterprise sector in Singapore. raiSE supports over 400 social enterprise members in their social enterprise journeys, from set-up to growth and expansion. Here is a list of some social enterprises under raiSE that are related to the environment:

1. Better Trails LLP

Better Trails LLP is a social enterprise founded to promote the ethical and responsible use of the outdoors and green spaces. Better Trails organises recreation activities and provides environment education to community for a better outdoors. It also offers training opportunities to at-risk youths to be involved in meaningful outdoor activities as well as facilitating outdoors experiences for the underserved community.

2. Ecosoftt Pte Ltd

Ecosoftt (Eco Solutions for Tomorrow Today) is an innovator of solutions which enable water sustainability through total management of the water cycle for living communities. With this solution, communities can reduce their water footprint and wastage by 50% and recycle all wastewater for reuse on site. As an international social enterprise, it actively channels technology, expertise and financial resources towards water, sanitation and livelihood projects in rural communities.

3. Edible Garden City Pte Ltd

The mission of Edible Garden City is to champion local food production so that everyone across different financial and social strata has access to fresh and safe produce while re-connecting with nature, health and sustainability. Edible Garden offers design-and-build consultancy to businesses and private residences. With the profit, they funded a community garden to support and build a ready resource pool of like-minded individuals to help propagate the Grow Your Own Food movement.

4. Green Nudge LLP

Green Nudge is a social enterprise with an environmental focus and works closely with companies and event organisers to achieve a zero waste outcome. They provide a start-to-finish solution that meets the waste management needs of events and functions. Apart from events, they work to educate and advocate for environmental awareness through coastal cleanups, visits, learning journeys and workshops.

5. Kowabunga! Global Pte Ltd

Focusing on educating the young, Kowabunga! Global works closely with organisations and government agencies to develop programmes for children and youths to equip them with the skill sets for jobs that have yet to exist and to nurture their hearts to fill with compassion for the earth and humanity.

6. Seven Clean Seas Pte Ltd

Seven Clean Seas directly removes ocean plastic pollution from the marine environment. They operate in several countries including Singapore, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia. Their goals are to clean, conserve and educate. To date, they have removed over 31,000kg ocean plastic pollution from Singapore beaches alone.

7. Sparkbox Pte Ltd (Secondsguru)

Secondsguru is a young social enterprise with a mission to promote environmental education and awareness. Its activities include talks and workshops for corporates and the community, and informational resources on Secondsguru.com where readers can access a curated calendar of eco-events, guides on eco-friendly lifestyles, information on sustainable brands, and other resources.

8. Sustainable Living Lab Pte Ltd

Sustainable Living Lab (SL2) addresses the innovation and sustainability needs of the 3P (Public, Private & People) sector. As practitioners of futures thinking, they implement cutting edge technologies and facilitate cross-sector collaboration for social impact. Their current focus areas are AI Literacy, Zero Waste and the Sustainable Development Goals.

9. Swapaholic Pte Ltd

Swapaholic is a social enterprise devoted to slowing down the fashion industry by providing sustainable consumption outlet for consumers. Swapaholic is a pre-loved fashion swap that encourages consumers to declutter and refresh their wardrobes without hurting our planet or their wallets.

10. The Fashion Pulpit

The Fashion Pulpit provides a swapping platform for clothes and accessories that is open to public, and as a result extend the lifespan of fashion items and minimise textile waste. They also conduct events around sustainability and style, empowering consumers to take charge of their consumption habits.

11. UglyFood Pte Ltd

UglyFood is a social enterprise that rescues “ugly” or unsold fresh produce, and encourages people to eat healthy while wasting less food. They divert fresh produce from the trash and transform them into delicious and nutritious products or resell at better prices.

12. Unpackt Pte Ltd

Unpackt aims to promote waste minimisation and reducing waste and recycling by bringing affordable and convenient zero waste solutions to consumers. Unpackt is a social enterprise which works with the marginalized community by providing employment and development opportunities for the low income, single mothers and senior workers to work towards an all inclusive community.

13. Wateroam Pte Ltd

Wateroam aims to build a world where no man shall face prolonged thirst. Wateroam develops portable water filtration solutions to help affected people in post-disaster sites and rural communities obtain clean drinking water. The solutions are highly mobile, fast-deploying, non-electricity dependent and self-sustaining.

14. Young Sustainable Impact Southeast Asia (YSI SEA)

YSI SEA empowers Southeast Asian youth to solve the region’s sustainability issues through a measurable impact. Its fully funded 5-month Innovation Program, brings Southeast Asian youths together, nurtures their ideas for solving sustainability issues in the region, and gives them a platform to establish their own start-ups by providing the resources and guidance.

Source credit: raiSE