ERA Singapore Management and Trusted Advisers Raised $231K to Lead ESG Efforts in Real Estate Industry and Community Outreach
The funds will be donated to the
Hong Kah North Environmental Sustainability Fund in support of the Singapore
Green Plan 2030, benefitting over 42,000 household
ERA to embrace sustainability and
empower its network of over 8,300 trusted advisers and their clients through
promoting green practices and providing volunteerism and fundraising avenues
Three key ESG focuses: Creating a
green and sustainable living environment for Singaporeans, employee well-being,
and development of evolutionary solutions
SINGAPORE - Media
OutReach - 11 November 2021 -ERA Singapore (ERA)
announced a series of ESG
(Environmental, Social, and Governance) effortstoday during its Q4'21 Career Advancement Day, themed "ESG by
ERA". The company will focus on three
priority areas – creating a green and sustainable living environment for
Singaporeans, employee well-being, and development of evolutionary solutions.
SUPPORTING GRASSROOTS ORGANISATION TO ACCELERATE SINGAPORE GREEN
PLAN 2030
The kickstart of ESG efforts had
been made memorable, thanks to 21 esteemed patrons comprising ERA senior
management and trusted advisers, who each donated S$11,000, totalling to a sum
of S$231,000 that will be donated to Hong Kah North Environmental
Sustainability Fund. This fund will be used to help the grassroots organisation
develop green and sustainable living environment for its residents.
The donation funds will
support two of the five key pillars under
the Singapore Green Plan 2030 — City in Nature and Sustainable Living, and
is expected to benefit over 42,000 Tengah Town's households and other parts of
Hong Kah North. These include:
The building of a
community garden on the top deck of a multi-storey carpark at Bukit Batok
West Avenue 8, opposite the new Tengah Town. This will increase green cover as
well as enhance livability and connections among residents.
Setting up an Eco Hub in
Tengah Town to widen environment education and encourage sustainable living
practices such as Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (3R) and community gardening. This
includes organising eco-workshops to promote upcycling and green living among
residents, as well as eco-activities with community partners such as schools
and volunteer welfare organisations to showcase residents' eco-projects.
To foster a spirit of inclusivity and collaboration, the
donations will be used to organise
eco-activities with community partners, such as schools and volunteer
welfare organisations, and showcase residents' eco-projects. The funds will
also provide education grants and assistance to students and residents from
vulnerable families. These programmes aim to encourage residents to adopt green
habits and nurture a community of green champions.
Speaking at the virtual
conference, Dr. Amy Khor, Senior
Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment commended ERA for
embracing sustainability and empowering its network of more than 8,300 trusted
advisers and staff in promoting green practices and providing volunteerism and
fundraising avenues in support of the Green Plan.
In a bid to propel ERA's ESG
efforts, the ESG by ERA committee will be chaired by Ms Doris Ong, who is the
newly appointed Deputy CEO of ERA Singapore. "We're proud to lead these efforts
and promote the adoption of ESG practices among our staff, trusted advisers,
clients and corporate partners in their daily life and decision-making
process," said Ms Ong. "ERA's contribution towards the Hong Kah North
Sustainability Fund is a good start, and we will strive to become a green
corporate citizen in other areas such as tackling the distribution of bottled
water at property launches, incorporating and promoting green practices inside
and outside the company. We have more initiatives in the pipeline and will
continue to harmonise ESG frameworks into our business strategy and day-to-day
operations."
As the only real estate agency in
Singapore to own its building, ERA is also taking the lead in maintaining high green standards within ERA
APAC Centre, as well as raising awareness among its clients and the
industry on this pillar. Since moving its headquarters to ERA APAC Centre last
year, ERA has installed energy-efficient
appliances and lights during the renovation phase to ensure an
environmental friendly workspace. The building is currently in the midst of
approval for the BCA Green Mark certification scheme. ERA will continue to
maintain and uphold its energy saving standards in all offices and will monitor
and analyse its energy consumption patterns with the aim to lower the energy intensity ratio and
greenhouse gas emissions.
The company has also made a
significant progress in reducing its
carbon footprint through the adoption of paperless submission of documents
via e-Form, creation of personalised digital materials such as e-books, flyers,
mailers and website for marketing purposes, as well as reduced usage of
cheques.
PROMOTE ECONOMIC, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING OF ERA'S
TRUSTED ADVISERS
Employee well-being has become a
key issue for the 'Social' pillar under ESG, especially with the increased
stress levels during the Covid-19 pandemic. Firmly entrenched in its sharing
and caring culture, ERA's network of trusted advisers are encouraged to support
one another.
ERA has been making changes to
further improve the economic, physical and mental well-being of their trusted
advisers:
ERA advocates gender equality and provides fair opportunities for
all. As one of the few female C-Suite leaders in the real estate industry,
Ms Doris Ong is breaking glass
ceilings as the new Deputy CEO of
ERA. She spearheads an integral division, Project Marketing, which secured
ERA as Singapore's first real estate agency to clinch projects from
conglomerate developers. She leads a team that has planned
and executed marketing launches for over 200 international and
local residential projects.
ERA believes in encouraging its trusted advisers to reach their
full potential through motivational
recognition programs. During the Q4 Career Advancement Day, ERA senior
management handed out tokens of
appreciation to the esteemed patrons who contributed towards the ESG
at ERA funds, as well as awards
for its existing and new trusted advisers who achieved outstanding
performance in the last quarter.
Continuing its annual Loyalty
Growth Dividends initiative, ERA will be giving out approximately S$1
million in 2022 to appreciate and recognise its top-performing leaders in
ERA and to share the fruits of the company. This initiative serves to
underline ERA's focus on investing on human capital – one that is heavily
vested on recruitment and retention.
To support the teambuilding
efforts of ERA's division directors, the company will also invest an
average amount of $18,000 for each division director under DD Branch-Out
Bonus Scheme.
ERA's CEO Mr Marcus Chu personally hosted a 4-hour long Positive Mental Attitude sharing session for its
network of trusted advisers. The first session featured 4 ERA teammates as
special guests who shared stories about pivotal moments and near-death
experiences that changed their lives. Mr Chu plans to conduct the session
regularly to guide and protect its trusted advisers from conditions such
as depression and anxiety.
A collaboration with
CGS-CIMB, the #1 market share brokerage firm in Singapore for the last
three years, to promote financial
literacy and empowerment among busy ERA trusted advisers via their
digital investment platform, ProsperUS.
ERA's trusted advisers are given complimentary access to all educational
materials such as weekly charts, investment articles covering three major
markets – Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States, as well as live
webinars to help them achieve financial security through portfolio
diversification in real estate and stocks. Both organisations will also
integrate the ESG criteria into the collaboration to promote sustainable
investment and long-term growth to safeguard their future.
Featuring ample greenery, the ground floor of ERA APAC Centre
provides a creative, conducive, and
collaborative work space for its network of trusted advisers. It is
named Everyday @ ERA, a tangible vision of the company to create a place
to work, learn and nurture the OneERA spirit everyday amongst ERA trusted
advisers.
CONSTANT DEVELOPMENT OF EVOLUTIONARY SOLUTIONS FOR BETTER
EFFECIENCY
ERA continues to build stronger
digital capabilities to mitigate risks, seize new opportunities and gain
competitive advantage for its network of trusted advisers and clients. The
company releases the 0.4 version of its
RealtyWatch mobile app, highlighting the following new features:
To address the current challenges faced by tenants when locating
the right home, ERA will be introducing a game-changing innovation - Real-time Rental Home Finder. Utilising
50 millions data points, the Rental Home Finder is an integration of public
transport directory and home search platform, allowing tenants to find
properties based on public transport routes (Train and Bus) that match their
budget.
Integration of OneMap3D which allows users to experience a
richer view of the surroundings of a particular property and shadow casting
according to different time of a day for a particular property, as well as
other useful capabilities such as location-based information, navigational
services, and the use of open-source technologies.
These will value-add its salient
features including 24/7 notifications on neighbourhood property transactions,
comprehensive property calculators, intelligent property portfolios
personalised by Robo Advisor, generating instant estimated valuations of
properties, instant search of new launch homes with real-time availability, and
viewing of up-to-date mortgage packages from major banks. Individuals can download RealtyWatch Mobile App
on the App Store; or get it on Google Play.
Collaboration is a key success factor when it
comes to sustainability. With that in mind, ERA has collaborated with leaders
from various sectors, such as Redbrick, EdgeProp, EcoProp and Singapore Land
Authority, since July this year to build an integrated and sustainable digital
ecosystem for the benefits of real estate trusted advisers and the
community.
The company will also be signing an MOU with
Endowus, the country's first and only digital advisor for CPF, SRS and cash
savings, to further consumer literacy on real estate progression and wealth
planning.
Appendix A:
List of Esteemed Patrons Contributing to the Initial ESG
Fundraising of S$231,000
Associate Division Director Liu Ming
Branch Division Director Kane Seow
Branch Division Director Dulcie Liu
Branch Division Director Kavin Kuah
Branch Division Director Eric Goh
Branch Division Director Lynn Er
Division Director Gina Tng
Senior Division Director Bryan Setho
Group Division Director Alicia Yang
Senior Group Division Director Kelvin Neo
Senior Group Division Director Tiger Ng
Advisory Group Division Director Eugene
Koh
Advisory Group Division Director Alex Lim
Advisory Group Division Director Chris
Chen
Advisory Group Division Director Zac Huang
Chief Agency Director Kevin Lim
Key Executive Officer Eugene Lim
Chief Operating Officer of Agency Business
Thomas Tan
Deputy Chief Executive Officer Doris Ong
Chief Executive Officer Marcus Chu
Executive Chairman Jack Chua
發行人全權負責本公告的內容
About ERA Singapore
ERA Singapore is the largest
international agency in Singapore and has been setting and redefining industry
standards through the pioneering of real estate concepts, technologies,
initiatives and services since its inception in 1982.
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of
SGX mainboard listed APAC Realty Limited, ERA Asia Pacific is on track to reach
20,000 trusted advisers this year across 10 countries: Singapore, Cambodia,
China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
In Singapore, we provide a diverse
range of professional services and solutions for: Private and HDB
residential resale, residential leasing, project marketing, commercial and
industrial, property management, auction, valuation and research.
Through Ultimate Agent Training
Programme, a series of specially-curated training courses developed for ERA
trusted advisers, they are able to revolutionise their skills, equip themselves
with the latest trends and insights of the property market, and stay ahead of
the competition. With close to four decades of experience, extensive network
and innovative technological tools, the company has secured
innumerable dream homes for its customers in Singapore and around the
world.
Recent accolades are testaments to
the company's diligence - ERA Singapore was the first and only agency awarded
the 5-Star Best Real Estate Agency (Single Office) in Singapore by Asia Pacific
Property Awards; Singapore's Most Trusted Brands by Asia Reader's Digest; Top
Property Agency by Influential Brands; Most Innovative Real Estate Agency by
SBR Listed Companies Awards; Favourite Real Estate Agent (Gold) Award by Expat
Living Readers' Choice Awards; Marketing Agency Excellence Award at EdgeProp
Singapore Excellence Awards; and Best Luxury Real Estate Brokerage in Singapore
by Luxury Lifestyle Awards.