Singapore – The World Wide Fund for Nature-Singapore (WWF-Singapore) has announced that Vivek Kumar will take over the role of the organisation’s chief executive officer role from R. Raghunathan, who held the role for more than three and a half years. The transition officially takes happen on January 1, 2024.

Kumar brings a wealth of diverse leadership experience spanning over two decades, including notable tenures at multinational corporations, and in Singapore’s public sector. Vivek was previously an assistant director-general at the National Trades Union Congress and a board member of Labour Movement entities such as NTUC Link. 

He has also served as a board member at Enterprise Singapore, Infocomm Media, Development Authority and Assurity Trusted Solutions (a wholly owned subsidiary of GovTech Singapore).

Kumar joined WWF-Singapore back in 2021 as its chief marketing and communications officer and was promoted to the role of chief marketing, communications and fundraising officer in February this year. He is also the architect of the inaugural WWF Global Earth Hour Summit 2023.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “WWF-Singapore strives to bring people together to act for nature and our shared well-being. This purpose is more relevant for our planet today than perhaps ever before. It is an honour to be designated to lead a team of talented and dedicated fellow Pandas at WWF-Singapore. We will work with our donors, supporters, corporate partners, and policymakers to create a sustainable future for all of us.”

Meanwhile, Hsieh Fu Hua, chairman of the WWF-Singapore board, commented, “The Board appreciates Raghu’s dedicated service to the organisation. Under Raghu’s leadership, the organisation navigated the challenges posed by the pandemic and achieved growth in local conservation efforts and community engagements. We are confident that the organisation is poised to achieve an even greater impact under his successor, Vivek, and his team.”

Singapore – Now that consumers are becoming more concerned about being an active player in the sustainability movement, the current period presents a great opportunity for brands and companies to jump on this interest and draw consumers further to step up their efforts in enabling a better society and environment. 

In light of this, the World Wildlife Fund organisation in Singapore (WWF-Singapore) is launching a new webinar this January 10, 2023, which aims to help businesses communicate better their sustainability commitment, specifically in the area of sustainable palm oil. 

The webinar, Palm Oil: Hero or Zero? How to Communicate About Palm Oil, will be pulling industry leaders from WWF-Singapore and Synthesis Sustainability Lab into one space to elaborate on the challenges and misconceptions affecting demand for sustainable palm oil, as well as the right communication approaches to boost consumer awareness and demand.

Joining the discussion are Vivek Kumar, chief marketing and communications director at WWF-Singapore; Audrey Tsen, sustainability lab director at Synthesis; and Gabrielle Malcolm, assistant market transformation manager at WWF-Singapore.

Through the virtual discussion, businesses can learn from industry experts on topics from communicating about sustainable palm oil to meeting consumers’ demand for sustainability in the said webinar.

WWF-Singapore has been working with businesses and communities on the ground to develop tools and guidance for better traceability and transparency within palm oil supply chains, increasing market demand for certified sustainable palm oil and supporting the production of sustainable palm oil in key landscapes. 

The webinar, Palm Oil: Hero or Zero? How to Communicate About Palm Oil, will be held on January 10, 2023, at 3:00 pm (GMT + 08:00). Secure your spot at the webinar HERE

Singapore — Agoda has partnered with WWF-Singapore (World Wide Fund for Nature) to support marine habitat restoration efforts as part of the launch of its Eco Deals program. Through Eco Deals, Agoda will work in collaboration with its accommodation partners to offer deals that ‘give back and highlight responsible tourism, environmental or community-led charities and organizations.

In this campaign launch involving WWF-Singapore, Agoda and its hotel and accommodation partners will fund efforts to raise awareness about responsible tourism, enabling the restoration of marine habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves in Southeast Asia, and protecting wildlife affected by floods in Australia.

Agoda’s Eco Deals will first launch with accommodation partners in five countries – Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore – to offer travellers between 5% to 15% discounts on their bookings. For each booking, Agoda will contribute to WWF-Singapore’s marine conservation and flood-affected wildlife protection.

Agoda’s Sustainable Travel Trends Survey (2021) found consumers want to travel more sustainably, and that polluted beaches and waterways ranked as the top concern of Filipino tourists; second for Australians, Indonesian, and Malaysians; and third for Singaporeans. Aside from an Eco Deals badge to support and highlight participating properties, Agoda will develop a dedicated landing page which will be launched to consumers on 8 June 2022, to help consumers quickly find properties that support the Eco Deals activity.

Enric Casals, regional VP of Agoda Southeast Asia and Oceania, said, “In a post-COVID world, people are more aware of their impact on the places and communities they visit when travelling and are actively looking for ways and means to make their ecological footprint smaller. Through Agoda’s Eco Deals initiative we provide consumers opportunities to ‘give back’ as part of our partners’ and Agoda’s social responsibility commitment.”

Casals continued, “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with WWF-Singapore to allow the Agoda community of travellers, partners and employees to work together to help revitalise marine habitats and protect wildlife across this region.”

Meanwhile, R. Raghunathan, CEO of WWF-Singapore, shared, “WWF-Singapore is well positioned to drive positive change in the Coral Triangle and wider region, home to the world’s epicentre of marine biodiversity. We look forward to working with Agoda in this partnership to support the conservation of marine ecosystems in this region.”