Clean and Green Week

Launched in November 1990, the Clean and Green Week (CGW) took place for a week in November each year until 2007 when it became a yearlong campaign and was consequently renamed Clean and Green Singapore. The Clean and Green campaign aims to protect and care for the environment by engaging the community in leading an environmentally conscious lifestyle. It is currently administered by the National Environment Agency.

Establishment
On 4 November 1990, then First Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong launched the inaugural CGW (4–10 November).¹ Since the 1960s, Singapore has had a number of “keep clean” and greening movements such as the Keep Singapore Clean,² Keep Public Toilets Clean³ and Tree Planting campaigns.⁴ The CGW, however, marked a shift of emphasis: It moved beyond government-imposed regulations to upkeep and care for the environment, to adopting a “total approach to shape and change our attitudes towards the environment”. Besides promoting awareness about environmental issues and the appreciation of clean and green surroundings, the campaign also set out to encourage the public’s stewardship of the environment by inculcating good social values.⁵ Held for a week every November, the CGW was the main environmental public-awareness campaign.⁶

Programmes
The CGW became the first environmental public-education campaign for the new vision set out in Singapore’s green plan of 1992, where environmental education had a fun aspect and was participatory and the campaign involved not just the government but also business organisations and community groups.⁷

Environmental grassroots organisations and private companies have been involved since the early years of the campaign.⁸ In 1991, for example, 30 companies participated in the year’s CGW, with three oil companies sponsoring educational videos and books for children.⁹ It was reported in 1993 that almost all the campaign events were sponsored by the private sector.¹⁰ Since 2004, community development councils have also been co-organising the campaign activities together with the National Environment Agency.¹¹

With a target audience comprising schools, grassroots organisations, the business community and the general public, a wide range of events and activities were held during the CGW.¹² The campaign’s frog mascot, Captain Green, debuted during the first CGW, educating young children and the general public on environmental issues.¹³ In addition to television and radio advertisements promoting the campaign’s objectives,¹⁴ there were hundreds of activities and events held during the campaign week, including jamborees, talks in schools and public exhibitions. These events featured environmental themes such as recycling, energy conservation, global warming and green consumerism.¹⁵

The Cleanest Estate and Cleanest Block competitions, which pitted housing estates and Housing and Development Board flat against each other to vie for the titles, became part of the CGW. Town councils and residents participate in these competitions with the aim of eliminating littering and to maintain the cleanliness of their estate.¹⁶ Other activities held during the CGW included the annual Tree Planting Day¹⁷ and beach clean-ups.¹⁸

The CGW featured various themes over the years, such as “Commitment and Responsibility” (1992)¹⁹, “A Better Living Environment” (1994)²⁰ and “Awareness and Action” (1998).²¹ Since its inaugural year, a strong focus of the CGW has been on waste recycling. Recycling bins for paper and plastic were introduced in housing estates during the CGW in 1990, and subsequently these recycling bins were also installed in other public spaces and establishments such as banks, schools and parks.²²

Environment awards also regularly presented during the CGW. The Green Leaf Award was launched during the 1991 CGW to recognise individuals and organisations that have made a difference in the environmental cause.²³ This has been replaced by the Singapore Green Plan 2012 Award since 2004.²⁴

To boost the government’s efforts in spreading awareness about environmental concerns, the National Council on the Environment (renamed Singapore Environment Council in 1995²⁵) was formed during the first CGW. The council coordinated and organised CGW activities.²⁶

Clean and Green Singapore
In 2007, the CGW was relaunched as Clean and Green Singapore, a yearlong campaign, signalling the government’s emphasis on environmental consciousness and green practices as an integral part of everyday life. Clean and Green Singapore is centred on three areas: clean environment; city of gardens and water; and energy efficiency and resource conservation.²⁷



Author
Fiona Lim



References
1. Goh Chok Tong, “The Launching of ‘Clean and Green Week… Green for Life,” speech, Esplanade Park, 4 November 1990, Ministry of Information and the Arts. (From National Archives of Singapore document no. gct19901104)
2. Lee Kuan Yew, “’Inaugurating the ‘Keep Singapore Clean’ Campaign,” speech, 1 October 1968, transcript, Ministry of Culture. (From National Archives of Singapore document no. lky19681001)
3. “Keep the Toilets Clean Campaign Launched,” Straits Times, 2 July 1983, 14. (From NewspaperSG)
4. “‘Plant a Tree’ Drive in Singapore,” Straits Times, 12 June 1963, 9; “Dr. Goh To Launch Tree Plant Day Today,” Straits Times, 7 November 1971, 7. (From NewspaperSG)
5. Goh, “Launching of ‘Clean and Green Week… Green for Life”; “Greening of S’poreans Campaign To Start in Nov,” Straits Times, 25 October 1990, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
6. Azra Moiz, The Singapore Green Plan – Action Programmes (Singapore: Times Editions, 1993), 19. (Call no. RSING 363.7095957 SIN)
7. Azra Moiz, The Singapore Green Plan, 13–14; Tan Yong Soon,  Lee Tung Jean and Karen Tan, Clean, Green and Blue: Singapore’s Journey Towards Environment and Water Sustainability (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2009), 262. (Call no. RSING 363.70095957 TAN)
8. Dominic Nathan, “Time for People To Take Over,” Straits Times, 9 November 1992, 33. (From NewspaperSG)
9. “Clean and Green Week Gets a Lift From Private Sector,” Business Times, 3 November 1990, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
10. “More Singaporeans Going ‘Green’: Survey,” Straits Times, 13 December 1993, 24. (From NewspaperSG)
11. Tan, Lee and Tan, Clean, Green and Blue, 262.
12. “Greening of S’poreans Campaign To Start in Nov”; “Conservation To Take Centre Stage,” Straits Times, 12 October 1991, 30 (From NewspaperSG)
13. Dominic Nathan, “Each S’porean ‘Must Do His Part for Environment’,” Straits Times, 6 November 1990, 19; “Captain Green Teaches Love for the Earth,” Straits Times, 11 November 1999, 41. (From NewspaperSG)
14. “Clean and Green Week Gets a Lift From Private Sector,” Business Times, 3 November 1990, 2; Suzanne Walker, “Think Cleaners and Green Week,” New Paper, 14 November 1998, 54. (From NewspaperSG)
15. Dominic Nathan, “1,000 To Take Public Transport or Walk To Work on Tuesday,” Straits Times, 3 November 1990, 3; Cherian George, “Audit Plan To Help Firms Do More for Environment,” Straits Times, 2 November 1992, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
16. Lee Yin Luen, “Islandwide Hunt for Cleanest HDB Blocks,” Straits Times, 8 August 1995, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
17. Cherian George, “Tree-Planting Campaign Focuses on Reforestation,” Straits Times, 4 November 1991, 1; Cherian George, “Mr Lee Plants Last Tree as PM,” Straits Times, 5 November 1990, 23 (From NewspaperSG); Tan, Lee and Tan, Clean, Green and Blue, 58.
18. “Mattar Launches Drive To Keep Parks and Beaches Clean,” Straits Times, 11 November 1990, 20; “Clean and Green Week,” Straits Times, 4 November 1996, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
19. Billy Chew, “Ministry Will Persist in Public Education To Protect Environment,” Straits Times, 13 November 1992, 36. (From NewspaperSG)
20. Mah Bow Tan, “The Closing Ceremony of Clean and Green Week 1994, speech, East Coast Park, 12 November 1994, Ministry of Information and the Arts. (From National Archives of Singapore document no. mbt19941112s)
21. “300 Businesses Sign Up To Be More Environment-Friendly,” Straits Times, 5 November 1998, 30. (From NewspaperSG)
22. “3 Estates To Recycle Waste,” New Paper, 1 November 1990, 4 (From NewspaperSG); Chew, “Ministry Will Persist in Public Education To Protect Environment.”
23. “Replanting of Tree Saplings To Launch Clean, Green Week,” Straits Times, 2 October 1991, 25; “Page 32 Advertisements Column 1,” Straits Times, 4 August 1999, 32. (From NewspaperSG)
24. “Nominations Open for New Environment Award,” Straits Times, 3 April 2004, 9. (From NewspaperSG)
25. Dominic Nathan, “New Body To Coordinate Environmental Groups,” Straits Times, 7 November 1995, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
26. Mathew Pereira, “New Body Set Up to Give Greening a Boost in Singapore,” Straits Times, 7 November 1990, 3 (From NewspaperSG); The Singapore Green Plan Action Programmes: Status of Implementation, Apr to Jun 97  (Singapore: [s.n.], 1997), 1–1. (Call no. RSING q363.70095957 SIN)
27. “Clean and Green Singapore,” National Environment Agency, 23 November 2015.  



Further resources
Adventures With Captain Green (Singapore: Ministry of the Environment, 1999). (From PublicationSG)

C. Chang, “Bring Back Campaigns,” New Paper, 26 November 2006, 12. (From NewspaperSG)

Leng G. S. Y., and Environmental Education Department, Ministry of the Environment, Captain Green Book Series: With Original Songs (Singapore: Ministry of the Environment, 2001), kit. (Call no. RUR 333.72 CAP)

Ministry of Information and the Arts, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and the Minister for Communications and Minister for the Environment Mah Bow Tan Are Greeted by Captain Green, the Mascot for the Clean and Green Week at the Launch of the Clean and Green Week at the Marina City Park, 7 November 1993, photograph. (Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, National Archives of Singapore media-image no. 19980000268-0002)



The information in this article is valid as at 2016 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.