PSSA 2007 - Corporate Category Award Winner

City Developments Limited

The philosophy of 'one should give back to society what one has gained from it' has been deeply entrenched in the culture of City Developments Limited (CDL) by the late Mr Kwek Hong Png, founder of its parent company, Hong Leong Group.

Since 2002, CDL has been a constituent of the FTSE4Good Social Responsibility Index - an international benchmark that measures corporate social responsibility standards. It is also a member of the Singapore Compact and one of the founding Singapore signatories of the United Nations Global Compact for the advancement of responsible corporate citizenship in Singapore.

In 2005 and 2006, employee volunteerism at CDL reached 70 percent. City Sunshine Club (CSC), a staff volunteer programme that started in 1999, facilitates and encourages staff and their families to be involved in community work. CDL staff have befriended 200 elderly living in one-room flats in areas such as Bukit Merah and Chinatown, providing them with basic necessities and bringing them for outings. Residents at Henderson Senior Citizens' Home are also treated to annual Chinese New Year Lunches at CDL hotels.

In its on-going programme with Assisi Hospice, employees befriend the residents and help to clean and fund-raise for the Hospice. CDL has also adopted Teddy Banks from the Hospice and helped to raise $60,000 within a month. Not forgetting the less fortunate children, CDL staff have since 2003, served as volunteer mentors, organised field trips, and helped out at the annual camps for the children under We-Sharecare Children and Youth Society.

On the fund-raising front, CDL raised a total of $35,000 for TOUCH Community Service through the sale of the Duck Adoption Certificates for the Great Singapore Duck Race in 2001, 2003 and 2007. Since 2002, the Managing Director of CDL, Mr Kwek Leng Joo, has successfully raised $520,000 for several Voluntary Welfare Organisations and charities such as Infant Jesus homes & Children's Centre and Ren Ci Hospital, through the sale of his photography works. Through a series of fund-raising charity bowls that were organised from 1999 to 2001, CDL had raised more than $500,000 for the cancer patients under Assisi Hospice, Breast Cancer Foundation and Children's Cancer Foundation.

CDL also offers a platform for its stakeholders who do not have their own corporate volunteerism programme to participate in its activities. For example, CDL roped in a contractor and paint supplier to help in repainting Assisi Home in 2007.

Other PSSA 2007 winners: