Source: DiGi Telecommunications Sdn. Bhd.

Google has been touted as “the most desirable place to work in the United States”. All the way across the globe however, I have discovered that based on aesthetics alone, in my own personal experience, DiGi Telecommunications’ head office, aptly named Digi D’house, is undoubtedly the most desirable place to work in in Malaysia.

It was a good while ago but I significantly recalled reading the newspaper write-up on DiGi’s head office in Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park. I remember seeing the pictures of the head office and thinking to myself “this can’t be in the country!” but yet I continued ogling at such a marvel of an office place. Needless to say I leaped at the opportunity to see first-hand the place DiGi calls home. I certainly went with my own set of expectations in mind and I must admit that right from the moment I set foot in the lobby, keeping my cool was quite a task in itself.

Indeed, we met DiGi. No, the resort-like workplace is not an urban myth but I digress. When we heard of DiGi’s latest Corporate Responsibility (CR) programme we knew we wanted to know more. Any one of us who has lived in Malaysia in recent years will know that DiGi is synonymous with the colour yellow. So when DiGi announced Deep Green (“DG” – pun intended?) it certainly piqued our interest in wanting to delve deeper into DiGi’s CR initiatives. And upon finally coming to a time that is in agreement with the right people, DiGi graciously allowed us to pick at their gray matter.

Initially, the initiation seemingly appeared as a shift in terms of DiGi’s CR efforts. We have always known to associate DiGi’s efforts to community engagement, with which more often than not, it is in relation to the young and the creative ones. “Why the sudden shift?” we thought. It was then revealed to us that it is not a sudden shift that was conceived out of the inevitable growing affinity towards all things going green. It has been a while now that with much awareness, DiGi recognized that there is an alarming and urgent need for change in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry. The one fact that stood out was that from “a McKinsey report on the environmental impact by various industries revealed that the ICT industry is set to outstrip the aviation industry as the major source of CO2 emissions by 2012” (Source: DiGi Telecommunications Sdn. Bhd.).

This doesn’t just involve the industry makers alone – but this includes consumers, myself included, who depend on the ICT industry that contributes to the alarming statement. It is with this in mind that DiGi has cultivated a stance consistent throughout its organization to ensure the preservation and salvation of the environment. It is with such conscientiousness that has led for DiGi to include Environment as one of the legs of the tripod that forms the CR Strategic Focus. From the preservation of the hillock in its office grounds that was kept and built around down to the concept of the large, wide windows throughout the building to ensure reduction of electricity consumption, DiGi is consistent in that it has clearly incorporated sustaining the environment within its own organization before venturing out into the community.

The tagline under the company’s Corporate Responsibility arm – “Doing Great While Doing Good”. The office culture, working environment and D’House alone, this a reflection and fair representation of the company? I for one definitely wouldn’t mind clocking in the long hours (if necessary) in a working environment like this – if everyone works together a common belief, a common good. And yes, I shamefully admit that claiming a site like DiGi D’House as a second home is an all-too alluring thought.

We were refused.

It was quite unfortunate that we were refused an interview with One Utama regarding the environmental-related event which they had in collaboration with One Academy. The person we contacted felt uncomfortable with this research. Well, we thoroughly respect that but once again, would like to reinstate our purpose which is to investigate the awareness and effectiveness of green campaigns for better targeting and sustainable communications in the future. Yes, we are running a business and we never said we are a non-profit organisation neither is this a non-profit project, however we wish to include everyone whom we've talked to and visited and encourage them to be actively involved in this research. We are happy to share the findings and insights of this research with all who have participated at the end of the journey - we just need to figure out the most effective way. Till then, it'd be just The Green Chronicles :)

P/S: This post is not meant to make anyone look bad, but we would like to keep everyone informed on the progress of this research - the good, the bad and the ugly (hopefully, we never have to go there).

Meeting with the One Academy

I met up with Jane of One Academy yesterday. It was very nice of her to spare me sometime even though she was running on a very tight schedule. Thank you Jane! One Academy is an art and design school. They offer courses like multimedia design, digital animation, illustration and interior design. You must be wondering how a design school has anything to do with the environment. Well, they had a Go Green Eco-Design competition in June this year and it was held in 1 Utama. 1 Utama was very generous as all funds and venue for display were provided by them. This project is a graduation project where final year students raise fund for their graduation day. There were a lot of cool stuff invented like hamster cage and also a “lamp” from recycle materials! Cool!

One Academy also has an art school for kids call DaVinci Creative Kids. They have about 30 centers nationwide. Recently, they tie up with Kuntum magazine and organize a workshop where they teach kids to make art and crafts from recycle materials. They have also tie up with Tetra Pak in teaching people how to recycle the packaging by turning them into art and crafts.
It was a very short meeting with Jane, but from here, we gather that there are efforts made to educate college student and kids from young. I remember those days when I was in school; during pendidikan seni classes, we were also though how to make crafts from toothpaste boxes, plastic bottles, the chocolate milk boxes, old newspapers and all sort of recyclable materials. We also have recycle campaigns during school time where all students actively bring old newspapers, bottles and aluminum cans from home because it was a battle between classes. The class which has the most junk wins. Then we will sell the items and have a small “makan” session. I still remember once, we even made a national flag from aluminum cans. We colored them and stuck the cans on to the fence to form the national flag. Wow! Come to think of it, recycling was so much more fun back in school.

I am sitting here right now; in my mid 20s wondering why what I learned in school did not turn me into someone who actively recycles. I did not even remember all the efforts until I started writing here. Is it because what I learned from school doesn’t stick in my mind strong enough to turn it into action? Is it because of the gap from school days and now made me forget all about recycling? Or is it because it is very inconvenient to recycle? I wonder…..

Work from home.

"If everyone who could perform a job remotely did so just 1.6 days per week, $4.5 billion worth of fuel would be spared. That would prevent the release of 26 billion pounds of carbon dioxide each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency."

Original posting at here.

It does sound a little extreme. Before MDs and CEOs start jumping like they're on frying pans, maybe we can tone it down a little. For those who can work remotely, for heaven's sake, WORK remotely. Perhaps we're all stuck in this little system where within the workforce, if one person or a team of people are not there physically, the output becomes inefficient. Is it true? Or is that an urban work myth? What's the point of having all these fancy multi-sharing tools and softwares if we're not able to work remotely anyway?

Something to think about.