ABSTRACT
‘Staying clean and green in Singapore remains as important as ever, because today we have a bigger population, we consume a lot more energy, we generate a lot more waste material’ (Lee, 2014). This quote taken from a speech by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the launch of Clean and Green Singapore 2014 has highlighted the imperativeness of a sustainable environment to support both the current and future generations. Indeed, Singapore has come a long way since its first ‘Green Movement’ 50 years ago when Singapore’s founding father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, planted the first tree (The Straits Times, 2013). Recently, the government has set up a strategic environmental initiative- Singapore Sustainable Development Blueprint (SSDB) – that aims to map out a long-term plan to achieve the twin objectives of economic growth and good living conditions. The blueprint requires the three-way cooperation of the Government, the Private and the People sectors. This is an example of a state-led ecological modernisation in which the state takes initiatives to transform capitalism towards green practices through environmental policies, legislations, educations and enforcements. Does this state-led ecological modernisation have any impact on the culture of consumption and vice-versa? To examine sustainability in Singapore from theory to practice, in line with this ‘tripartite’ framework and promotion of SSDB, my research team and I have conducted a survey in Singapore around the Chinese New Year Celebration. Through this study, we show how celebrations like Chinese New Year can be an important avenue for sustainability education focusing on, for example, how the seemingly insignificant actions by individuals can have far reaching implications on our environment in the future. The study also sheds light on how to teach sustainability (in theory) and reconnect people with nature and society (in practice).
