CapitaLand staff volunteers to put in 6,000 hours towards community distribution of free hand sanitiser at 16 malls in Singapore in support of Temasek Foundation’s Stay Prepared initiative

Mr Tan Seng Chai, Chief Corporate & People Officer for CapitaLand Group and Executive Director of CapitaLand Hope Foundation filling a clean reusable bottle with alcohol-free hand sanitiser during a trial conducted with CapitaLand staff on 6 March 2020

Singapore, 17 March 2020 – CapitaLand is supporting Temasek Foundation’s Stay Prepared initiative amid the COVID-19 situation by rallying staff volunteers to distribute alcohol-free hand sanitiser to the Singapore community at 16 participating CapitaLand malls.  CapitaLand staff volunteers are expected to put in about 6,000 hours towards the initiative.

The free hand sanitiser supplied by Temasek Foundation will be available for collection by every household in Singapore at the participating CapitaLand malls from 23 March to 5 April 2020 between 3pm and 9pm on weekdays and from 10am to 9pm on weekends. 

Each household can collect up to 500ml of hand sanitiser when they bring their clean and dry reusable bottle(s) and the #BYOBclean collection pamphlets to the malls.  They can also do so at their neighbourhood Community Centres/Clubs during the first week of 23 to 29 March 2020, at the same operating hours.  Singapore Post has volunteered to send the #BYOBclean collection pamphlets to the mailboxes of all households.

The 16 participating CapitaLand malls are Bedok Mall, Bugis Junction, Bugis+, Bukit Panjang Plaza, Clarke Quay, Funan, IMM, JCube, Junction 8, Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, Plaza Singapura, Raffles City Singapore, SingPost Centre1, Tampines Mall, The Star Vista, and Westgate.  The registration booths as well as the bottle labelling and sanitiser dispensing stations to be set up at the participating malls will be manned by CapitaLand staff volunteers from 23 to 27 March 2020.  A trial was conducted with CapitaLand staff at its offices in Capital Tower and Galaxis on 6 March 2020 to help refine the process for dispensing and collection of the hand sanitiser.  Another trial at Bedok Mall tested the idea of physical distancing for queues.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr Tan Seng Chai, Chief Corporate & People Officer for CapitaLand Group and Executive Director of CapitaLand Hope Foundation

Mr Tan Seng Chai, Chief Corporate & People Officer for CapitaLand Group and Executive Director of CapitaLand Hope Foundation, said: “It has been all hands on deck for us at CapitaLand since the Ministry of Health raised Singapore’s DORSCON level to Orange in early February.  The health and well-being of our customers, staff and the community remain our topmost concern as we put in place all the necessary precautionary measures at our properties. Temasek Foundation’s Stay Prepared initiative is another opportunity for CapitaLand to play our part meaningfully.  The enthusiastic response from our staff volunteers strongly demonstrates that we are all in this together with the community.  As a show of solidarity and support, CapitaLand was also the first corporate donor to contribute to Community Chest’s The Courage Fund, to support vulnerable groups in Singapore affected by COVID-19.”

 

Mr Chris Chong, Managing Director, Retail, CapitaLand Singapore, said: “As the operator of Singapore’s largest shopping mall network with malls conveniently located islandwide, CapitaLand malls are well suited as collection points for the community to receive the free hand sanitiser provided by Temasek Foundation.  Since last month, we have been enhancing our defences against COVID-19 and many of the precautionary measures are already in place to boost public confidence and encourage shoppers to visit the malls.  These include increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting as well as store-level temperature screening, where relevant.  We are looking forward to welcoming the community to our malls2 when they come to collect the hand sanitiser.”

 
Mr Chris Chong, Managing Director, Retail, CapitaLand Singapore

The water-based alcohol-free hand sanitiser by Temasek Foundation contains 0.054% benzalkonium chloride which is one of the non-alcohol disinfectants that can be used against coronaviruses listed in the National Environment Agency’s interim list of active ingredients for disinfection against coronavirus3, and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 4, along with alcohol-based alternatives.  The hand sanitiser is not flammable, toxic or corrosive, and does not stain clothing, or irritate the skin.

Mr Richard Magnus, Chairman, Temasek Foundation Cares, said, “We would like to thank CapitaLand and its volunteers who have generously lent their support to this logistical undertaking.  This is part of a radical and comprehensive battle plan to enable our community to overcome COVID-19. Temasek Foundation and the stakeholders of this initiative stand in solidarity with the government’s plans and actions.  We are leaving no stone unturned and will continue to help build social resilience and instill public confidence during this uncertain period.”

For more information about Temasek Foundation’s #BYOBclean initiative, members of the public may visit stayprepared.sg/BYOBclean, or call the hotline at 1800-738-2000, from 9am to 9pm daily between 16 March and 5 April 2020.  Singapore Power has volunteered to provide call centre services in case of queries on the free hand sanitiser initiative.

Please refer to Annex A for details on collecting free hand sanitiser at CapitaLand malls.

Please refer to Annex B for more information on CapitaLand’s relief measures and community support for stakeholders affected by COVID-19 in Singapore.

For more information on #BYOBclean hand sanitiser: https://stayprepared.sg/byobclean/alcohol-or-not/

 
 
 
 

Notes:

1 SingPost Centre and The Star Vista are CapitaLand managed malls.

2 Shoppers can enjoy free parking, receive STAR$® and eCapitaVouchers at CapitaLand malls in Singapore. More info: https://www.capitaland.com/sg/en/shop/malls/discover/capitalandandyou.html

3 https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/public-cleanliness/environmental-cleaning-guidelines/guidelines/interim-list-of-household-products-and-active-ingredients-for-disinfection-of-covid-19

4 https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/coronavirus-SARS-CoV-2-guidance-environmental-cleaning-non-healthcare-facilities.pdf

 
 
 
  • Annex A - Details on collecting free hand sanitiser at CapitaLand malls

    From 23 March to 5 April 2020, households can collect their 500ml of alcohol-free hand sanitiser at 16 participating CapitaLand malls between 3pm and 9pm on weekdays and from 10am to 9pm on weekends.  The 16 participating CapitaLand malls are Bedok Mall, Bugis Junction, Bugis+, Bukit Panjang Plaza, Clarke Quay, Funan, IMM, JCube, Junction 8, Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, Plaza Singapura, Raffles City Singapore, SingPost Centre, Tampines Mall, The Star Vista, and Westgate. 

    To collect the hand sanitiser, households must bring two items:

    Item 1: #BYOBclean collection pamphlet
    • Households must bring their #BYOBclean collection pamphlet to collect free 500ml hand sanitiser on the specified collection date.
    • A #BYOBclean collection pamphlet with specified collection date will be delivered by Singapore Post to all households.
    • In addition to the collection details, the pamphlet also provides useful information such as the seven-step hand-washing technique to ensure good hand hygiene5.  Hand hygiene is an important precaution to minimise or prevent the transmission of germs that cause respiratory infections like flu, common cold, and COVID-19.

    Item 2: Bring your own clean bottle
    • Households must bring their own clean, reusable bottle(s) to collect the free hand sanitiser.  This #BYOBclean approach is part of our collective responsibility to reuse bottles and reduce waste.
    • The reusable bottles may be an empty shampoo bottle, a glass bottle, or an ordinary PET or other plastic bottles.  Households may also bring up to five smaller bottles, so long as each bottle has at least 100ml of capacity.  Volunteers will affix a special label to each bottle.

    Distribution locations at CapitaLand malls:

    WEEK 1: 23 – 29 MARCH 2020
    • Bedok Mall, Basement 2 MRT Linkway
    • Bugis Junction, Level 1 Malay Street (near StarHub)
    • Bugis+, Level 1 Open Plaza (near Pull & Bear)
    • Bukit Panjang Plaza, Level 1 Outdoor Area (near Wang Café)
    • Clarke Quay, Fountain Square
    • Funan, The Base @ Basement 2
    • IMM, Level 2 #02-111 (near Nike)
    • JCube, Level 2 #02-18 (beside Shi Jian Hot Pot)
    • Junction 8, Level 2 Side Atrium (beside Joe & Dough)
    • Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, Level 1 Covered Plaza
    • SingPost Centre, Level 1 Outdoor Area (beside Hopii Mung)
    • Plaza Singapura, The Courtyard, Level 1 (near HSBC #01-60)
    • Raffles City Singapore, Level 3 Atrium
    • Tampines Mall, Open Plaza, Level 4 (near Long John Silver's)
    • The Star Vista, Level 2 #02-02B (beside Mr D.I.Y and Yayoi)
    • Westgate, Basement 1 Atrium

    WEEK 2: 30 MARCH – 5 APRIL 2020
    • Bedok Mall, Basement 2 MRT Linkway
    • Bugis Junction, Level 1 Malay Street (near StarHub)
    • Bugis+, Level 1 Open Plaza (near Pull & Bear)
    • Bukit Panjang Plaza, Level 1 Outdoor Area (near Wang Café)
    • Clarke Quay, Fountain Square
    • Funan, The Base @ Basement 2
    • IMM, Level 2 #02-111 (near Nike)
    • JCube, Level 2 #02-18 (beside Shi Jian Hot Pot)
    • Junction 8, Level 2 Side Atrium (beside Joe & Dough)
    • Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, Level 1 Covered Plaza
    • SingPost Centre, Level 1 Main Atrium
    • Plaza Singapura, The Courtyard, Level 1 (near HSBC #01-60)
    • Raffles City Singapore, Basement 2 Atrium
    • Tampines Mall, Open Plaza, Level 4 (near Long John Silver's)
    • The Star Vista, Level 2 #02-02B (beside Mr D.I.Y and Yayoi)
    • Westgate, Basement 1 Atrium

    Note:

    5  The seven steps to ensure good hand hygiene are to wash: (i) palm to palm; (ii) between fingers; (iii) back of hands; (iv) base of thumbs; (v) back of fingers; (vi) fingernails; and (vii) wrists. 

     
  • Annex B - CapitaLand’s relief measures and community support for stakeholders affected by COVID-19 in Singapore

    Relief measures for retailers

    • From 14 February 2020 until further notice, retailers operating in CapitaLand malls in Singapore have been offered the flexibility to operate shorter store hours.  CapitaLand has further set up a S$10 million marketing assistance programme to support retailer-driven initiatives and mall-wide promotions to boost consumer spending.

    • In response to Singapore Budget 2020, CapitaLand will pass on the full savings of the Government’s property tax rebate for qualifying commercial properties to its retailers.  For those who heed the Singapore Government’s call to upskill their employees during this period, there are plans to offer relevant training programmes under CapitaLand’s signature Biz+ Series of tenant engagement events.

    • Over and above the Budget 2020 measures, CapitaLand will roll out additional support measures, including rental relief, as part of its commitment to build sustainable partnerships with its retailers.  As COVID-19 has impacted different malls and trade categories in Singapore by varying degrees, the rental relief will be disbursed to tenants in a targeted manner.  CapitaLand will offer various forms of support which may include flexible rental payments and a one-time rental rebate of up to half-a-month for eligible tenants.  In addition, to ease cashflows for its mall tenants in Singapore, CapitaLand will release one month of security deposit to offset rental payments for the month of March 2020.

    Support for tenants’ and clients’ business continuity plans (BCP)

    • CapitaLand has set aside workspace for tenants who require quick setups of alternate sites as part of their BCP.  This includes about 70,000 square metres of space as well as more than 200 coworking seats in its business park, industrial and logistics properties in Singapore.  The workspace will be offered at special packages and flexible lease terms.

    • For business users who require plug-and-play BCP space solutions in Singapore’s central business district, CapitaLand will be offering special packages in coworking spaces operated by its joint venture partner The Work Project.

    • During this period, CapitaLand’s wholly owned lodging unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), is making apartment units available in Singapore to support the additional accommodation needs of its corporate clients as part of their BCP.  Ascott is also proactively extending assistance to guests whose travel plans have been disrupted.  As the COVID-19 situation develops in varied pace and severity in different destinations, guests can contact Ascott’s Global Reservations team (enquiry@the-ascott.com) for assistance regarding their reservations.  The team will be ready to exercise flexibility and provide guests with the right assistance based on its latest policies.  In addition, Ascott Star Rewards (ASR) members can continue to earn points towards their current membership tier status for an additional year until 2021.  The expiry of members’ current balance of ASR points has also been extended until April 2021.

    Support for healthcare workers and the community

    • In Singapore, CapitaLand, through its philanthropic arm CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF), was the first corporate donor to pledge S$300,000 towards Community Chest’s The Courage Fund to support vulnerable groups in Singapore affected by COVID-19.  These include patients, healthcare workers and members of the community.  CapitaLand staff and the public were encouraged to donate to the fund.  Beyond monetary donations, CHF is working with the National Council of Social Service and Community Chest to identify opportunities for CapitaLand staff volunteers to further contribute their time and support these vulnerable groups.

    Precautionary measures and BCP

    • Across its properties globally, the Group has taken precautionary measures in accordance with guidelines from the respective local authorities, while putting in place BCP to enable its critical activities to continue with minimal impact to operations.

    • In Singapore where CapitaLand is headquartered, split team arrangements and alternative work sites are in place to mitigate the risk of cross-infection.  As part of stepped-up measures under orange-level alert in Singapore, visitors to CapitaLand’s commercial, business park and lodging properties are required to take their temperature and provide health and travel declarations before entering.  Shoppers at CapitaLand malls are required to adhere to store-level temperature screening, where relevant.

     

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