City Developments Limited establishes the “CDL Young CSR Leaders Fund” at SMU to Nurture New Generation of Socially Conscious Business Leaders

[Photo: SMU undergraduate with SMU President, Professor Arnoud De Meyer, interacting with a beneficiary as part of the SMU Challenge 2013.]

Property developer City Developments Limited (CDL), in partnership with Singapore Management University (SMU) has set-up a S$200,000 “CDL Young CSR Leaders Fund” which will provide funding for SMU undergraduates to take part in Local as well as Overseas Community Service Projects.  The Fund, which takes effect from 1 January 2014, will be administered by the Centre for Social Responsibility (C4SR) at SMU.

For over 50 years, CDL has helped to shaped Singapore’s cityscape with numerous award winning architectural homes, offices, malls and hotels. Beyond its brick-and-mortar, the company has been an active, pioneering advocate for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Singapore. Besides championing the development of green buildings and sustainable business practices, CDL also believes in the importance of youth development and nurturing a new generation of socially and environmentally conscious business leaders. 

Even before the Fund was established, CDL has been providing financial support for sustained and impactful community service projects undertaken by SMU students since 2009. For instance, CDL has for the past three years supported “Project Namaste”, which aims to continually improve the infrastructure and educational resources available in the rural villages of Nepal. CDL also supported the annual SMU Challenge 2013 – a nine-month university-wide fundraising campaign which raised over S$60,000 in cash and in-kind for the less privileged; and 2,500 kg of food and necessities were delivered to 170 beneficiary households.

“Youth development has been one of our key CSR focuses for almost two decades now.  We want to encourage and empower the youths to be change makers in the business and community arenas. The CDL Young CSR Leaders Fund will help extend our support for more youth-led community service and development projects at SMU. We hope that the Fund raises awareness as well as creates a higher level of civic engagement for Singapore’s youth," said Mr Kwek Leng Joo, CDL’s Managing Director and President of Singapore Compact for CSR.  

CDL’s efforts to enhance youth development also include its signature outreach initiatives such as the CDL E-Generation Challenge (an annual “Amazing Race”-style eco-rally for youths), the BCA-CDL Green Sparks Competition (a biennial green building competition for tertiary students) and the annual CDL-Singapore Compact Young CSR Leaders Award (a case study competition aimed at promoting CSR).

From 2000 to 2013, SMU students have rendered a total of more than 1.8 million hours of community service. In 2013, about 5,400 SMU students were actively involved in various community service endeavours. Three quarters of the students contributed locally while the rest were involved in about 170 projects in 18 countries.

Ms Devi, Head, Centre for Social Responsibility, said, “We are heartened that more and more organisations are paying it forward. I would like to take this opportunity to thank CDL for their commitment and support for community engagement at the University. SMU is greatly appreciative of CDL’s leadership in this important area. On top of their generosity, CDL’s willingness to share their ideas and experiences help advance our mission. We look forward to working further with CDL on enhancing the impact and influence of SMU’s community engagement in Singapore and the region in the years to come.”

CDL will be listed on SMU’s Donor Wall as a “Benefactor” of the University, in recognition of its sustained support.

About City Developments Limited 

As Singapore's property pioneer, City Developments Limited (CDL) is a listed international property and hotel conglomerate with over 30,000 luxurious and quality homes to its name. CDL has been leading the industry with green building innovation since the 1990s and awarded the Green Mark Platinum Champion Award in 2011 and the Built Environment Leadership Platinum Award in 2009 by Building and Construction Authority (BCA) for its commitment to sustainable development and Singapore’s built environment. Globally, CDL is the first Singapore corporation to be listed on three of the world’s leading sustainability benchmarks – FTSE4Good Index Series (since 2002), Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (since 2010) and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (since 2011).

For more information on CDL, please visit www.cdl.com.sg.