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For Jacqui Hocking, her passion to do-good fuels her. “I have always been driven to stand for a higher purpose, not take anything for granted and work hard to create a lasting impact.” she said. “My personal objective is to get more people inspired to do the free B Impact assessment and start thinking about things beyond profit for their startups.” Jacqui is CEO and Storyteller of Vision Strategy Storytelling (or VS Story), a media company which helps brands get more visibility through innovative video, virtual reality, photography and social media campaigns. “I was lucky enough to discover a passion for filmmaking and be born into a generation with so much technology at my fingertips. So, I have been working endlessly over the last 10 years to create videos for social and environmental impact.” she continued. Her Passion For Sustainable Development Goals Though the pandemic restricted her movements, it hasn’t stopped her commitment. During her Conversation of Change interview, she talked about the various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and environmental issues she cares about, which translates into her business. “Whenever someone joins, they have to fill up a form to let us know what goal they are most passionate about.” In her case, Jacqui feels strongly for the UN's Global Goal 5 ‘Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls’, Global Goal 17 ‘Partnerships For The Goals’, climate change and creating a more circular economy. As CEO of a B-Corps Company That passion translates into the work her company does. VS Story has been rated as a service with a minor environmental footprint and has been a certified B-Corps since Jan 2018. B-Corps are part of a pioneering movement for organisations to stake claim as socially responsible businesses. The community ‘works toward reduced inequality, lower levels of poverty, a healthier environment, stronger communities, and the creation of more high quality jobs with dignity and purpose.’ It’s not simply lip service with these companies, they are truly brands that advocate social responsibility. “It’s the B-Corps spirit. All the B-Corps around the world have more or less aligned towards being carbon-neutral.” which is achieving a zero carbon footprint by ‘balancing’ any carbon emissions any organisation (or individual) produces through investing in environmental projects around the world. “For us, the one way that we can contribute to that is what we are currently working on. Maybe it’s someone in the organisation that can reduce your electricity bill or it’s a tree plantation in the Amazon Rainforest. We’re mapping out an ecosystem for Asia so that we can give a roadmap for other companies to follow suit.” Balancing Our Carbon Footprint “The other thing is, people don’t realise how much waste they’re producing everyday.” Neutralising an individual’s carbon footprint is just as important as any big corporation. Climate change is one of the goals Jacqui advocates for and enthusiastically gave examples of how we can do our part for the environment. She explained that instead of using Google, people could choose Ecosia which is a search engine that plants trees (with over 180 million planted so far). And every time someone takes a video or photo, it lives somewhere and it doesn’t just disappear. “I don’t think people have really understood that.” As a photographer she takes pictures of “every single thing and I love Instagram, like everybody. But I think it’s about doing it with mindfulness so you’re not contributing to normal waste. You’re really adding value to people’s lives. “For example, I’m sharing this photo not because I want to brag about what I ate for breakfast this morning, but I want to promote The Social Space, which is a great cafe in Singapore.” Creating a Circular Economy This last example goes back to creating a more circular economy. “Normally when you buy a product, you use it and then throw it out, so there’s kind of this one-way process.” she remarked. “Oftentimes, this is a huge loss. Look at chopsticks, no one ever thinks about chopsticks but actually they’re made of bamboo, which is a great material. And we use hundreds and thousands of them everyday. “I always tell people ‘waste’ is a verb, not a noun.” ChopValue is a company she loves that is trying to minimise waste, with their mission to urban harvest, recycle and transform chopsticks into furniture. It’s no surprise her biggest ambition is to build a stronger network around the world that are working on these issues. What’s Next For Jacqui “I think that as much as it has been a difficult year, it’s been an incredible opportunity to meet people with expertise in their fields. And so the next level for me, now with this storytelling company and it’s on this amazing path, I want to really move into really implementing impact, being that bridge between these companies and all of these incredible visionaries and solutions that exist out there. “That’s kind of the next step for me, on the front of whether that’s investment or that’s really kind of advisory, implementing SDG solutions is something I'm really excited about for 2021.” Next week, we’ll highlight Thomas Ng, CEO of Genashtim, a certified B-Corps, whose inclusive business model has provided employment for Persons with Disabilities, LGBT and elderly individuals. Look out for the 8th episode of Conversation of Change. These philanthropic efforts show that these socially responsible companies don’t focus on profits alone, which is rare enough, but they are achieving so much by leading by example. So why not find out about starting one of your own? Listen to the conversation HERE

PODCAST SUMMARY SA Expeditions is a virtual travel company that specialises in curating bespoke, privately guided travel experiences. Founded in 2010, SA Expeditions differs from other companies as all the travel explorations that they offer comes with an added purpose. The company strongly believes that when done right, travel has the power to leave a huge impact on a person and even on communities. JOURNEY FOR PURPOSE At the start, the focus was more on offering custom travels, altering each one to fit different types of travelers. Each experience however would still allow some level of spontaneity as well as opportunities to interact with the locals. As the company moves forward, they felt the need to create more impact through the travels that they offer. They begin to look into various social aspects and consider how they can integrate them. Currently, the three pillars that the company decided to focus on are community, conservation, and awareness. It started with an awareness campaign, where the CEO of SA expeditions himself joined an international expedition team and went on a hiking trip from Cuenca, Ecuador to Cusco, Peru. The journey included hiking through the Qhapac ñan and The Great Inca trail which is listed under the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and also is in danger of disappearing. Riva further explains that this exploration led the company into curating travels along The Great Inca Trail and other regions of Peru that are less explored. Travelers can choose these trails as an alternative to the traditional Inca Trail which is much more marketed and visited by other Tourists. These new tracks will allow travelers to experience the area of Machu Picchu that will benefit from tourism and is less explored. Furthermore, it will offset and mitigate the issue of over-tourism that the site of the traditional Inca Trail is at risk. All these factors then become the inspiration for the company’s shift in focus towards, community, conservation, and awareness along with supporting other causes. “.. and since then we have made other changes such as going carbon neutral, supporting deforestation efforts and charity matching with our workers and among other things” TRAVELER’S CONTRIBUTION When a traveler chooses to go on a trip with SA Expeditions, they will be contributing to the communities through the multiple efforts that the company is involved in. The company also ensures that any carbon produced through each travel will be offset. The offset is done through two different approaches. One is through tree planting which contributes to the efforts of restoring the native habitats in the Andes. According to Riva, the company does try to tree plant in areas that are covered in the tracks that they offer to allow travelers to see these trees for themselves. However, just that approach is not enough for the company’s carbon offset. To offset the rest of the carbon produced, the company partners with an organisation that is running its own projects. One of the said projects is mitigating the deforestation issue in Brazil. In addition to having their carbon footprint offset, travelers can also rest assured that any tour that they take part in is operating by ethical means. The company believes that it is important for these tour operators to help promote sustainable economic growth in the destinations that they are operating from. “you have to take into account a lot more than just the carbon offsets. There is so much more to look into and it is definitely an important piece” reiterated Riva on ethical practices by tour groups, especially in developing countries. A MEMORABLE TRIP When asked to choose a favorite destination, Riva responded by saying that it is very hard to do so as each travel came with its own special experience. What she did end up sharing however was on a trip that she found was most significant to her. She then talked about her trip to the Amazon and the Sacred Valley which is near Machu Picchu. She went on this trip with her family including her niece and nephews. They went on a small river cruise to the Amazon and get to experience seeing various wild lives from pink river dolphins to monkeys and even anacondas, some of which they managed to see up close. Moreover, they also got the opportunity to interact with the communities that met along the way. Her niece and nephew even played together with kids that lived in the area and were of similar age to them. Riva felt that this travel would have left a huge impact, especially on her niece and nephew. The travel has allowed them to experience nature and expand their cultural knowledge, as they grew up and spent their time mostly in San Diego. Being able to view the lifestyle of other communities and see how different it is from one’s own way of living would be a huge learning journey for anyone. WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT The thought of going on more meaningful trips to less marketed and tourist-driven areas may have crossed the minds of many. But, it is also easy to brush the idea off as the thought of going to an unfamiliar place can be overwhelming. With organizations like SA Expedition, however, one can easily go on a trip that is affordable, filled with culture and nature, as well as receive guidance from destination experts. A journey for purpose is not as hard to achieve as long as you receive the right help. Listen to the whole conversation here:

“‘Hey, I have solution that’s sustainable, that’s cost-competitive and it’s made out of landfill trash.’” Liat Arad announced proudly. As the Vice President of Marketing at UBQ Materials, she leads a robust team of marketing associates in crafting the UBQ narrative. She develops and oversees communication and branding strategy across platforms. Prior to her focus on sustainability, Liat worked as a strategic planner at Publicis turning market insights into big ideas. “My job is to really spread the word the kind of revolutionary technology and sustainable solution that UBQ has to offer to the manufacturing industry.” said Liat. “A lot of times, people hear our story and they get really connected to the part about ‘We can empty landfills’. “The reality is that the demand for plastic’s not going anywhere. The demand for plastic is just increasing; and we’ve found a solution that is kind of able to chew into that market and have a positive carbon footprint.” UBQ Materials, a certified B-Corps since 2018, has been tackling the ever-growing global threat of landfill waste by transforming home waste into a new and usable plastic substitute that can reduce carbon emissions. WHAT IS UBQ™? “In my garbage pail in my kitchen I have leftover food from last night’s dinner, I have plastic packaging, cardboard from a recent shipment, and dirty diapers - lots of dirty diapers - and these are generally things that are considered unrecyclable especially when they are in one single stream. “What UBQ does is we have this patented technology that allows us to take all of that mixed waste together in a single stream and create from it a completely new material that is bio-based and climate-positive.” Liat explained how usually all the trash that’s in a landfill would decompose and release methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas and 6 times more potent than CO2. “It’s a dump truck that turned left into our facility, instead of right into a landfill.” So for every tonne (about 907kg) of UBQ™ used, around 15 tonnes of CO2 is saved. It makes it all the more apparent why they would be classified as the ‘most climate positive material in the market’. Their material is consistently made across the board, where organics taken from trash - and that can be anyone’s trash - are broken down into molecular building blocks. Household waste is no longer paper, cardboard or even chicken bones because they’re reconstituted when bound together with mixed plastics. As complicated as it sounds, to be able to turn even the “dirty part of a dirty diaper” into a plastic that’s actually environmentally friendly is truly out of this world. And although UBQ Materials has been around since 2012, they weren’t the “magical solution” seen today. “It was basically not an overnight success. There was a lot of work, around 7 years of R&D” so they really came out into the market at the end of 2018. “We really, really waited. We didn’t launch anything beta, we waited till we had all the necessary certifications, making sure our material could stand up to industry standards because we knew we only had one shot.” THEIR SOLUTION TO A GREENER PLANET Since then, they’ve won awards like being the Top 10% of B-Corps doing ‘environmental good’ and made major moves in the industry. “It’s very much on majority of large companies’ agendas to go green or to reduce their carbon footprint, whether it’s because of public perception or because it’s an innate part of their brand value or because of the increasing amount of regulations and economic benefits for companies that are choosing to use sustainable materials.” Last year, they announced a collaboration with Daimler, the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz, to implement UBQ™ into car parts. Liat expressed that just because it’s made of waste, doesn’t mean it can’t become a product that’s for luxury. “Every material that comes as part of your Mercedes goes through hundreds of tests and trials before it gets accepted. So in order to be able to enter the automotive industry, which is extremely regulated, with a material that’s converted from landfill waste was a huge, huge hurdle that we were able to overstep. “It did a lot for the perception of UBQ.” And then this year, they are working with McDonald’s in Brazil to replace their plastic trays with ones made with UBQ™ - up to 7,200 trays made with UBQ™ were introduced in 30 restaurants. “It’s not yucky. Your tray is not made out of waste, it’s converted from waste. At the end of the process, it’s a completely different material. “Globally, there’s a race to reach net zero for all of these companies. In that sense, I think there’s a lot of fear around going green because it’s the assumption that, ‘I’d love to be good for the earth but it’s too expensive.’ Here, we’re really challenging that assumption and saying, ‘You can do it! And your CFO will even approve.’” For a massive franchise like McDonald’s to make a move toward a positive change for the environment is a real feat. And Liat remains ever optimistic for the future. “There’s so many people who are so passionate about saving this planet, and kind of keeping it intact for our future generations and our children. “I would say that my real hope is to get that first milestone: we, UBQ, emptied a local landfill. It’s going to be really, really exciting. It’s going to require a lot of big commitments from our partners and expansion but that’s something we’re really excited about.” Listen to the Conversation of Change Podcast

The world that we are living in has reached a serious warning level for our environment and nature. The consequences can be felt everywhere on earth. These consequences have resulted in many lives lost, and many businesses affected. Countries now need to strategically rethink about how they can combat climate change , with new rules and regulations to aid businesses to go green. Companies that decide to make a change might have a better reputation overall, and garner attention from customers who are willing to fork out more money for products and services that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. 1. Start Eco-Friendly Programs As an exemplar, you can start a small-scale change in your workplace. Some of these changes can be: Starting a recycling program in your office. Asking the cafeteria to avoid the unnecessary use of plastic, such as straws and other packaging. Encouraging your personnel to save energy by powering down their computers and monitors when not in use. Providing rewards for employees who make the effort in the eco-friendly program. 2. Get Everyone on Board Having a ‘Green Team’ of employees who will brainstorm and help implement environmentally friendly changes in the workplace can be effective in kickstarting the green movement internally. Additionally, encouraging and rewarding employees who display environmentally conscious behavior will also help. 3. Audit Yourself Begin by getting a holistic picture of your current environmental practices. It is vital to identify areas for improvements and act on them. Try to find out how to make the process of your factories more efficient and eco-friendly. Ask yourself questions like: Can we switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy? What about our suppliers or our business partners? What are their environmental practices like, and can we switch to more eco-friendly alternatives? 4. Review and Adapt As you tick each item off the list, review your progress and adapt if necessary. As your business changes and grow, your priorities may change. Adapt your plan as you go, and ensure that environmental considerations are part of your business planning. It is important to continue making progress towards being as environmentally friendly as possible in all aspects of your business. 5. Plan Earth Day and Other Environmental Events Raising awareness of green issues should start within the company first. This can be done through company events for your employees to find out more in a fun and engaging way. Once your employees are aligned on their environmental impact plans, they would be better equipped to promote your company’s products to environmentally conscious customers. You looking to start a green programme in your company? Get in touch with us Make The Change is on the way to becoming Carbon Neutral by 2030 and will like to share our experiences. Resources: _ https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/become-an-environmentally-friendly-company-earth-day--cms-33083 _ https://www.thebalancesmb.com/greening-your-business-2948100 _ https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/7-green-business-tips-to-help-make-your-company-eco-friendly/

Alongside with our intern, Rachael, from Hong Kong, we also welcomed Elizabeth to our Make The Change team! As an individual that enjoys creating and sharing meaningful content - from videos to crafting witty Instagram captions, Elizabeth worked closely with the community development team to improve and upgrade Design For Good (a project under MTC’s wing) and MTC’s social media accounts. As a former intern of TheSmartLocal, she was able to provide many valuable insights and tips on how to manage and expand our reach on social media. With her expertise, she participated in the brainstorming of content suitable for our social media platforms and assisted in producing our social media calendar for the month of July. Additionally, she partook in research works and gave many great suggestions on how we can redesign the website’s layout to cater to Singaporean’s preferences as we gear towards refurbishing Design For Good website. Other than creative works, Elizabeth was also exposed to other job scope under Make The Change, such as facilitating our online learning programmes and assisting in pitching to agencies. She mentioned that she managed to get a glimpse of the back-end work and tremendous effort our employees put into running a social enterprise. Despite being with us for only a month, the experience of working at a social enterprise was an eye opener to her as she witnessed how ideas are generated over daily online meetings, how much hard work is put into running a smooth online workshop, and how the MTC team worked together to carry out projects. We are thankful to have such a creative and initiative individual interning at Make The Change and we hope that this experience has widened her perspective of social enterprises in Singapore! We wish her all the best for her future endeavours and all the best for her studies in NUS! If you are looking to experience working in the social sector, we welcome you to join our team! Click here for more information about our internship opportunities.

Students from Zhenghua Secondary School (Left) and Bedok Green Secondary School (Right) From 30 October to 3 November, Make The Change warmly welcomed nine interns from two schools, Bedok Green Secondary School and Zhenghua Secondary School! Though it was a short one-week internship, the interns managed to hone many new skills and gained a fruitful experience nonetheless. For many of our interns, it was their first time being directly involved in a social enterprise, but as they stepped out of their comfort zone, not only were they able to forge new friendships, they also gained fresh perspectives of the world around them. During the internship, the nine interns had the opportunity to visit a school which offers special education to students with mild Intellectual Disability (MID) and/or mild Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). When faced with a tight deadline to prepare for a workshop at the school, the interns learned to take challenges in their stride and face them well! Moreover, they also shared that interacting with students with special needs while guiding them through the workshop was an undoubtedly meaningful experience. "Working in a social enterprise with flexible schedules will require facing incoming challenges and dealing with them in short notices." - Qin Yue hao (Bedok Green Secondary) "...I learnt to communicate effectively with my team members, and to adapt to sudden changes in plans!" - Trina Kee (Zhenghua Secondary) "During our visit to Metta School as workshop facilitators, I was able to learn more about the students with MID. ...I even got to know more about their school experiences and their plans after graduation! ...One key takeaway was understanding that no one is perfect, and everyone is struggling in their own way, whether we know it or not." - Zhi Lin (Zhenghua Secondary) "In my five days at MTC, I gained more than just IT skills. The workshop highlighted the underprivileged in society, inspring me to consider ways to help them better." - Adrien Chan (Bedok Green Secondary) Besides the opportunity and challenge to manage multiple responsibilities while remaining adaptable, our interns also benefited from technical learning experiences, such as helping with design and marketing, writing, and utilising technology throughout the course of their internship journey. "When I was asked to produce an article, I faced challenges in content creation, but eventually managed it with online research. I also recognised the significance of diligence in tasks that were more detail-oriented. Having been inspired by the resilience of the staff, I truly aspire to emulate their qualities!" - Aloysius Seah (Zhenghua Secondary) "I learnt that having teamwork matters the most when there are many tasks allocated. I also enjoyed being able to learn the different ways of online marketing." - Farisha (Zhenghua Secondary) "From this internship experience, I learnt more about the responsibilities of a company when design and marketing is involved. This gave me a broader understanding of the work life in the future." - Jayden (Zhenghua Secondary) "I was tasked to make slides about how social media reels, posts and stories can help in digital marketing. I have also learnt how to better utilise features on Canva for projects and slide-making." - Yu Hui (Zhenghua Secondary) "I learned how to use Apple devices and gained valuable insights into the working world as well as what to expect of it." - Jayren Choi (Bedok Green Secondary) Despite this being a short internship experience, we are grateful for the help provided by all the interns. We hope that your time with us at Make The Change was a fulfilling and memorable one!

It has been reported in the Singapore Mental Health Study 2016 that one in seven people in Singapore has experienced mental health issues in their lifetime. In order to increase awareness of mental health and raise funds to support Caregivers Alliance Limited, a team of Make The Change staff will be trekking to the Everest Base Camp (EBC) in April 2020. The experience of people with mental health conditions and their caregivers is a journey of resilience. For many of them, just getting through daily life can feel like scaling a mountain. Life has its ups and downs, but we want to be able to put our best foot forward and give everything our best shot, so as to get more people to talk about mental health issues and debunk the many misconceptions surrounding them. For these reasons, we will be trekking to Everest Base Camp together with another 40 representatives from Institute of Mental Health, SGX, Resilience Collective, AIC, NCSS, Deutsche Bank, Care Givers Alliance, and Accenture Only 2 of our team members will be going to Everest but the rest of the team in Singapore is supporting the movement by selecting Yolo2020 as one of our Pro-Bono creative clients. Our team is helping in the marketing and communication strategies supporting all the teams on their fundraising campaigns. You can also support the project by visiting the Giving.sg page Here And stay updated on our Social Media channels on the progress of our team.

For three weeks, Make The Change had the privilege of mentoring 6 secondary school students from Raffles Girls, Nanyang Girls and Pei Hwa Secondary. They were wonderfully sociable, independent, kind and enthusiastic. As they readily took on a major project 'Jeans For Change', their time was also spent learning from our various workshops on Social Entrepreneurship, Videography For Good, Digital Arts For All. These are their video testimonials (shot by them): Looking to start your Social Entrepreneurship career? Come talk to MTC about our internship opportunities!

“To make a big difference in the world, you need to address what you do every day.” said Kené Umeasiegbu, Campaigns Director of Tesco. Tesco is one of the world's largest retailers of consumer goods. ‘Every little help makes a big difference’ is their value which underpins their approach to sustainability. In fact, he shares how they were the first business in the world to set themselves the target of becoming “zero carbon” back in 2009. Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said, “In this critical decade for tackling climate change, it’s vital we challenge ourselves to be more ambitious in our aims and accelerate progress against them. At Tesco, we’re playing our part by creating a better basket for our customers and the planet. “No one business can tackle these challenges alone. We must take collective action as a food industry to drive the transformational changes necessary to meet the UK’s climate commitments.” TESCO’S PARTNERSHIP WITH WWF Since 2018, a notable partnership Tesco has is with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Despite being very different organisations, they share a common ambition to make affordable, healthy, sustainable food available to everyone. The Tesco-WWF Sustainable Basket Metric has the goal of halving the environmental impact of an average shopping basket. “It is a great opportunity to bring about change.” They want to track the entire ‘food value chain’ from production (farming, fishing) to delivery (transportation, packaging) to consumption (waste and dietary choice). “We thought if we could cut the environmental impact of the shopping basket by 50% that it would take us a long way to achieving the goals we had.” “We think that by working together, we might be able to help contribute to the transition that needs to happen,” he said. “WWF, with their reputation, insights, experience and trust they have with the public; and Tesco, with the agency and proximity to the public in the UK.” They’ve been conducting research and it shows in their Living Planet Report how wildlife populations have fallen by 60% in the last 50 years. WWF states that the single biggest reason for such a decline is the global food system. “WWF feels that to get to a greener world, they need to work with food businesses. So, in the UK, they’ve come to us as one of the biggest food producers, to work with us to address this challenge by paying attention to the three-pronged approach.” The first is ‘restoring nature in food production’ where they believe it’s possible to produce food that protects the natural resources it depends on. They plan to eliminate deforestation from imported products like soy, cattle and to reach a 100% sustainable seafood range. The second is helping everyone to eat more sustainably and the third is cutting down on waste. Unnecessary packaging and plastic waste is continuously putting pressure on nature and choking marine life. Nearly a third of food produced never makes it to the table; and UK households throw away an average of £470 (estimated SG$881) of perfectly good food every year. WHY IS THERE FOOD WASTE? “Sometimes the food waste is caused inadvertently by retailers without meaning to. For instance, we might get a promotion to encourage people to eat more vegetables and we say ‘you buy one, you get one free’. That might encourage people to take more vegetables than they need and when they get home they find they never get round to eating it, it just sits in the fridge and wilts or ends up being thrown in the bin.” explains Kené. “The other thing is the Best By date. You put a date on the back of a produce product and say if you eat it by this date it’s in its best shape. Most people treat it almost as law, to say that if, for instance, it’s one hour after the date, they put it in the bin. But actually that food is still completely okay to eat.” They’ve since removed a lot of those dates that confused the public and emphasised people should trust their common sense. REDUCING FOOD WASTE AT HOME “About one-third of all the food produced in the world goes to waste and that's not acceptable in a world where billions of people still go to bed hungry.” said Kené. “In the UK, over 70% of food waste happens at home. And that's a picture that we see in most developed economies where food is not a significant part of the person's income.” To tackle this, Tesco has been raising awareness with their own customers. Their ‘No Time for Waste Challenge’ was part of a six-week pilot programme that supported 53 diverse households. What they did created significant shifts in household behaviour and a month after it ended, almost all of their participants said they were wasting less food than before. According to Kené they saw “dramatic improvements” in household food waste and they plan to take what they learnt to roll out a bigger programme to help more customers across the UK. “Before you go to shop for produce products in our stores, check your kitchen, check what you have already. If you have some tomatoes from last week, don't buy another one because then it might go to waste. “And the other thing we try to encourage them to do, is to think about how they store this product when they get it. We tell them which one goes in the fridge, which is in the freezer, which one goes in the cupboard. Then the other thing we try to educate them is on how to make exciting new meals using leftovers from last night.” DONATING TO THOSE IN NEED “Instead of letting food waste, why not give it to those who need it?” Kené elaborates that they have two initiatives involving food donation. One is their Food Collection drive, inviting their customers to donate long-life products like tins of tomatoes and beans. The second is when Tesco donates the surplus of products not sold to customers. They work with organisations like FareShare, which redistributes surplus food to charities and they turn it into meals. “Whether it’s a women’s shelter or drug rehabilitation programmes or children in deprived communities, those community groups come to take the surplus food that we couldn’t sell in our stores but they’re still perfectly edible and safe to eat.” Even during the pandemic when customers would panic buy, he asserts that Tesco “made sure the charities had the resources and food they needed to look after the community groups”. Kené said he was personally most proud of how Tesco acted to those who were vulnerable during the pandemic. “We were very proud to play the role of making sure that they weren’t forgotten,” he conveyed. “We served them by taking food to them whether they were traditional Tesco customers or weren’t. We wanted to make sure that we’re all in this together. “People found it a great lifeline, at the time they were struggling the most.” Listen to the Conversation of Change podcast TIMESTAMPS Timestamps for Conversation of Change interview with Kené Umeasiegbu 00.00 Introduction to Conversation Of Change and Make The Change 00.32 Introduction to Kené Umeasiegbu, Campaigns Director of Tesco 01.14 Kené Umeasiegbu’s background 02.04 Tesco’s Little Helps Plan and how it helps to tackle social and environmental challenges 03.25 Kené talks about the four pillars of the Little Helps Plan: People, Product, Planet, Places 05.44 Tesco’s partnership with World Wide Fund (WWF). It’s helped customers eat more sustainably and how it has helped restore nature in food production 09.54 Tesco’s efforts during the pandemic and The Tesco Food Collections event 14.15 Kené shares/elaborates that they have two initiatives involving food donation. One where Tesco donates the surplus of products not sold to customers and about their customers donating to The Tesco Food Collections event 16.56 Tesco’s No Time for Waste Challenge has helped families across Britain save money by reducing food waste. 22.40 Tesco is the first UK retailer to commit to publishing the sales of plant-based proteins and switching to run the entire business on green energy by 2030. Kené shares some upcoming projects that will continue to aid sustainability and his vision for the future 27.45 Closing remarks

PODCAST SUMMARY In this episode of Conversation of Change, we have invited Hidekatu Shigekawa. He is the director of H.A.M. Creations Pte Ltd which is an agency that specialises in Visual Merchandising and Experiential Activation. The agency is also an advocate for inclusive hiring. The podcast explored the inclusive hiring landscape in the context for SMEs, and the misconceptions & challenges that come with it. Also included in the session is a sharing about a toolkit that Make The Change has co-created with raiSE Singapore, for raiSE, to better guide businesses in the process of inclusive hiring. Listen to the whole conversation here: What’s next? Reconfiguring how we approach these challenges is thus the key to addressing these challenges. raiSE, in collaboration with Make The Change, has jointly organised an Inclusive Hiring for Business Growth Workshop to kickstart your company’s Inclusive Hiring Journey! Find out more here.

Are you an educator looking to transform your classroom management skills? Or perhaps you're a professional seeking to enhance your communication abilities in any setting? Our Vocal Techniques Workshop is designed just for you! Unlock the Power of Your Voice Voice control is more than just speaking; it’s about commanding attention, conveying authority, and fostering a positive environment. Whether you’re teaching a class, leading a meeting, or speaking in public, the way you use your voice can make all the difference. Why This Workshop is a Game-Changer In our workshop, you'll dive deep into essential vocal techniques that go beyond traditional classroom management. You’ll focus on these key areas: Clear Communication: Practice clear and concise verbal communication to ensure students understand expectations and instructions Deliberate Pausing:  Explore the power of pausing to emphasise critical points, manage classroom attention, and provide students with time to process information Use Non-Verbal Communication:  Combine vocal techniques with non-verbal cues (body language) to reinforce your messages effectively Beyond the Classroom While our workshop focuses on classroom applications, the skills you’ll gain are invaluable in any context. These techniques are essential for effective leadership, public speaking, and professional presentations, making this workshop beneficial for anyone looking to enhance their vocal presence and confidence in various settings. What You’ll Gain Enhanced Classroom Management:  Use your voice to create a positive, engaging learning environment. Improved Public Speaking:  Captivate any audience with dynamic and confident speech. Better Personal Interactions:  Communicate more effectively in everyday conversations. Register Now! Whether you’re an educator, a professional, or anyone looking to improve their communication skills, take the first step towards mastering the art of vocal control. Click here  to register and unlock the power of your voice!

I’m Jeremin Sng, a final year student pursuing a Diploma in Business and Social Enterprise at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. My aspiration in life is to open a restaurant. As of current, my internship at Make The Change as a community development and marketing intern has come to a bittersweet end. In MTC, my diversified job scope has enabled me to experience disparate types of work. I have completed digital marketing tasks that range from product photography and videography to copywriting. Being given the autonomy to manage my own time has also allowed me to spearhead community projects. In particular, People With Dreams Community is one of the most memorable projects I have taken on while interning in MTC. PWDC is an incubator programme that aims to promote social inclusion in the workplace. Through this project, I was able to befriend many people with disabilities in our community and gain a deeper understanding of the PWD Landscape in Singapore. I interviewed lecturers and PWDs to find out how the PWDs were really doing in life. Many of them were seeking self-improvement and gainful employment. In fact, I produced a mini research paper on PWDs in Singapore to support MTC with their pioneering work in this field. With the interviews I conducted, I was able to create 4 different PWDC videos to showcase the inner struggles and strengths of our beneficiaries. This project was an eye opener as I got to interact firsthand with our beneficiaries and learn from them. Overall, interning at MTC has been a wild journey. When I first started, everything was foreign to me. I had very little design background and had to start from scratch. However, the people in MTC were always there for me when I needed help. Aside from the constant supply of food from them, they would never hesitate to teach me when I am lacking. Their authentic approach to people has helped individuals like me grow. Being able to intern in MTC has helped me learn many things. First of all, it’s never about perfection, but about engaging our audience. The community projects and digital marketing work that we do are not about achieving profits and quota, but rather about connecting and communicating with our audience. To raise awareness of social issues and to bring people together; to empower and transform communities through design. Charity starts from home. Being able to witness a group of people practicing what they preach was a heartwarming experience. Because of them, I was encouraged to reach out and connect with our beneficiaries. Initially, I thought a company’s mission and values were simply sentences to describe who they are and what they stand for. But this experience has taught me that these sentences are in fact the binding agent and the common ground that brings the team together. Psychologists have proven that people will eventually forget the information they acquire, but the feelings that they felt will never be forgotten. In this case, I would like to thank MTC once again for making me feel like home.