(Ecologikal Notes: YTL is one of the biggest carbon emitter in Malaysia, with its cement production, coal fire power plants & property developments, Ruth, it's quite a task to green your dad's money machine, but all the best!)
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- Of late, going green seems to be more of a fad than a crucial effort in finding solutions for environmental issues.
The corporate world embarks on what they call "green initiatives" but one sometime wonders if this effort is more than just a tax-exemption exercise.
Enter Ruth Yeoh, the eldest daughter of the managing director of YTL Group Tan Sri Francis Yeoh.
For those unaware, the group is one of Malaysia's biggest infrastructure conglomerates with businesses across the globe. Ruth is the Director of Investments and the one who leads the environmental division at YTL.
Ruth looks at environmental issues with an open mind and objectively. Her attitude is quite typical of someone in a senior position at a world-renowned conglomerate. She dismisses labels like "corporate social responsibility" (CSR) and says environmental issues like climate change is something that needs to be taken seriously, on both the corporate and personal level.
"My corporate mission here is to help the company go clean and green. My job is to 'clean up' all of our businesses.
"This is beyond CSR. It's corporate governance as well, because we not only give out annual report to stakeholders but it is online so people can review the reports at anytime and write to me if they have any concern or questions," Ruth said in an exclusive with Bernama.
PERSONAL MISSION
Having a background in architecture with a focus on organic and sustainable design has undeniably helped Ruth in adopting measures for sustainability of the planet through the work she does.
"I like what I do so much and I also make it my personal mission. I am a believer that every individual counts. You can be your very own agent of change," said Ruth, who is also a Director at YTL-SV Carbon, YTL's in-house carbon credit and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) consultancy.
Elaborating the power of individual will, Ruth related her experience going into the remote villages of Yunan in China to help with conservation and sustainability efforts.
"China is balancing conservation and development. I can say this personally because I have visited remote villages in Yunan, where they don't even have electricity and basic necessities.
"So the dilemma in talking to them about climate change is a context that doesn't muddle them," she said.
She helped them with a pilot green project, where in her individual capacity she donated USD2,000 to help them build houses that lasts without sacrificing many trees.
"Did you know Tibetan villages cut down a lot of trees just to build a single home that is dark, not insulated and has to be rebuilt again after two years because of the contraction and expansion of the wood?
"That is not sustainable, so we try to use more environmentally-friendly material, bring that to them on a template with plans and scale drawings and suggest to them to build it that way."
She said the plan was to cut down deforestation rate by 20 per cent, something achievable if the right message gets across.
Through the environmental division at YTL, she reports on the organisation's environmental activities through writing Sustainability Reports, published yearly. She also pioneered YTL's annual effort called "Climate Change Week" which she regards as "a gift to the public".
"For the Climate Change Week, we have free screenings of eco-documentaries and movies, we hold talks, seminars, meetings and conferences. We also have youth workshops so the younger generation can participate and have their voices heard," she said.
She explained that her division also organises Earth Hour activities and the response have been so good that participants wanted the event to be held again.
"When you demand for a campaign of this sort, I'm sure that a lot of positive developments will follow," she said.
GLOBAL ISSUE, BUT INDIVIDUAL EFFORT COUNTS
When asked why world leaders had difficulty reaching a consensus at the Copenhagen Climate Summit late last year, she opined:
"The problem with climate change is that it is a global problem that requires global action, that it takes time to come up with an overall precise solution.
"Not only do we have to worry about developed countries but the developing countries too," she said.
Yeoh said the last thing that countries like China, that is growing at an exponential rate, needs is a climate change policy than could hamper its development goals.
"That is the dilemma at the moment. But having said that, I'm actually quite positive because US President Barack Obama, the Chinese president and our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak attended the summit, and that demonstrates participation on policy-making level," she said.
However, she pointed out that addressing climate change is not solely the responsibility of governments and corporate entities and one should never forget that the individual effort to counts.
"But it has to be collective individual will. We've got to be in this together."
OTHER CONSERVATION EFFORTS
Although it seems that Ruth is neck deep in environmental work, she somehow still finds time to do more.
In 2007, she co-edited the book "Cut Carbon, Grow Profits: Business Strategies for Managing Climate Change and Sustainability" with Kenny Tang who is the head of the Environmental Advisory board for the IPWG, a renewable energy and waste-to-energy group.
The book illustrates what every corporation needs to know in order to manage the carbon and sustainability challenges facing society, cities, individuals and businesses today.
She is also a board member at Reef Check Malaysia, dedicated to protecting reefs and coral life in Malaysia and the Southeast Asian region.
Founded in 1996, Reef Check is the world's largest international coral reef monitoring organisation.
The non-profit organisation recruits volunteer marine scientists and divers to survey the reefs and collect data to help assess reef health. Reef Check is now active in over 82 countries and territories.
Last month, Ruth added another feather to her cap when she was selected as one of Asia Society's Asia 21 Fellow.
A total of 21 next generation leaders from 16 countries in the Asia Pacific region has been granted the fellowship, which is a preeminent leadership development programme in the Asia-Pacific region for emerging leaders under the age of 40.
Representing a broad range of sectors, the Fellows will come together three times during their Fellowship year in different cities in the Asia-Pacific region to address topics relating to environmental degradation, economic development, poverty eradication, universal education, conflict resolution, HIV/AIDS and public health crises, human rights, and other issues.
Her active participation in environmental conservation efforts demonstrates her tenacity in walking the talk, as an individual and a corporate citizen.
One wonders what keeps her green drive going, but Ruth sums it up succinctly:
"I'm only doing my part to protect our earth and the environment. You can do the same. It's the least we can do for ourselves, and the future generations."
-- BERNAMA
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