We kick off our regular segment for some face time with Mr Benjamin Busse, CEO of Babilou Family Singapore, where he shares the latest happenings of the organisation.

In this first article, Mr Benjamin takes us through Babilou Family’s pledge for sustainability and highlights our recent sustainability education efforts.

To commemorate Earth Day in April 2022, Babilou Family Singapore embarked on our first major sustainability education initiative, Plan(t) the Future. Across our 52 centres of all brands (Kiddiwinkie Schoolhouse, Little Footprints Preschool, Pibo’s Garden Playschool and Learning Leap Student Care), our sustainability education journey began as our educators engaged the children with activities and discussion sessions on the topic. This then progressed to the creation of crafts and bakes by the children which were later put up for sale on Earth Day itself on 22 April 2022, to which our families were invited.

At the corporate level, Babilou Family Singapore’s corporate headquarters organised a flea market in May 2022 for employees to contribute pre-loved items for sale and auction towards a good cause.

Proceeds from the sale at our centres in April, along with those made during the flea market at our HQ in May, amounted to $50,045. This was contributed to NParks’ Garden City Fund through their OneMillionTrees movement, an initiative that aims to restore nature back into our city through the planting of a million more trees across Singapore over the next 10 years. 

Through Babilou Family’s contribution, we were accorded 166 trees, with 148 trees planted in a tree planting event along Sengkang West Way on 14 July 2022.

Here, Mr Benjamin shares with us some details about Babilou Family’s first major sustainability initiative, the global commitment towards this cause and what’s coming up next!

Tell us about Babilou Family’s pledge and commitment towards sustainability.

At Babilou Family, we are committed as eco-citizens to build a better world for the benefit of our children, who are poised to become future world leaders and changemakers. With this mission close to our hearts, Babilou Family at the global group level has created The Babilou Foundation as we believe social responsibility to be a fundamental driver of sustainable development.

In Singapore, we are headed towards this direction as well, by taking small steps through projects and initiatives that address the key pillars of sustainability. 

Why was Plan(t) the Future chosen as the first major project to embark on in Singapore?

All along, our centres have been working closely with government agencies and community partners on key events that doubled up as education efforts on caring for the environment and opportunities to give back to the community. 

When we got to know about the OneMillionTrees movement by NParks, we felt that this resonated with our commitment towards sustainability – and what better way to kick start our sustainable education initiative with our children and families than to collaborate with NParks, knowing that all of us would have the chance to play a role in making Singapore a greener place to live in, as part of the Singapore Green Plan 2030.

What is the plan moving forward, in terms of Babilou Family’s pledge towards the environment?

Through our recent tree planting event, we were moved by the overwhelming support shown by our families and employees, from the moment we launched Plan(t) the Future at the centre and corporate levels and until the day of the event. From our conversations, we got to know that initiatives focused on caring for the environment were meaningful causes that our stakeholders felt strongly about.

This further affirmed our plans to incorporate greater focus on sustainable education in our programmes and offerings. Currently, we are actively encouraging green practices among the children and staff in our centres and headquarters. 

We will continue working with our key partners on events and initiatives that provide opportunities for all of us to play our part to build a better world for our children. Through this, we also want to encourage our young ones to make a difference in the lives of the people around them through simple, everyday actions.

Thank you, Mr Benjamin, for the quick sharing on Babilou Family’s pledge towards sustainability. Do look out for our chat on the next key topic – coming your way soon!