Corporate retreats, teambuilding, and incentive travel programmes looking to include CSR and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) in their events may find a partner in the Safe Water Gardens (SWG) social enterprise.
The venture began in 2015 as an altruistic safe-water and sanitation effort by the owners of LooLa Adventure Resort in Bintan, Indonesia. Early support came from educational institutions, government grant and corporate sponsors such as Golden Agri-Resources (Sinar Mas).
“The Safe Water Gardens project was initiated by a coalition of scientists, concerned people and business partners. Our vision is to provide safe sanitation for under US$200 per family for village families in (sub)tropical countries by 2030,” said founder and CEO Marc van Loo.
Referencing business events, he added: “Previously, CSR and team-building were regarded as separate items; now they can be combined into one. Participants engage in one impactful, heart-warming, teambuilding event while bringing lifelong, life-saving water and sanitation to local communities.”
In the process, participants are also addressing UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 – clean water and sanitation for all – and can earn water credits.
The SWG project has provided 1,100 sanitation systems since 2020; some 350 were installed from January 2023 to September 2024, mostly in Indonesia.
Rural sanitation in much of South-east Asia is sub-standard, said van Loo. Safe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene are crucial to health and well-being, so the system can be upscaled from single households to Model Village Program (MVP).
“Companies can sponsor MVPs and gain verifiable water credits, the water equivalent of carbon credits,” he said.
SWG is a registered social enterprise in Singapore but most projects are in Bintan, where local staff prepare the ground before volunteer groups arrive to install the system. Although it can be set up in half a day, groups usually stay overnight or longer for other team activities.
DMCs help with travel arrangements and accommodation, such as at LooLa’s five-star neighbour, The Residence Bintan, which has meeting facilities.
Yvonne Low, executive director, The Traveller DMC, said: “We’ve witnessed an increased desire among company owners and staff to engage in truly meaningful teambuilding and give substance to the sustainability letters ESG, SDG, and CSR.
“This programme allows companies operating in or visiting Singapore for MICE events to bring safe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene to our neighbours. It has inspired our own staff to sign up too!”
