In race crazy Singapore, we average around 100+ public race event every year. Mass participation sporting events like walkathons, marathons, road and bicycle races, swimathons, duathlons and triathlons all invariably generate metric tons of waste2 . The bloat of race packs and goodie / loot bags grow year after year, containing ever more items that often go straight into the trash bin.
The 2016 NGC Earth Day Run in Singapore is utterly unique. For the first time, we’re striving to do something completely and radically different. We’re turning things on its head, by attempting to run Singapore’s first zero-waste, zero-carbon footprint mass public race event. This means we’re NOT doing what pretty much everything all other race events are doing. The ambition is to ignite and mobilise a massive groundswell of support in Singapore to protect our planet. On Earth Day, we challenge participants to embark on a “pilgrimage”, to undertake a personal journey of introspection, a quiet moment to reflect upon our individual and collective impact on Mother Earth.
How we are doing things differently:
- No entrance fee: Steep fees restrict participation, and is exclusionary in spirit. Our Earth Day race event welcomes everyone. To qualify for participation, all you have to do is complete a total of 4 Green Actions, and accumulate CO2 offset Points.
- No pre-determined routes or distance: You race your own race. Choose your start point, chart your target distance and route, and arrive at our finishing point at 10am on Sunday, 17 April 2016. You also choose how you want to travel – whether it’s walking, running, cycling, rollerblading, kick-scootering, etc.
- Fully-powered by renewable energy. With the support of a large pack of cyclists (from seasoned athletes to recreational cyclists and weekend warriors), a 24-hour cyclothon will start at 6pm on Saturday 16 April, to generate and store up pedal-powered kinetic electric energy for all our event needs.
- There will be NO race packs.
- No disposable plates, cups or cutlery will be used. We’ll provide reusable plates, cutlery and cups – everything you need to consume food & beverage without creating waste. We also encourage you to bring your own cutlery. For the race, water will be served from dispensers at the finish point, to discourage the use of plastic bottles or paper cups.
- No food waste. All uneaten food will be distributed to our race volunteers.
- We’re going meat-less! Beef, pork, chicken and mutton have a very high carbon footprint. We’re promoting a low-carbon lifestyle by offering vegetarian options – it’s healthy, and also one of the most efficient ways to reduce carbon emissions.
- We’re raising funds to fight climate change. All funds raised will go to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), for reforestation efforts in Sumatra and other campaign efforts to combat climate change.
