Year In Review 2023 with Geneco

2023 marks a significant year for Geneco as we were thrilled to celebrate our 5th Anniversary, with a noteworthy achievement — the announcement of Singapore’s No.1 Residential Electricity Retailer by the Energy Market Authority with a strong over 20,000 households — a clear testament to our customers’ continuous and growing support over the years.

Beyond the title, being the leading brand serves as an opportunity for us to drive impactful change as we build a sustainable home for future generations, and we are thankful for all who have joined us on our journey to #PowerTheChange for social and environmental good.

As the year comes to a close, join us as we take a look at and celebrate the key milestones.

Keeping Chinese New Year traditions for a sustainable future

We know Chinese New Year to be a time when families often gather and participate in age-old customs to convey well wishes for the new year. Red packet exchanges are common practice, though they are often discarded when celebrations conclude.

With #GreenForProsperity, we created an opportunity to align traditional practices with a more eco-friendly approach and remind everyone about the importance of prioritising sustainability amidst the festivities.

As part of the campaign, we collaborated with the National Parks Board’s (NParks) Garden City Fund to spotlight 4 native wildlife on our Geneco red packets, which are made from 100% recycled paper, to inspire Singaporeans to look deeper into our green spaces and be amazed by our native biodiversity. Within each of these limited-edition Geneco red packets, we also included a lesser-known fact about these chosen wildlife.

Going beyond the sustainability message encapsulated in the red packets, we rallied Singaporeans to take action and make their pledge to support the conservation of our native biodiversity. With over 72,200 pledges received by the end of the initiative, we were heartened to see many Singaporeans who have joined us in our efforts to #PowerTheChange.

With strong support from the public over the years, we also brought back our Used Red Packet Recycling Initiative for its third consecutive year, encouraging all to drop off their used and excess red packets for recycling. Together with partners CRU, IUIGA, OTO, REFASH and Wisma Atria, we placed 30 red packet recycling bins across the island and passed the collected red packets to Tay Paper Recycling to give them a second life of purpose.

Thanks to the overwhelming response from our nation, we collected more than 2,930kg of red packets this year, reflecting the collective efforts put in by Singaporeans to make our long-standing traditions an even greener one.

Celebrating 5 years of Powering The Change

2023 was also a very special year for us as we commemorated our 5th anniversary with #GenecoFiVesta, where we celebrated our customers and partners for supporting us with their trust and growing our Geneco Family to become Singapore’s No. 1 Residential Electricity Retailer, with over 160,000 homes — and most importantly, to thank them for being a part of our journey towards building a more sustainable home for all.

As part of the campaign, we launched our #SeedTheFuture initiative where we partnered with NParks’ registered charity and IPC, Garden City Fund to raise awareness about the Singapore Botanic Gardens Seed Bank’s efforts to conserve seeds of threatened plant species in Southeast Asia, to sow the seeds to build a greener future.

In collaboration with local ice cream brand, Apiary, we created the first-ever exclusive carbon-neutral certified Geneco #SeedTheFuture ice cream. Made with natively found fruits and seeds, the main flavour of the ice cream is a refreshing Calamansi Lime accompanied by Attap Seeds, one of the seeds conserved at the Singapore Botanic Gardens Seed Bank.

As part of our commitment to NParks’ #OneMillionTrees movement to plant 250 trees over five years and contribute towards the Singapore Green Plan 2030, we also planted another 50 trees at Bedok Reservoir on Earth Day (22 April), marking the third consecutive year of our Plant-A-Tree event. Through our green efforts to #SeedTheFuture, we hoped to continue inspiring all to contribute to Singapore’s goal of becoming a greener and more sustainable city.

Spotlighting the importance of mental well-being

As the happiest nation in Asia, there was no better day than National Day, to shine a spotlight on the importance of mental wellness of our people. 

In celebration of our nation’s  58th birthday, we invited everyone to seek their own secret garden within our City In Nature – and discover a personal haven where they can find solace and rediscover what brings them happiness. 

With 9 Therapeutic Gardens across our nation that have been established by NParks to contribute positively to the well-being of Singaporeans, we hoped to spotlight and bring these gardens to life through our collaboration with Daryl Aiden, where he shared a creative photo collection of how he reimagined the gardens through his lenses. 

As part of the initiative, we showcased the photos of 9 Therapeutic Gardens reimagined by Daryl Aiden for online voting and held photo gallery pop-ups at REFASH Chinatown Point, REFASH Funan, REFASH Tampines One, and Funan Mall for public viewing.

In just one month, we received an overwhelming response of over 45,500 votes and the top 3 winning photos were chosen to be printed on our limited edition Geneco X Daryl Aiden tote bags, and given away with every purchase at all REFASH stores in August – further promoting sustainable practices for Singaporeans.

With all the support and heartfelt comments received during the campaign, we were encouraged to know that many Singaporeans resonated with the campaign and more importantly, that we were able to spark more conversations about mental well-being.

Inspiring all to help turn lives around with second chances

This holiday season, we aimed to share warmth as we inspired the public to embrace hope as a powerful force of change, by providing hope to others through giving second chances and building an even more inclusive society. As part of the initiative, we featured a curated collection of 6 Inspirational Quotes of Hope, surrounding personal themes of hope, encouragement, and connection, specially narrated by Mediacorp 987 DJ Joakim Gomez, and celebrity host, Kelly Latimer.

Together with Yellow Ribbon Project, we invited all to join hands with us to cast ‘The Magic of Hope’, encouraging everyone to contribute towards the rehabilitation and reintegration efforts of inmates and ex-offenders. Through the support of $15,000 to Yellow Ribbon Project, we were delighted to present festive exclusive Red Velvet & Almonds Cookies that have been thoughtfully researched and meticulously handcrafted by inmates from the Yellow Ribbon Bakery.

To continue spreading cheer amidst the festivities, we held our first-ever Net Zero ‘The Magic of Hope’ Pop-up Café, joining hands with Huggs Coffee as well to share the message of helping to turn lives around with second chances. In the spirit of gifting, we gave away a limited edition Geneco Tote Bag and Yellow Ribbon Pin to anyone who voted for their favourite quotes over the weekends, and also encouraged shoppers to drop by the cafe for holiday gifts from Yellow Ribbon Bakery’s Christmas Collection and grab a drink from Huggs Coffee, where a portion of each purchase will directly contribute to the rehabilitation and reintegration efforts of inmates and ex-offenders.

To make this initiative an even more meaningful one, we invited TikTok influencers, Simon Khung and Luke Chan, to spread warmth by giving out free hugs and handing out sweet treats to the public.

With the support of the public, we gave away 46,200 of these festive exclusive cookies to those who voted for their favourite Inspirational Quotes of Hope.

A Final Nod to 2023

Looking back at 2023, we are heartened by the belief and support of our partners, communities and families for our initiatives and in building a sustainable home that we can celebrate for generations to come.

Let’s continue to #PowerTheChange for a brilliant 2024 – one that is filled with hope, joy and purpose.

Before we end the year, here is a look back at our milestones this year in a video recap.