Benjamin Tay, the executive director of People’s Movement To Stop Haze (PM.Haze), a Singapore non-government organisation that campaigns for solutions to transboundary haze air pollution in Southeast Asia, has moved on after more than three years running the group.
Tay has moved to the private sector. He is now with hospitality group The Great Room, which runs high-end coworking spaces.
PM.Haze’s president, Low Ying Hui, will take the helm of the organisation while it searches for a successor.
Low has volunteered for PM.Haze since 2016, previously as treasurer. He has experience in sustainable infrastructure and renewables, and works for solar firm Sunseap. He will be supported by Atikah Kasim, who will lead the NGO’s outreach efforts.
During his time with PM.Haze, Tay spearheaded a campaign to make Singapore the world’s first sustainable palm oil-only country, by encouraging local businesses to switch to palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
He also led a community-based peatland restoration programme in Riau, an area of Indonesia that is often affected by slash-and-burn agriculture.
Prior to PM.Haze, Tay led community research and partnerships for the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, a non-profit that promotes volunteerism and philanthropy in Singapore.
He has also worked at the Singapore International Foundation as cultural exchange manager, the Singapore Institute of Management as programme coordinator, and in the teaching faculty at School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA).
Tay started his career in banking, at Maybank Kim Eng. He also worked for PM.Haze as people and outreach manager in 2015, one of the most severe years for transboundary haze on record.
