Singapore corporates lag in environmental sustainability

Only 40% of companies develop environmentally-conscious products.

Singapore’s largest companies were the second least committed to environmental sustainability amongst eight Asia markets in FY 2017, a report by Refinitiv found. The country scored 57.02 points, below the regional average of 62.34 points.

Hong Kong companies recorded the best overall performance in the region with an average of 70.06, followed by South Korea and India at 64.57 and 63.12 respectively.

Singapore showed the biggest jump in companies with supply chain policies in the region by 40% over five years to 55% in FY2017. However, it lagged in developing environmentally conscious products, with only 40% doing so compared to 56% of companies in Asia.

The city-state also recorded a large disparity between intent and action when it comes to resource and waste management, with 80% of firms adopting waste reduction policies, but only 28% showing specific targets.

Companies both in Asia and globally were noted to be stagnant about biodiversity impact, with 24% globally and 29% in Asia measuring this. Across the region, Japan had the biggest percentage of firms measuring it at 40%, whilst Taiwan had the lowest at 12%.

The share of Asian companies with emissions reduction policies grew to 69% from 55% in 2013, but those with specific emissions reduction targets remained relatively stagnant, with a slight increase from 28% in 2013 to 30% in 2017. Similarly, 62% have a water efficiency policy, but only 16% maintain specific water efficiency targets.