The turning tide for CSR in Singapore

Joyce Hooi, Business Times 22 Mar 10;

SINGAPORE may be lagging its European counterparts in terms of local demand for sustainable products and services, but all of that may soon change, says Mark Wade, chairman of consultancy Future Considerations.

'In Europe, the cost of organic and sustainable food has dropped to the point that it costs the same as normal food,' according to Mr Wade.

'I would expect that with global procurement, the same thing will happen in Singapore. As global chains begin to set up shop in Asia, they will bring their standards with them and influence local demand.'

Mr Wade was the keynote speaker yesterday at the Corporate Social Responsibility Seminar organised by the Delegation of the European Union to Singapore and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies at Orchard Hotel.

While he acknowledged the misgivings of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) about their ability to join the sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement, he also remained resolutely optimistic.

'Many SMEs in Asia are family-owned and being able to talk about CSR within the family means that conversations can be had more easily in order to change the way they operate,' he said.

In Europe, where the CSR movement has gotten well underway, the link between it and the bottom line is much clearer, and its implications will stretch beyond the continent.

'Many European companies investing and trading outside the EU have begun to understand . . . that integrity, mutual accountability and inter-dependence are crucial to their success,' said Holger Standertskjöld, ambassador and head of the EU Delegation to Singapore, at the seminar.

The sustainability report, one of the features of the CSR movement, has gained momentum in Singapore, with big names like Keppel Land and PowerSeraya Ltd recently gaining accolades for their sustainability reporting.

These reports can cut both ways, Mr Wade warned. 'A good sustainability report will have key performance indicator targets that the firm can use to look at year-by-year performance and improve,' he said.

'If the report is just a cynical PR exercise, it's not worth the paper it's printed on.'