Sustainable Business Awards honour local companies working at doing the right thing

Rachael Boon Straits Times 31 Jul 17;

SINGAPORE - Several local firms have clinched honours at the Sustainable Business Awards on July 31.

Companies were singled out for their practices in several categories such as energy and water management, biodiversity and environment, among others.

The awards, organised by event producer Global Initiatives, aim to raise the awareness of sustainable business and show how good practices benefit companies, the environment and society.

Global Initiatives chief executive Tony Gourlay said in a statement: "Singapore's sustainability leadership is evident in this year's awards, both in terms of business engagement as well as a country, leading by example in the region.

"Business can and must strengthen this momentum even further to progress on the Singapore sustainable movement and reach the 2020 United Nation goals in time."

Property firm City Developments Limited (CDL) was named the overall winner, having "integrated sustainability into its business" since 1995, said Global Initiatives.

In March, CDL also released a new blueprint called CDL Future Value 2030, which shows a "their longstanding commitment and best practices of over 20 years and sets clear directions for contributing towards a sustainable future".

Other Singapore winners include Keppel Corp and Singtel.

Ms Fang Eu-Lin, sustainability and climate change leader at PwC Singapore, which is one of Global Initiatives partners for the awards, said: "Recognising sustainability as a risk is only the first step towards understanding its impact on the business- risks need to be quantified, monitored and managed. The latter activity is happening with varying degrees of success.

"It's heartening to see more companies in Singapore, including small and medium-sized enterprises, taking active steps towards managing this risk and we expect to see more businesses embedding sustainability their into core business strategy."