SandpiperSandpiperSandpiperSandpiper
  • Expertise
  • People
  • Careers
  • News & Insights
  • Contact
Health Equity and Asia-Pacific
Health Equity and Asia-Pacific
May 12, 2022
Jasmine Hogg
Jasmine Hogg Appointed to Lead Sandpiper in Australia
May 23, 2022

Public Affairs Tracker: Role of Businesses in Singapore’s Journey to Net Zero

May 19, 2022
Categories
  • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
  • Government and Public affairs
Tags
  • climate change
  • policy monitoring
  • singapore
  • sustainability
Public Affairs Tracker: Role of Businesses in Singapore’s Journey to Net Zero
News & insights

Public Affairs Tracker: Role of Businesses in Singapore’s Journey to Net Zero

17 May 2022

Journey to Net Zero

By Hetty Musfirah, Account Director of Sandpiper Singapore. Hetty has more than 14 years of experience in spearheading communications and engagement strategies on trade issues in APAC and global markets, and with industry players from a diverse range of sectors including technology, health and energy.


This year, the Singapore government announced that the country is looking to raise its climate ambition to achieve net zero emissions by or around mid-century.  In line with this, decarbonation activities are expected to pick up speed, as more businesses see the need to act and reduce their carbon footprint in order to stay competitive not just in the local economy but globally too.

Putting in place a robust sustainability strategy  

*Image Courtesy of Schneider Electric’s Singapore Green Pulse Survey 2022

One key development that businesses must be cognisant of is that Singapore is raising the carbon tax levels progressively from 2024. The move does not come as a surprise as it reflects the Singapore’s government firm commitment to accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon economy, in line with efforts under the Singapore Green Plan 2030. It sends a strong signal for organisations to act more aggressively in their decarbonisation efforts and to do so, urgently. Companies would need to seize the moment to plan for transition across their entire value chain, make the fundamental organisational changes and put in place a robust sustainability strategy that would position them well for long-term viability and profitability. As the size and value of climate-related risks increases, corporates in Singapore generally do recognise the costs of inaction. According to Schneider Electric’s Singapore Green Pulse Survey, which was done with support from Sandpiper, 81% of business leaders surveyed support increasing Singapore’s carbon taxes, and 73% say their company has plans to mitigate the impact.

Tapping on sustainability support and assistance programmes

Technology will play a fundamental role in realising a net zero future. As a core focus on their sustainability journeys, businesses can look at adopting digitization and energy management solutions to improve productivity and drive growth. There can be measurable gains including increased energy efficiency and a better return on capital expenditure.

*Image Courtesy of Schneider Electric’s Singapore Green Pulse Survey 2022

In fact, in the same survey by Schneider Electric, nearly three quarters of business leaders surveyed see money spent on ESG and sustainability as an investment in growth rather than a cost. The good news is that businesses can also tap on support measures. Schemes such as the Resource Efficiency Grant for Energy and the Energy Efficiency Fund for example, are available for companies wanting to pursue energy efficiency and emissions reduction projects.

Equipping the workforce for sustainability excellence

In building a greener economy, skilled manpower will be needed to help companies build up the capabilities needed to operate more sustainably and efficiently. Employees will need to grow their knowledge of sustainability in terms of trends, risks, and opportunities, as well as on topics such as sustainability reporting and carbon management. Businesses will therefore need to invest in training their workforce, ensuring employees are well-equipped with the skills and know-how. The $180 million Enterprise Sustainability Programme (ESP) which was introduced in October 2021, for example, supports Singapore companies in training workshops, capability, and product development projects. Companies can also look at forging partnerships to prepare the workforce for the future and enable more to take on green jobs.  For example, they can work with educational institutions in Singapore to roll out internships and programmes to groom the next generation of talents who will be able to meet the demands for sustainability solutions in future industries.

Corporates have a strong role to play in supporting climate ambitions, and in realising a more sustainable living environment for generations to come. To learn more about how your organisation can be part of this conversation and forge stronger stakeholder relations around sustainability and ESG, please GET IN TOUCH with the Sandpiper Public Affairs and Government Relations team.

You may also like:

Building reputation capital
Singapore refreshes cybersecurity strategy
Singapore priorities 2022
Share

BEIJING
Suite 1105, Full Tower,
No. 9 Middle East 3rd Ring Road,
Chaoyang District, Beijing, PRC

北京市朝阳区东三环中路9号
富尔大厦1105室

+ 86 10 8591 0056
beijing@sandpipercomms.com

HONG KONG
21/F, The Workst@tion,
43 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central,
Hong Kong

香港中環擺花街43號
The Workst@tion 21樓

+852 3114 6339
hongkong@sandpipercomms.com

NEW ZEALAND
The Hive 2/200,
Market Street North, Hawkes Bay,
New Zealand

+64 21084 40939
newzealand@sandpipercomms.com

SHANGHAI
No 1229 Century Avenue, 6/F, Tower 1.
Century Metropolis.
Pudong New District. Shanghai. 200122

世纪大道1229号, 世纪大都会6层,
浦东新区, 上海市, 上海市, 200122

+86 15507577095
shanghai@sandpipercomms.com

SINGAPORE
#21-02, Prudential Tower, 30 Cecil Street,
Raffles Place, Singapore, 049712

+65 6592 2883
singapore@sandpipercomms.com

SYDNEY
Gateway Tower,
36/1 Macquarie Place, Sydney
NSW 2000, Australia

+612 9098 4321
sydney@sandpipercomms.com

OUR AFFILIATE NETWORK
Bangkok
Berlin
Brusels
Dubai
Frankfurt
Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City
Jakarta
Kuala Lumpur
London
Manila
Mumbai
New York
Paris
San Francisco
Seoul
Taipei
Tokyo
Yangon
Zurich
logo

OUR AFFILIATE NETWORK
Bangkok Berlin Brussels Dubai Frankfurt Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City Jakarta Kuala Lumpur London  
Manila Mumbai New York Paris San Francisco Seoul Taipei Tokyo Yangon Zurich

Copyright © Sandpiper Terms of Use Privacy Policy