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Business Times
25-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Sustainability must be top-led and embedded across organisation, say panellists at BT's inaugural Sustainability Impact Dialogue
Jeffery Tan, chief sustainability officer of Jardine Cycle & Carriage, shared how early water tracking at the company uncovered usage four times higher than expected. The culprit was an underground leak, which, once fixed, delivered significant cost savings. 'When we made the connection, the CFO got it, the ops manager got it, and suddenly (the business value of sustainability) became real to them – as opposed to just a concept being pushed down,' he said. In response, Dr Khor said companies whose core business is not sustainability often overlook waste and resource use. 'But when you start looking into these areas – energy flow, materials waste – you may uncover new revenue streams. Even if it's not a revenue stream, it's cost savings and that is really important.' Lim also underscored the need to simplify sustainability messaging, moving away from jargon-heavy or overly abstract language, such as 'Scope 3 emissions'. This refers to indirect emissions that occur outside a company's direct operations and may not resonate with business owners. 'Being able to convert the language of sustainability away from that non-human language and into real, operational business language – I think it's a great idea,' he said. Support for getting started To companies that are unsure of where or how to begin, both speakers stressed the importance of just taking the first step, no matter how small. Dr Khor said SMEs can start with measures such as switching to energy-efficient equipment, which qualifies for up to 70 per cent support under the National Environment Agency's Energy Efficiency Grant. She also highlighted other government schemes, such as the Economic Development Board's Resource Efficiency Grant for Emissions, which supports emissions reduction projects at manufacturing facilities and data centres, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Gprnt initiative, which helps businesses automatically convert their operational data into environmental, social and governance disclosures for free. 'There is a very rich ecosystem of sustainability support (offered by the government) in terms of grants and incentives… so much that SMEs tell us that there's too much,' said Dr Khor. To help navigate this, she encouraged companies to tap Enterprise Singapore's SME Sustainability Hub, a one-stop platform for resources, training and support. Lim similarly urged SMEs not to go it alone. Banks and government agencies, he said, can help companies assess where they are and connect them to solution providers. He noted that UOB's ecosystem platforms – such as U-Solar and U-Energy – bundle technology partners, financing and advisory support to ease adoption. '(SMEs) simply talk to the bank, the bank connects them within the ecosystem, and they can access financing at the same time,' he said. Beyond top-down directives, bottom-up initiatives were also spotlighted during the dialogue. Audience members, including representatives from industry groups and social enterprises, shared ideas such as developing simplified sustainability indices or certifications to help SMEs get started. In response, both Dr Khor and Lim welcomed such ground-up efforts, noting that these can complement government support schemes – and, if endorsed or recognised by the government, potentially gain greater traction through procurement requirements or green finance channels.
Business Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Enterprise Singapore launches new one-stop Sustainability Hub website for SMEs
[SINGAPORE] Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) launched the new SME Sustainability Hub on Tuesday (May 6), a website that aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access information on the available government support and resources as they embark on their sustainability journey. Companies can also benefit from new carbon-management solutions under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) to support their decarbonisation efforts. EnterpriseSG said that the website was launched with the support of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, National Environment Agency, national water agency PUB, and other agencies. In a media release, Geoffrey Yeo, assistant managing director for capabilities, product and policy at EnterpriseSG, noted that while there is growing traction among SMEs to embark on sustainability, many remain unsure of how to get started. 'The SME Sustainability Hub is a whole-of-government effort that will enable local enterprises to easily access sustainability-related information and government resources to accelerate their sustainable transformation,' he said. Jean Goh, managing director of Xcel Industrial Supplies, stated: 'Sustainability is important for businesses to stay competitive, but, as an SME, it can be challenging to navigate the large amount of information without guidance.' A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 12.30 pm ESG Insights An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues. Sign Up Sign Up The website connects SMEs with sustainability information, programmes and relevant subsidies they can take advantage of through an e-adviser. These include financial schemes to reduce costs that SMEs incur in pursuit of their sustainability goals, as well as development courses to educate employees and firms on sustainability skills and competencies. Other features include case studies of successful SMEs that have embarked on their sustainability journey; relevant regulations regarding sustainability practices; and a list of sustainability issues to explore, such as carbon emissions, water and waste management. One of the new support programmes is to help firms develop carbon-management solutions through the PSG. The solutions will guide SMEs on their carbon-accounting capabilities, including providing advisory on data input for their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Advanced SMEs on their carbon-management journey can also utilise the PSG to assess their Scope 3 emissions for target-setting and to explore opportunities to further enhance their competitiveness in a low-carbon economy. Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from production, such as from a firm's own factory, while Scope 2 emissions indirectly come from the manufacturing of a product which a firm imports. Scope 3 refers to indirect emissions arising from a company's value chain.
