The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and SGX RegCo have set up a Sustainability Reporting Advisory Committee (SRAC) to advise Singapore companies on their sustainability reporting roadmap.
“The growing interest in environment, social and governance (ESG) issues globally has led to a call to provide greater transparency and assurance on companies’ ESG-related information which investors and other stakeholders can incorporate into their decision making,” state ACRA and SGX RegCo in their joint announcement.
The SRAC is made up of industry leaders and champions of sustainability with diverse experience including chief sustainability officers, representatives of financial institutions, institutional and retail investors, sustainability reporting professionals and academia.
“Effective ESG integration and disclosure are critical to accelerating global efforts to build a greener and more resilient future for all,” says Esther An, chief sustainability officer of City Developments.
“I believe that the collective efforts of this committee will complement ACRA and SGX RegCo’s initiatives to rally corporates and stakeholders to contribute towards the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and the global agenda on sustainable development,” adds An, who has been appointed chairperson of SRAC.
Among the current crop of C-level executives today, An stands out as a leading proponent of sustainability way before ESG came into the mainstream lexicon.
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An’s deputy chairperson at the SRAC is Lam Yi Young, CEO of the Singapore Business Federation.
The committee is made up of these other members:
Bey Soo Khiang, vice-chairman of the Royal Golden Eagle Group;
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Chan Yen San, partner at KPMG Singapore;
Chia Ko Wen, head of sustainability at Singlife with Aviva;
Fang Eu-Lin, partner and sustainability and climate change leader at PwC Singapore;
Grace Goh Bee Kheng, managing director, finance; head, investment Services at Temasek International;
Koh Chin Beng, partner, risk advisory services at BDO Singapore;
Professor Lawrence Loh, director, Centre for Governance and Sustainability, NUS Business School;
Max Loh, managing partner at EY Singapore and Brunei;
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Uantchern Loh, CEO, Asia Pacific region, at Black Sun;
Helge Muenkel, chief sustainability officer at DBS;
Shinbo Won, managing director, head of Asia ex-Japan, BlackRock Investment Stewardship, BlackRock.
According to ACRA and SGX RegCo, the SRAC will, among others, provide inputs on the suitability of international sustainability reporting standards for implementation in Singapore.
Since 2016, SGX-listed companies are obliged to do sustainability reporting, and climate reporting introduced from FY2022.
ACRA and SGX RegCo are now jointly developing a roadmap for wider implementation of sustainability reporting for Singapore-incorporated companies and not just SGX-listed companies.
