The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), on Nov 9, announced that it will partner the finance industry to pilot four digital platforms under Project Greenprint.
These are: Greenprint Common Disclosure Portal, developed in partnership with the Singapore Exchange (SGX), which aims to simplify the ESG disclosure process; Greenprint Data Orchestrator, which will aggregate sustainability data from multiple sources; Greenprint ESG Registry, in partnership with Hashstacs, which will record and maintain the provenance of ESG certifications; and Greenprint Marketplace in partnership with API Exchange, which will connect green technology providers in Singapore and the region to investors.
The digital platforms will address the sector’s needs for good data on sustainability, says MAS.
Project Greenprint was launched in December 2020 to leverage innovation and technology to promote a green finance ecosystem through monitoring sustainability commitments and mobilizing capital.
The platforms also seek to address the challenge in accessing high quality, consistent and granular sustainability data.
Filling these gaps will enable financial institutions to direct capital towards sustainability projects in a more scalable way. The data will also effectively monitor financial institutions’ sustainability commitments and quantify the risks and real-world impact of their portfolios.
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The pilots of the platforms are expected to be completed in the second half of 2022.
Using data from the Greenprint Data Orchestrator and ESG Registry, MAS will work on two use case projects to facilitate green and sustainability-linked trade finance in the building and construction, and palm oil sectors.
According to the central bank, this will allow banks to digitalise their trade finance transactions. This will also ensure that the transactions meet the criteria set out in their green and sustainability financing frameworks.
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The projects will be led by United Overseas Bank, in partnership with DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.
“Technology is a key enabler for the financial industry to meet the challenges of green transition and achieving net-zero emissions. Project Greenprint provides foundational digital infrastructure that aggregates new and existing ESG data from ground-up across multiple sectoral platforms and solutions to facilitate trusted ESG data flows between the financial sector and the real economy – both within Singapore and globally,” says Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at MAS.
Photo: Bloomberg
