Singapore, 28 March 2023 - City Developments Limited (CDL) has published its Integrated Sustainability Report (ISR) 2023, its sixteenth sustainability report since 2008. Themed “Zero in on Positive Impact”, the digital report communicates CDL’s progress towards its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals and targets under the CDL Future Value 2030 Sustainability Blueprint. Aligned with global and local climate goals and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the blueprint is integral to the company’s business strategies and operations, allowing it to mitigate and adapt to ESG risks and capture growth opportunities.
Complementing its pledge towards Operational Net Zero by 2030, CDL achieved a 24% reduction in carbon emissions intensity in the year under review (January to December 2022) from base-year 2016. The Company has met its interim 2022 target and is on track to achieving its Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)-validated target of a 63% reduction by 2030. As part of its renewed SBTi-validated greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets to align with a 1.5°C warmer scenario made in 2021, CDL stepped up on operationalising and tracking its carbon reduction performance for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. CDL achieved a 10% reduction in total operational carbon emissions across all its business operations in Singapore compared to 2021. CDL also achieved a 22% reduction in embodied carbon emissions compared to the conventional equivalents. From 2012 to 2022, CDL reported energy savings of over S$38 million from energy-efficient retrofitting and initiatives across all its commercial buildings.
Mr Sherman Kwek, CDL Group Chief Executive Officer, said, “Our latest Integrated Sustainability Report reaffirms our commitment to accelerate collective action in the global race to zero. Having embraced sustainability in our business for nearly three decades, we have remained steadfast in achieving a triple bottom line so as to generate positive environmental and social impact while achieving sustained growth for our investors. We will continue advancing our climate action and green building performance to tackle the climate emergency, turning ambition to action.”
Harmonised Two-Pillar Reporting Framework Capturing Value and Impact
CDL has built up a unique blended sustainability reporting framework comprising the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards at its core since 2008, adding CDP since 2010, the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) since 2013, Integrated Reporting Framework since 2015, SDG Reporting since 2016, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework since 2017, SBTi since 2018, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) Framework since 2020.
CDL supports the formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), formed by the IFRS Foundation, in providing a unified sustainability reporting baseline framework to fulfil the needs of investors and various stakeholders for credible, consistent and interoperable data. In March 2022, the IFRS Foundation and GRI signed an MOU, committing the two organisations to further harmonise the sustainability reporting landscape using a two-pillar approach at an international level. In ISR 2023, CDL has combined the nine components of its blended reporting framework into two pillars – capturing ‘value’ and ‘impact’. The ISSB standards, slated to be published in 2023, will require additional disclosures for Scope 3 emissions, along with Scope 1 and 2. Since CDL secured its first set of SBTi-validated GHG reduction targets in 2018, aligning with a 2°C warmer scenario, managing Scope 3 emissions has increasingly become a priority in its carbon management strategy. In 2021, CDL raised the bar and renewed its SBTi-validated targets aligned with a 1.5°C emissions reduction target of 58.8% under Scope 3 (category 15) and will extend this to all major subsidiaries.2
CDL’s ESG integration and performance have been affirmed by 14 leading global sustainability rankings and indices, including the 2023 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World by Corporate Knights, in which CDL ranked the world’s top real estate management and development company as well as maintaining its “AAA” MSCI ESG rating since 2010. CDL was the only real estate company in Southeast Asia and the only Singapore company recognised as a 2022 CDP Supplier Engagement Leader for the third consecutive year, placing CDL amongst the top 8% of companies assessed by CDP for supplier engagement on climate change.
In July 2022, CDL emerged as the top Singapore company for its climate-related reporting practices in the Climate Reporting in ASEAN – State of Corporate Practices report published by GRI and the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Governance and Sustainability. The study recognises CDL’s reporting, management of climate risks and opportunities, and alignment with global sustainability frameworks, including TCFD and other climate-risk approaches. CDL was also the only Singapore real estate company recognised in FT-Nikkei-Statista Asia Pacific Climate Leaders 2022.
CDL started the external assurance of its sustainability report in 2009 and has continued to expand its scope. For its latest ISR 2023, CDL is the first Singapore company verified by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) for indirect GHG emissions from products used in construction projects in Singapore according to category 4 of the ISO14064-1:2018 standard, enabling CDL to enhance its Scope 3 emissions management.
CDL’s ISR 2023 can be found at www.cdlsustainability.com.