Singapore, 17 June 2021 – Singapore is fast becoming a vibrant green finance ecosystem and many local companies have stepped up quality and consistency in climate-related disclosures in recent years. In the 6th Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ASRA) this year, the most prestigious international awards for corporate reporting, Singapore companies dominated the list amongst 13 countries – with homegrown property developer City Developments Limited (CDL) at the forefront.
For its Integrated Sustainability Report (ISR) 2020, its 13th sustainability report since 2008, CDL clinched four golds and one silver, bagging the most number of awards this year.
It clinched awards for:
- Asia’s Best Integrated Report – Gold
Honours reports with clear articulation of the organisation’s integrated thinking, decision-making, actions that focus on value creation and disclosures about matters material to the business’s ability to create value over the short, medium and long-term
- Asia’s Best Integrated Report (Design) – Gold
Honours the most creative and attractive designs for integrated reports that inspire and interest people
- Asia’s Best Carbon Disclosure – Gold
Honours organisations that apply international standards and best practices for measuring, monitoring and reporting GHG emissions
- Asia’s Best Materiality Reporting – Gold
Honours best practices in materiality assessment and disclosure with an understanding of material impacts, risks and opportunities and the organisation’s strategies to deal with each of these
- Asia’s Best Environmental Reporting – Silver
Honours leading edge environmental reporting that demonstrates strategic importance of environmental initiatives to the organisation’s business and stakeholders, identifies specific environmental impacts and reports performance
As the first Singapore company to publish a sustainability report successfully checked and verified by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in 2008, CDL’s robust sustainability reporting has evolved over the years into a unique hybrid model, harmonising various international reporting frameworks. These include the GRI Standards as its core (since 2008); International Integrated Reporting Council’s (IIRC) Integrated Reporting Framework (since 2015); SDG Reporting (since 2016); Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework (since 2017) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) (since 2020). The company’s ISR has progressed from focusing on operational ESG performance to a strategic ESG communication channel.
“Sustainability reporting plays a critical role in meeting the more stringent expectations of investors, financiers and stakeholders on how ESG can create value for business. CDL takes pride in having published 14 sustainability reports since 2008, as part of our longstanding commitment towards sustainability best practices and robust ESG disclosure. We are honoured to be recognised by ASRA once again this year for our dedication and efforts in reporting ESG performance in a strategic, integrated and forward-looking manner.”
- Ms Esther An, CDL Chief Sustainability Officer
Mr Rajesh Chhabara, Managing Director of CSRWorks International and Founder of ASRA, said, "CDL’s report shows exceptional leadership in transparent reporting of its sustainability performance and reflects its readiness for a resilient future. It sets a new benchmark befitting the track record of a sustainability pioneer, serving as an example of stellar ESG reporting."
ASRA follows a rigorous multi-tier evaluation process where an independent judging panel determines finalists and winners. Evaluation involves three rounds of assessment to select the very best in each award category. In addition to assessing the quality of reports, companies’ reputations among their stakeholders were considered as part of the judging process.
This year, the panel reviewed 494 entries received from 17 countries across 19 award categories. After the preliminary evaluations, 102 companies from 14 countries made it to the finals. 39 winners emerged from the intensely contested finals, clinching a cumulative 57 gold, silver and bronze awards as well as a Report of the Year award.
Held on 19 May 2021, the virtual awards ceremony was attended by over 250 senior business leaders and sustainability practitioners from 20 countries including dignitaries from academia, embassies, trade associations and advocacy organisations. Guest-of-Honour Ms Kara Owen, the British High Commissioner to Singapore, gave the opening address, and the event featured a string of rapid-fire sessions with ASRA judges.
CDL’s ISR 2020 was also cited in CFA Institute’s 2022 Curriculum Release as a prime example of a well-crafted sustainability report, emphasising that the report better prepares the company’s business for the potential financial impacts of climate change risks. CFA Institute mentioned how CDL aligns its ESG efforts in compliance with the recommendations of the TCFD and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Hermes Creative Awards: Platinum win for outstanding creative work
In addition, CDL's ISR 2021 recently secured a Platinum win at the international Hermes Creative Awards 2021. Based in the US as one of the oldest and largest creative competitions in the world, the award recognises creative professionals involved in the concept, writing, and design of traditional and emerging media, including creative publications that bring ideas to life. Over 6,500 entries from throughout the US, Canada, and other countries were submitted for this year’s competition.
For more information on ASRA, please visit: https://csrworks.com/asra/
CDL’s integrated sustainability reports can be found at www.cdlsustainability.com