Singapore has expanded its national emissions factors database with 94 new locally derived metrics, a move aimed at improving the accuracy of corporate carbon reporting as mandatory Scope 3 disclosures loom for large listed companies.
The Singapore Emission Factors Registry (SEFR), launched in October 2024 as the country’s single reference point for localised emissions factors, now contains 319 factors covering all Scope 1 and 2 emissions, as well as four of the 15 Scope 3 categories.
Emissions factors are scientific multipliers that translate business activity data – such as energy use or spending on services – into estimated greenhouse gas emissions. Scope 1 and Scope 2 refer to a firm’s direct emissions and indirect emissions from power use, respectively. Scope 3 refers to a company’s full value chain emissions, which are the hardest to abate.
The latest update adds Singapore-specific emissions factors for cleaning, security and professional services, five new factors for information and communications technology (ICT), and 86 additional factors covering industry processes and product use, refrigerants, purchased energy and building materials.
The expansion comes ahead of a regulatory shift that will require Straits Times Index (STI) companies to report Scope 3 emissions from the 2026 financial year. While Scope 3 reporting remains voluntary for non-STI firms, these indirect emissions usually account for the bulk of a company’s carbon footprint and are increasingly scrutinised by investors, customers and regulators.
The three new service-sector emissions factors were prioritised after consultations led by industry group the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), which identified cleaning, security and professional services as common inputs across most businesses. International databases typically rely on economy-wide averages that may not reflect local operating conditions, particularly for services, authorities said.
To address this, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, known as A*STAR, developed a new Lifecycle Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF), which applies life cycle assessment principles and aligns with the ISO 14067 standard and the Partnership for Carbon Transparency methodology.
As well as improving reporting accuracy, the analysis identified decarbonisation opportunities for Singaporean businesses. In cleaning services, emissions are largely driven by materials and equipment use, pointing to gains from greener supplies and energy-efficient machinery.
For security services, about 14 per cent of emissions stem from transport, suggesting benefits from fleet electrification and improved driving practices. In professional services, emissions are driven by transport and IT equipment, with opportunities to cut carbon by extending the life of devices or leasing refurbished hardware.
Kok Ping Soon, chief executive of SBF, said in a statement that this work would help companies see more clearly where their emissions are coming from and what they can realistically do about them, which would help them lower costs as well as emissions.
SEFR has also added five new ICT emissions factors developed by the Infocomm Media Development Authority and the National University of Singapore’s Energy Studies Institute. A new online carbon calculator has been launched alongside the factors to help businesses compare emissions from cloud versus on-premise systems and across different vendors.
ICT consumes about 7 per cent of Singapore’s total electricity use, an amount that is projected to rise to 12 per cent by 2030 due to AI growth. Data centres are the ICT sector’s main power guzzlers, and Singapore has among the world’s largest data centre capacities.
The remaining 86 emissions factors – covering industrial processes, refrigerants, energy and building materials – were contributed by the National Environment Agency, Energy Market Authority and Singapore Green Building Council.
Lee Chuan Seng, chairman of the SEFR Governance Committee, said that the emissions factors would be critical to helping Singapore achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The island nation is aiming to hit peak emissions of 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030.
Authorities said the registry will continue to expand and encouraged companies of all sizes to use and contribute data to strengthen Singapore’s carbon accounting ecosystem.
Late last year, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and Singapore Exchange Regulation delayed climate reporting requirements for small- and mid-sized companies (SMEs) by five years.
Initially set to take effect in financial years starting in 2025, SMEs – which make up 99 per cent of Singapore’s business landscape – now have until 2030 to start reporting in line with international climate disclosure standards.
