A diverse range of companies were honoured for implementing innovative sustainability practices at the second Singapore Sustainable Business Awards (SBA) held at the Marina Bay Sands on Tuesday.
Singapore-based events company Global Initiatives and international advisory firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers named Royal DSM, a Dutch life sciences and material sciences company Overall Winner after it topped two categories: supply chain management and climate change.
The SBA, held yearly in six Southeast Asian countries Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore, seeks to increase sustainability awareness among businesses in the region and allow them to learn different best practices from each other.
Global Initiatives, organiser of the SBA, told Eco-Business there were 40 entries from Singapore this year, almost double the number last year, with 60 per cent coming from multinational firms located in Singapore and 40 per cent from local companies.
Tony Gourlay, CEO of Global Initiatives, said in a statement that many companies were first-time participants. “The awards celebrate the achievements of the companies who have paved the way for their sustainable growth and we hope this will inspire even more companies to embark on this journey,” he added.
The winners were picked by a panel of experts, who used criterai such as a company’s commitment to sustainability and how it creates value along three dimensions: people, planet and profit.
Roelof Westerbeek, DSM’s executive vice president, said business leaders need to play a bigger role in addressing the challenges of climate change, and there are tremendous opportunities for companies that do it right.
“Disruptive technologies, disruptive business models, and the move towards full inclusion of environmental and social impacts into business decisions, will be imperative to leave a more sustainable world for the next generations,” he noted.
Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific won the Waste Management and Materials Productivity category for promoting the circular economy. Xerox worked with a manufacturer to create high-grade plastic from recycled materials.
Meanwhile, Singapore telecommunications firm Singtel, which won the Workforce category last year, emerged as winner in the Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality category.
Other Singaporean firms which won this year include property developer Keppel Corporation for the Strategy and Sustainability Management category and City Development Limited for Land Use, Biodiversity and Environment.
Monica Hira, PwC Singapore’s sustainability and climate change leader, commented: “It is very encouraging to see a wide range of companies taking part in the Sustainable Business Awards. While this demonstrates that organisations are increasingly aware of why sustainability matters, we would like to see more companies in Singapore and the region embracing sustainability as an integral part of their business operations.”
The winners in each category are:
- Strategy & Sustainability Management: Keppel Corporation
- Business Responsibility & Ethics: Ricoh Asia Pacific
- Workforce: IKEA Singapore
- Sustainability in the Community: Olam
- Supply Chain Management: Royal DSM
- Stakeholder Engagement & Materiality: Singtel
- Energy Management: DHL
- Water Management: Kimberley Clark Asia Pacific
- Waste Management and Materials Productivity: Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific
- Climate Change: Royal DSM
- Land Use, Biodiversity and Environment: CDL
- Special Recognition: Asia Pacific Breweries
- Overall Winner: Royal DSM
