Singapore has made progress in raising awareness of sustainability, but encouraging people to translate that awareness into everyday action remains a challenge. As consumers weigh choices around what they buy, how they travel, where they invest and how they prepare for future risks, practical considerations such as cost, convenience and accessibility can determine whether sustainable intentions become sustained behaviours.
The latest Singlife-SGFIN Sustainable Future Index (SFI), a study that measures how people in Singapore turn sustainability awareness into real-life actions, found that Singaporeans have adopted an average of 10 of the 25 sustainability actions measured, with another eight actions they intend to take over the next 12 months. The findings suggest that willingness to do more is present, but that awareness and knowledge alone may not be enough to translate into action.
“We need to address practical barriers and help people see how their individual actions can make a difference,” said Chia Ko Wen, Head of Sustainability at Singlife, a Singaporean financial services company.
Personal ownership, including whether people feel responsible for acting, believe their choices can make a difference and see the benefits of doing so, was identified as the strongest driver of sustainability behaviour. The research also points to a role for businesses and financial institutions in making sustainable choices easier to understand, more affordable and more relevant to people’s everyday lives.
Moving beyond the assumption that people simply need more information requires a better understanding of what prevents different groups from acting, and how products, services and financial solutions can help turn sustainability ambitions into practical decisions, Chia said.
In this interview, he discusses the barriers holding Singaporeans back from making more sustainable choices, the opportunities to close the gap between intent and action, and how businesses and financial institutions can support a more sustainable and resilient future.
1. Responsible investing recorded the lowest score among the four areas measured by the Singlife-SGFIN SFI, despite significant interest in adopting more responsible investment actions. What is preventing people from translating that intent into action, and what could businesses and financial institutions do to close that gap?
One challenge is that people may not always clearly see how their investment choices can make a real environmental or social difference. They also need confidence that the sustainable investment options available to them are credible.
The SFI found that responsible investing had the lowest action score at 43 out of 100. Respondents have adopted only 21 per cent of responsible investing actions measured and intend to adopt another 43 per cent within the next 12 months.
Our research also found that people are more likely to consider sustainable financial products when they believe these investments can have a real environmental or social impact. In fact, this was a stronger driver of intention than expectations of financial returns. In a separate survey of our customers on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, over 60 per cent of respondents cited concerns including the perception that ESG investments tend to underperform traditional investments and carry higher fees, while 45 per cent cited concerns about greenwashing.
Financial institutions can help close the gap by making the impact of ESG investments clearer and more tangible, while giving customers the information they need to identify credible options. They can also address misconceptions with evidence, demonstrating that ESG investing does not necessarily require investors to sacrifice financial returns and that fees are increasingly competitive.
Chia Ko Wen, Head of Sustainability, Singlife. Image: Singlife
Given the growing anti-ESG sentiment in recent years, financial institutions can position ESG strategies within broader investment themes, such as energy security, resilience and long-term economic competitiveness, where these themes are aligned with the fund’s underlying investment strategy. Clearer standards and disclosures can also build trust and address concerns around greenwashing.
At Singlife, customers investing through GROW with Singlife [a digital investment platform] and dollarDEX [an investment service in Singapore] have access to close to 200 ESG and sustainable funds. Beyond providing more choices, we also want to give customers the information they need to make informed investment decisions. For example, we share insights on ESG investing with financial adviser representatives through the Singlife Academy, to ensure they have more informed conversations with customers about the ESG fund options available.
2. As sustainability becomes increasingly connected to issues such as financial security, health and climate resilience, what role can insurers play in helping customers make more informed and sustainable decisions?
Insurers have an important role because we help people understand, manage and prepare for risks that can affect their health, finances and overall wellbeing over the long term. As issues such as climate change, health, longevity and financial security become increasingly connected, that role is getting broader.
Beyond providing protection when something goes wrong, insurers can help customers understand how risks are changing, what those risks could mean for them, and what they can do to prepare. We can also develop solutions that respond to emerging needs and give customers more choices in how they protect and invest for the future. Our travel insurance plans, for instance, include coverage for injuries caused by flight turbulence and disruptions due to heavy rainfall.
For us, sustainability is closely linked to resilience. Our role is not just to provide financial protection, but to help customers make informed decisions and build greater resilience for the future.
3. The SFI also points to a gap in climate resilience, with relatively few respondents having purchased insurance to protect against climate-related risks despite stronger future intent. How do you think insurers should be communicating and developing solutions around emerging climate risks?
The Index found that only 16 per cent of respondents have purchased insurance to protect against climate-related risks, while another 40 per cent intend to do so. This shows there is interest, but many have yet to take action.
I think insurers need to make climate risks more relevant and easier for customers to understand. Rather than treating climate change as something distant or abstract, we can show how risks such as extreme heat or heavy rainfall could affect people’s health, travel, homes and finances. Our research suggests that framing insurance against climate risk as personal financial protection can make these risks more tangible and encourage individual action.
Insurance products also need to evolve as risks change. Our travel insurance benefits that respond to changing weather and travel risks are offered at no additional cost. We have also provided complimentary heatstroke protection for extreme temperature events. This is about both developing relevant solutions and helping customers understand the risks they face and the protection available to them.
4. Sustainability behaviours differ across generations, with younger Singaporeans more engaged in areas such as responsible investing and social issues, while older consumers are more likely to adopt sustainable lifestyle and consumption behaviours. How should businesses think differently about engaging people at different stages of life?
Sustainability can mean different things to different generations, so a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to work. Younger Singaporeans, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, have higher adoption in responsible investing and social and community-related sustainability actions. Adoption of daily sustainable and healthy lifestyle behaviours increases with age.
However, there are some interesting gaps. Gen Z has the highest intention to consider responsible investing, at 49 per cent, but actual adoption is only 20 per cent. For daily sustainable lifestyles, Gen Z has the lowest current adoption but the highest intention to do more.
Since this group demonstrates the highest intention to act across almost all SFI pillars but records the lowest adoption rates in two of them, there is an opportunity for targeted behaviour-change interventions. For businesses, this means engagement should reflect where people are in their sustainability journey. For younger consumers who already want to do more, the focus may be on giving them clearer and easier ways to act.
5. Singlife has increasingly embedded sustainability through research, partnerships and initiatives across its business. What have you learned about translating sustainability ambitions into practical solutions that can make a difference to your customers?
One of our biggest learnings is that sustainability needs to be part of how we run our business. It needs to be reflected in how we invest, operate and serve our customers.
For customers, sustainability needs to be practical and relevant to their lives. That means understanding how their needs and risks are changing and translating those insights into solutions that can help them prepare for the future.
We have been doing this in different ways, from developing protection that responds to emerging risks to giving customers more sustainable investment choices. Research such as the SFI also helps us understand what encourages people to take action and where the barriers are, so we can use the findings to inform how we develop solutions and engage our customers.
On top of this, we also need to make progress within our own business. We have continued to reduce emissions intensity in our investment portfolio by 30 per cent in FY2025 compared with our FY2024 baseline, while our investments in climate solutions have quadrupled since FY2022. We have also embedded sustainability into employee performance reviews across the organisation.
There is still more to do, but sustainability needs to translate into action, both in how we run our business and in the solutions we provide to our customers.
6. Looking ahead, what will it take for Singapore to move from sustainability awareness to sustained action, and where do you see the biggest opportunities for businesses, financial institutions and policymakers to make that shift happen?
Singapore has built strong foundations through policy, infrastructure and growing public awareness. The next step is to make sustainable choices easier for people to adopt and maintain.
Different parts of society have different roles to play. Businesses can make sustainable products and services easier to identify and more affordable. Financial institutions can build trust and help people understand the real-world impact of their financial choices. Policymakers can continue to reduce cost barriers and create clearer standards that give people greater confidence in sustainable products and investments.
But one finding that cuts across these areas is that people are more likely to act when sustainability feels personally relevant and when they believe their choices can make a difference. The SFI identified ownership as the strongest driver of sustainability action, although awareness and knowledge still matter for certain behaviours and groups.
So moving from awareness to action is not simply about giving people more information. It is about removing practical barriers, making sustainability relevant to people’s lives and giving them clear ways to act. There is already a willingness to do more. The opportunity now is for businesses, financial institutions, policymakers and individuals to work together to turn that willingness into sustained action.
