The event was very well attended by some 100 guests, and got off to a very good start with welcoming words from SBF Vice Chairman Mr. Vijay Iyengar and British High Commissioner to Singapore, His Excellency Paul Madden.
The Guest of Honour, Dr. Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Water and Resources described the success of two Government energy saving schemes which had been given prominence in recent weeks as the government pushed for greater energy efficiency from its largest consumers of energy, through the implementation of the Energy Conservation Act by 2013. She emphasised that her advice to companies was 'to start preparing themselves early as it would eventually be in their interest and benefit to do so.'
During the morning session presenters provided background information on the Carbon Disclosure Project and emphasised the business case for Carbon Dislosure by companies. Ms Friederique Jebbens, representing CDP UK, noted emphasised both the increase in investor signatories this year and and the increase in companies being sent the CDP questionnaire. Mr David St. Maur Sheil of ASrIA noted that it was likely that many Singapore companies were starting to monitor the energy usage and footprint data, but that they risked falling behind regional trends to disclose and engage with other stakeholders such as investors on their GHG emissions and strategies for responding to climate change, as evidenced by regional responses to the CDP Asia ex-Japan report, compiled annually by ASrIA.
Assaad W. Razzouk, Group CEO, Sindicatum Carbon Capital, an ASrIA member, also provided some very well received insights on how corporates and investors could act to unlock the hidden climate change related value from investments.
During the afternoon there were a number of exellent more technically oriented presentations. Following a keynote presentation by Esther An, Deputy General Manager (Corporate Affairs), Head CSR, City Developments Limited, and an overview of climate change implications for the property sector by Rebecca Lewis of Responsible Research, Thomas Thomas of Singapore Compact facilitated a lively panel with a group of specialists who provided a wide range of perspectives and practical advice. There was very lively discussion throughout the day, as well as valuable networking during and after the event. The event provided strong evidence that there is a growing network of individuals and organisations focused on how corporates can respond to climate change. Continued leadership by the Singapore Government will be crucial to catalyzing this.
ASrIA strongly appreciated the support of the UK Government Foreign and Commonwealth Office for their sponsorship of the event, and our other organizing partners who made the event not only possible but a highly successful collaborative occasion. |
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