Corporate Citizenship helps lay the foundation in Singapore for world-class sustainability reporting: upskilling the Singapore way.
Apparently 9 in 10 Singaporeans feel the need to enhance their skills and competencies every five years. This is remarkable considering Singapore is among the most competitive economies in the world, with a power-packed workforce ranked among the most skilled in Asia. The government has rolled out all sorts of incentives to encourage further upskilling, and I can safely say we are proud to be part of the bandwagon now in putting Sustainability on the country’s corporate blueprint.
Taking a step towards sustainability reporting upskilling, Singapore’s first GRI G4-certified training was successfully completed last month. We had a full house attendance and a chock-a-block program that kept our participants on their toes over two intensive days. Credit also goes to our regional partner NCSR, led by Executive Director Mr Ali Darwin himself, who has conducted over 35 such sustainability reporting trainings in his career.
Over the last two years, we have seen interest toward global reporting frameworks such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) growing steadily among communications professionals in Singapore. This is hardly surprising considering that GRI has taken major steps to make its framework more relevant and easy to use. It has built significant outreach platforms in emerging countries, and used very creative ways to ensure that its framework is easily understood and functional.
At Corporate Citizenship we decided that it was time we published a thought leadership paper, The Future of Reporting: From Routine to Strategic. Given the number of reports we have helped to publish (over 150!) from Switzerland to Santiago to Singapore, this publication captures a full-page bird’s eye view of the way reporting has evolved – and will evolve – over time. It’s a meaty A3 centrefold treat for the reporting junkie in you.
So is Sustainability Reporting going to surge in Singapore with tighter regulations? Most likely. But with or without these measures, Singapore companies are going to see the value in sustainability reporting in the immediate future. Mainstream investors are already asking for ESG data; banks prefer to lend to companies who can assure them with less fluff and more numbers. Meanwhile Singapore companies are going places with their business (and carbon) footprint. As global supply chains become increasingly interconnected, CEOs are going to rely on the information in their sustainability reports to engage investors and customers and future employees.
That is when the value of good sustainability reporting becomes real – when it opens the doors to more business, and better business.
Due to popular demand, Corporate Citizenship is opening up a second GRI G4-certified Training course in Singapore, scheduled for 21-22 September 2015. In addition, we are offering all participants a complementary half-day Global Best Practice Workshop on October 2. This is an exclusive program for early and seasoned CSR reporters in Southeast Asia.