19,000 tonnes of carbon emissions that would have occurred had the items gone into landfills.
SEE: Can corporate giving ever become a new cultural norm?
This ideal has driven Keppel’s efforts in providing sustainable urbanisation solutions, as evidenced in its development of an eco-friendly township in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City and more recently, operations of the Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant. The plant, which is Singapore’s fourth desalination plant, commenced operations in June 2020. It can produce about 30 million gallons of fresh drinking water in a day. This amount of water can meet the demands of about 200,000 households and accounts for about 7% of Singapore’s daily water demand, according to data from the Public Utilities Board (PUB). Aside from this, Keppel’s Offshore & Marine (O&M) segment has in the past few years, pivoted from its traditional role as a rig builder, towards renewables and cleaner fossil fuels such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), says Loh. He estimates that some 65% of the $1 billion in new orders received by Keppel O&M in 2020 were provided for with renewables and LNG solutions. This number is set to increase going forward as the company’s transition to cleaner solutions gains momentum, Loh remarks. Meanwhile, Keppel Corp is also exploring how its expertise in engineering can facilitate the setting up of floating data centres that are said to be more energy efficient than land based ones. The company is collaborating with partners to study carbon capture development, utilisation and sequestration systems as well as the usage of hydrogen infrastructure for power generation and cooling. Keppel Corp’s moves are in line with its Vision 2030 to guide the group’s strategy and transformation as one integrated business that provides solutions for sustainable urbanisation, says Loh. To this end, the recognition of being a Champion of Good is affirmation that the company is making headway towards this goal.
Keppel Corp and CDL are among 74 organisations that were recognised as Champions of Good last year. Champions of Good are organisations that are exemplary in doing good, while being multipliers by engaging their partners and stakeholders on a collaborative journey. While the Champions make their contributions to society in different ways, they each exemplify the values of Company of Good’s four “I” framework: investment, integration, institutionalisation and impact. Market watchers expect to see more companies doing good, by considering ESG in their decision-making process, especially in the current decade leading up to 2030. This comes as the Covid-19 pandemic has amplified the interlinkage between the health of the planet and the health of its occupants as well as the economy, says CDL’s An. “As the world is focusing on recovering better, greener and healthier from the pandemic, our strong track record in ESG performance will position us well for recovery and allow us to capture even more opportunities in the new value-based economy.” Interestingly, such acts of good are said to bring about cost savings to companies. A November 2019 article by professional services firm McKinsey, titled “Five ways that ESG can create value”, shows that the adoption of ESG initiatives can help reduce costs by combating operating expenses such as the cost of water, carbon and raw materials. This can affect operating profits by as much as 60%, the article reveals. To this end, An is rallying other businesses to embark on their own sustainability journey. Her advice is for them to reduce their carbon footprint, actively accelerate climate action and adopt their own sustainability mindset where people are at the heart of operations and products. “In the decade of urgent action towards 2030, there is no time to waste in delivering the transition to a net-zero, circular and socially-just economy,” she stresses. Champions of Good recognises organisations that are exemplary in doing good. Check out the full-featured highlights of our Champions of Good 2020 at: companyofgood.sg/champions