Keppel bags environmental award, inclusion in sustainability index

Keppel Corporation won the SEC-STATS Asia Pacific Singapore Environmental Achievement Award under the services category, at the Singapore Environment Council's Environmental Achievement Awards 2019. PHOTO: KEPPEL LAND

SINGAPORE - Keppel Corporation has been recognised for its sustainable business practices with an environmental award, along with an inclusion in a sustainability index.

The mainboard-listed company won the SEC-STATS Asia Pacific Singapore Environmental Achievement Award under the services category, at the Singapore Environment Council's Environmental Achievement Awards 2019.

The annual awards recognises organisations for their excellence in environmental stewardship. The ceremony, held on Tuesday (Aug 27), was graced by Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli.

In addition, Keppel has also been included as an index constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series, which "identifies companies demonstrating strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and practices", Keppel said in a press statement.

To be included in this index, companies are independently assessed on more than 300 indicators, which are applied according to each company's unique ESG risk exposure.

Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Keppel Corp, said: "As a multi-business company driven by a common purpose to provide solutions for sustainable urbanisation, Keppel views sustainability as being intrinsic to our business.

"Channelling our capabilities to build a more sustainable future aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, while harnessing the business and investment opportunities that these create, are at the core of the Keppel group's strategy, and how we see ourselves contributing to a better world."

According to the company, Keppel considers ESG issues in its strategic and investment decisions, and has pushed forth its sustainability agenda in various ways. The group invests in green technology, optimises its operations to enhance energy efficiency, and promotes the use of renewable energy in its different businesses, it said.

Since the end of 2018, Keppel's office at Keppel Bay Tower has been fully powered by clean energy. Energy efficiency initiatives implemented across the group in 2018, including Keppel Land's green mark-certified developments, are also estimated to have saved some 812,134 GJ (gigajoules) of energy, equivalent to 9 per cent of the group's total energy consumption during the year. This translates to an estimated S$55 million in cost savings, and an avoidance of about 95,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, the company said.

Cumulatively, the group has saved over three million GJ of energy over the past five years, which works out to about S$188 million in cost savings, and an avoidance of over 360,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the same period.

Keppel's inclusion in FTSE4Good indices adds to the firm's listings in other sustainability-linked indices in the region and globally, including the MSCI World ESG Leaders Index, Euronext Vigeo Eiris Index - World 120, as well as the iEdge SG ESG Leaders Index and iEdge SG ESG Transparency Index by the Singapore Exchange.

As at 2.27pm on Tuesday, Keppel Corp shares were trading at $5.79, down 0.5 per cent, or three cents.

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