The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) yesterday announced a co-funding initiative to help Singapore-listed maritime companies with the cost of their sustainability reports.

It will foot 50 per cent of the costs - up to $50,000 per company - and reimburse the first 10 approved applications.

Companies which take up the co-funding offer will have to publish their sustainability reports before Dec 31 next year, to world standards such as those laid out in the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines.

Singapore Exchange's (SGX) new sustainability reporting rules require listed companies to publish sustainability reports for the financial year ending on or after Dec 31, 2017.

The co-funding initiative is part of the MPA's new Green Awareness Programme to share knowledge of the possible ways of carrying out sustainable shipping. Said MPA chief executive Andrew Tan: "MPA is the first local maritime organisation to publish both an integrated report and sustainability report last year, and we hope to encourage the rest of the maritime industry to adopt the best practices and mitigate any risks to the environment arising from their operations."

Ms Yeo Lian Sim, special adviser to SGX, said: "With MPA's Green Awareness Programme, shipping companies have every encouragement to become early adopters of sustainability reporting and lead the way in raising transparency and communication standards in the maritime sector."