SINGAPORE - Property developer City Developments achieved over $28 million in savings due to energy-efficient initiatives and retrofitting works at eight office buildings from 2012 to 2019, it announced in its 2020 integrated sustainability report (ISR) released on Monday (April 13).
The group also attained a 38 per cent reduction in carbon emissions intensity from base-year 2007, meeting its interim 2019 target and putting it on track to achieve its target of a 59 per cent reduction by 2030, it said in the report.
Given the rise of socially responsible investing and responsible banking, CDL said its focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices has allowed the company to tap more green financing. Last year, CDL secured its first green loans amounting to $500 million for new property developments and a $250 million revolving credit facility to promote the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
With the privatisation in 2019 of its former London-listed hotel subsidiary, now known as Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Limited, CDL said it is looking to enhance the alignment between the hotel subsidiary's ESG practices and its sustainability strategy so as to achieve greater synergy within the group.
In the year under review, CDL was also ranked first among real estate firms in the list of the world's 100 most sustainable big corporations compiled by Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based sustainable-business magazine and research company. CDL said it was also the only company in South-east Asia and Hong Kong to score double 'A's in the 2019 CDP Global A List for corporate climate action and water security. CDP is a UK-based global environmental non-profit organisation.
CDL said its ISR 2020, which is independently vetted by Ernst & Young to ensure accuracy and transparency, reports the company's efforts in accelerating green building and sustainability efforts as well as expanding its outreach and advocacy to a larger ecosystem comprising multiple stakeholders along its value chain.
Mr Sherman Kwek, CDL group chief executive officer, said, "The current Covid-19 global pandemic serves as a reminder of things that many of us take for granted - our environment, our health, our safety and our freedom. Many countries have implemented unprecedented restrictions to contain the Covid-19 spread and these disruptions to our businesses, communities, supply chains and daily lifestyles have caused us to rethink and recalibrate our way of life.
"One ray of light during this timeout is that it offers Mother Nature a much-needed breather from the impact of rapid globalisation, production and excessive consumption. In this coming decade leading up to 2030, there is an even more urgent need for businesses to collectively reduce their carbon footprint and actively accelerate climate action. Every stakeholder shares the responsibility to protect our fragile environment."
