SingPost’s SME suppliers to get help with going green
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Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling (third from left) and SingPost group CEO Vincent Phang (third from right) at the MOU signing on Oct 18.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
SINGAPORE – A new initiative aims to help the smaller companies that supply Singapore Post (SingPost) transition to more sustainable business models.
SingPost chief sustainability officer Michelle Lee said the programme is needed as many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may want to go green but are not sure how to start.
It aims to bridge the gap between growing expectations of larger companies and the lack of expertise among their suppliers to deliver accurate carbon emissions data, which is necessary for climate reporting.
“We recognise that SMEs juggle numerous pressing concerns in their daily operations,” said Ms Lee.
The Queen Bee Enabled Sustainability Transition (Quest) programme, as it is called, involves suppliers undergoing in-depth training workshops focused on environmental, social and governance sustainability indicators.
Suppliers will also learn how to measure their baseline greenhouse gas emissions and apply key decarbonisation strategies to reduce their carbon footprint.
The programme – a partnership between the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), SingPost, EY and OCBC Bank – will also allow workshop participants to explore various resources, including government grants and schemes centred on sustainability.
After the workshops, the SMEs can tap expert guidance from SBF’s sustainability advisers, benefit from EY’s digital and technology expertise and access OCBC’s financing options to better meet SingPost’s enhanced procurement criteria.
Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, told a launch event on Oct 18: “While the Government is committed to supporting businesses as Singapore transitions to a low-carbon economy, we need businesses to play an active role in this shift.”
Large enterprises, in particular, play an essential role in leading and driving sustainability efforts, said Ms Low, who is also Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth.
All listed companies in Singapore must make climate-related disclosures from Jan 1, 2025.
A pilot of the programme, supported by Enterprise Singapore, will kick off in November with 25 of SingPost’s SME suppliers from different sectors.
The programme could eventually expand to target suppliers within the value chain of other larger companies that help smaller companies, said Mr Lee Yee Fung, SBF’s chief smart technologies officer.
Mr Lee added that this could potentially enable a broader range of SMEs to develop sustainable practices so that they can comply with global carbon reporting standards and frameworks and stringent green procurement criteria of other large organisations.
SingPost has enhanced its procurement criteria to include sustainability requirements for its supply chain partners.
