Leading Singaporean enterprises and innovative small and medium-sized companies are advancing corporate sustainability through ambitious initiatives aimed at delivering measurable environmental and social impact, according to recipients of this year’s Sustainability Impact Awards.
The Housing & Development Board (HDB), which provides public housing to nearly 80 percent of Singapore’s resident population, highlighted its integrated approach to sustainability across the housing lifecycle. Tan Sze Tiong, HDB’s chief sustainability officer, described two complementary programs: the Smart HDB Town Framework and the HDB Green Towns Programme. The Smart HDB Town Framework incorporates sustainable design principles such as passive cooling, solar panels, and smart lighting in new developments, while the Green Towns Programme upgrades existing estates with features like cool coatings, expanded greenery, solar energy generation, and electric vehicle charging points. Implementation challenges have included fostering industry capability to scale emerging technologies from pilot projects to broad adoption, which HDB addresses through early partner engagement, trial facilitation, and demand aggregation to encourage investment confidence.
In the commercial aerospace sector, ST Engineering is striving to reduce its environmental footprint through expanded renewable energy capacity. Simon Goh, director of sustainability, outlined the addition of 4.4 million kWh of solar capacity at the company’s Changi Creek facility, pushing total solar generation in Singapore to 14.8 million kWh annually. This development positions the site as ST Engineering’s first near-carbon-neutral aerospace facility in terms of indirect energy emissions, reducing reliance on grid electricity and cutting around 5,800 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year. The facility also employs rainwater harvesting to decrease water consumption. Goh identified the challenge of translating technically complex sustainability goals into practical operations while coordinating multiple stakeholders and ensuring safe, seamless integration. Concurrently, the company has enhanced its sustainability reporting with AI-driven tools to improve greenhouse gas emissions and energy use measurement.
Delta Electronics reported significant progress under its integrated net-zero commitment, reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 53.6 percent compared to 2021 levels and raising renewable electricity use to 84 percent globally as of 2024. Chairman and CEO Ping Cheng stressed the company’s emphasis on extending sustainability beyond its operations to influence suppliers, customers, and communities. Initiatives include supplier ESG training, carbon reduction efforts, and collaboration with Singapore’s NParks on the Coral Restoration Programme. Cheng identified the difficulty of converting sustainability aspirations into coordinated action across a diverse global ecosystem, achieved through sustained engagement, governance, and partnerships.
Among small and medium enterprises, Ampotech is leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence technologies to improve energy management and foster decarbonization in real estate and maritime industries. CEO William Temple noted projects involving both brownfield and greenfield sites, including deployment in an under-construction electric vessel and high-rise building, which required coordination with various stakeholders and adaptation to complex project timelines.
KosmodeHealth Singapore is pioneering the transformation of food processing by-products into nutritional staples designed to manage blood sugar levels, exemplified by its product WOW ProTEGO. Co-founder Florence Leong explained that the company’s “Waste2Health” strategy addresses both climate and health challenges by repurposing agricultural waste that otherwise contributes to emissions. Leong highlighted the prevailing challenge of overcoming perceptions of by-products as mere waste rather than valuable resources, and positioning staple foods as active components in disease management rather than passive dietary elements.
Overall, these organizations demonstrate how targeted strategies, stakeholder collaboration, and innovation are driving tangible progress in sustainability across Singapore’s public housing, manufacturing, commercial aerospace, and health nutrition sectors.