The Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) is establishing the ESGenome disclosure portal, which gives investors access to companies’ climate disclosures, to help harmonize sustainability reporting from listed companies, as reported by Strait Times on July 19. The portal can guide enterprises to enter the necessary information for meeting disclosure requirements and automatically compose sustainability reports. Also, the SGX RegCo is considering requiring all listed companies to prepare their sustainability reports using a common digital format. The disclosure portal was announced weeks after SGX RegCo and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) set up a sustainability reporting advisory committee to advise on a sustainability reporting roadmap for Singapore-incorporated companies.

Enterprises listed in the SGX are required to submit sustainability reporting on a ‘comply or explain’ basis starting this year, following recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). According to the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) recent climate disclosure survey of the top 600 listed companies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, Singapore’s listed enterprises had a 48% disclosure rate in the past two years, ranking second among six ASEAN nations. However, the survey also suggested that some sustainability reports only included obscure targets such as reducing energy and water usage instead of measurable goals, while some lack plans and practices to realize their climate targets. Therefore, unified assessment criteria are crucial to standardizing sustainability reporting and improving climate disclosure.

Sources:

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/investors-can-check-singapore-companies-climate-disclosures-with-new-esg-portal

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/acra-sgx-regco-set-up-committee-on-sustainability-reporting-for-spore-firms

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/asean-listcos-disclose-esg-targets-but-fail-to-measure-performance-or-link-to-pay