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_{November 13, 2025 | Singapore FinTech Festival, Green Pavilion Stage}

At the Green Pavilion Stage of the Singapore FinTech Festival, industry leaders convened to reframe sustainability not only for sustainable growth in businesses, and also a catalyst for resilience, innovation, and competitive advantage in an era of geopolitical uncertainties and evolving regulatory landscapes.

Moderated by Kok Seng, Centre Director, SP’s Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Energy Efficiency, the 25-minute panel discussion — “Unlock the Value of Sustainable Growth” — featured Benjamin Soh, Founder and Managing Director of ESGpedia, and Corrado Forcellati, Senior Director, Paia from CBRE. This was organised by Greenprint to share practical insights especially for SMEs navigating decarbonisation roadmap and building their sustainability capabilities.

Sustainability as Strategy, Not Just Compliance

The discussion opened with the reality that rising geopolitical tensions have led governments and corporations to rethink of their strategies and re-prioritise climate ambitions for short-term economic stability.

“Decarbonisation comes with costs, but we need a pragmatic approach to strike a balance between sustainability and business competitiveness,” said Corrado.

Benjamin Soh highlighted a critical gap commonly noted whereby most SMEs still see sustainability as compliance, not a business opportunity. He cited Walmart’s Project Gigaton, where suppliers achieving gigatonne-scale emission reductions gained access to preferential sustainability-linked loans — lowering their financing load while accelerating green transition.

Corrado reinforced the financial imperative that “Climate risk is financial risk.” He urged businesses to start small by conducting a baseline carbon footprint evaluation, use optimisation tools to cut fuel/energy consumption and prepare for EU’s Cross Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which will come effective from 2026.

Navigating Singapore’s Evolving Regulatory Landscape

The recent announcement by ACRA delaying mandatory climate reporting for smaller listed companies until 2030 was met not with relief, but with caution.

“Don’t mistake breathing room for a free pass,” Corrado quipped.

“If sustainability is a dress you need to wear to the ball, don’t wait until the day before to start fitting it. Use this time to get fit — not just get dressed only when you realise it is a misfit.”

He flagged accelerating adjacent local regulations: BCA’s target for 80% of buildings to be green by 2030, STB’s sustainability certification for hotel and MICE operators, and alignment to global sustainability reporting frameworks such as ISSB means that businesses cannot afford complacency.

“Even with delayed reporting, carbon tracking is essential for business competitiveness.”

Use Case on SATA CommHealth — Sustainability in Action

A standout use case came from SATA CommHealth, a charitable healthcare provider serving local residents and migrant workers. Though not legally required to report, SATA voluntarily joined SP and Paia’s training courses on carbon management and sustainability reporting as well as subsequently later engaged SP on consultancy projects to build its GHG inventory and decarbonisation strategies.

Why act early?

“Stewardship,” said Corrado. “It strengthens donor trust, attracts purpose-driven talents, and amplifies social impact.”

SATA has already electrified its mobile clinic fleet and is now targeting to tackle its emissions hotspots.

Advice for SMEs: Start Where You Are

A sobering statistics: 75% of Singapore SMEs are not actively pursuing sustainability.

The panel countered with a practical toolkit to support SMEs embarking on sustainability:

• Free digital carbon accounting tools: Platforms like Greenprint enables real-time carbon tracking without heavy financial investment.
• Government grants & green financing: Accessible funding for energy efficiency, building retrofits, sustainability reporting, ESG certification, etc.
• Technology as a multiplier: Cloud-based software to automate sustainability reporting optimises operations.
• SP’s Sustainability Learning Journey: Over 228 companies have already participated in SP’s industry curated learning programme — achieve measurable ROIs within months.

“Most SMEs are motivated by grants — and rightly so,” Kok Seng noted. “But our goal is to help them see beyond incentives. When you reduce energy use, you reduce costs. When you track emissions, you unlock loans. When you act early, you outpace your competitors.”

Final Thought: Don’t Wait for the Perfect Dress

In a memorable closing metaphor, the panel reminded that Sustainability is a mindset, not a project:

“Sustainability is not a designer dress,” said Corrado. “Do your basic reporting. Don’t wait for the beautiful dress that will only be ready in three years.”

“Demystify it,” said Benjamin. “Many SMEs are already sustainable—they recycle, invest in staff training, upgrade to efficient equipment—but don’t label it as such.”

The paradigm is shifting especially in an era of AI, regulatory evolution and economic uncertainties, sustainability is no longer perceived as a burden but it is a strategic imperative.

The businesses that thrive tomorrow will be those that embed sustainability into their DNA today.