Sustainability Impact Awards

"I am hopeful."

I know, it's a bit cringey…but those are the exact words I felt after hosting the Sustainability Impact Award ceremony last week, organised by UOB and The Business Times.

With the President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam as the guest of honour, we celebrated companies that walk the sustainability talk.

The winners didn't just meet one criterion; they embodied a trifecta of positive change:

1️⃣ Solving a pressing real world problem
2️⃣ Serving the community
3️⃣ Caring for our planet

Let's get real. It's rare to find companies excelling in all three areas. But these winners did just that.

As I reflect on the evening, four key insights that stand out:

🥇 Sustainability doesn't always have to come with a "green premium." Many companies are finding innovative ways to be eco-friendly and manage costs.

🥇 "We conserve as we construct". A powerful ethos from City Developments Limited that resonated deeply with me – Sherman Kwek & Esther An.

🥇 Sustainability by design: Integrating eco-friendly practices into one’s DNA from the start rather than as an afterthought – Kee Boon Hian of BlueAcres.

🥇 ESG-focused companies are not just a possibility; they're a reality. It's challenging (as anything worth doing is) but the impact on our planet makes it worthwhile.

We often create a false dichotomy: business success or planetary wellbeing. But the companies present this evening proved that business success and planetary well-being aren’t mutually exclusive. We can do both.

In the words of Peter Drucker: "The best way to predict the future is to create it."