It was an exciting start to the year with prominent international benchmarks recognising CDL’s track record in effective ESG integration and strong performance.  

Top Real Estate Company in Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World

CDL emerged as the world’s top real estate company in the 2020 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, ranking in as 36th. This also makes CDL the top Singapore company and the longest-listed Singapore company on the index for 11 consecutive years since 2010.

Analysed by Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based international media and investment research firm, the Global 100 ranking is recognised as the world’s preeminent sustainability equity index and gold standard in corporate sustainability analysis. The annual Global 100 ranking results are announced at the World Economic Forum held at Davos every year.  Companies listed on the 2020 Global 100 ranking were selected after a rigorous assessment of 7,395 companies with over US$1 billion in revenues – each was evaluated on a set of up to 21 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indicators relative to their industry peers using publicly available information.

CDL Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Sherman Kwek said, “Climate change affects all of us and concerted action is needed to mitigate its impact. Beyond delivering financial performance, businesses have a responsibility to their investors, stakeholders and the community to drive environmental stewardship. We are immensely honoured to be recognised as the world’s most sustainable real estate company. Over the past two decades, our ethos to conserve as we construct has led to our prioritisation of ESG integration to create value and future-proof our business. The Global 100 ranking affirms our progress and initiatives to drive transformations for our industry and be a change catalyst. We will continue to strengthen our ESG targets, innovate and proactively encourage a global green-minded business mindset. Working together with other stakeholders within the larger ecosystem, we will forge ahead in the new climate economy and steer our built environment towards a more sustainable future.”

Double ‘A’ Scores for Corporate Leadership on Climate Change and Water Security

Due to its robust and multipronged climate strategies, water strategies and disclosures, CDL is the only company in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong to be recognised on both the 2019 CDP A List for corporate climate action and 2019 CDP A List for water security.

This is the second consecutive year that CDL has received an A score for corporate climate action, and the first year that the company has received an A score for water security following its first participation in the CDP disclosure for water security.

CDP is widely recognised as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency, using a detailed and independent methodology to assess organisations. It allocates a score of A to D- based on the comprehensiveness of disclosure, awareness and management of environmental risks and demonstration of best practices associated with environmental leadership, such as setting ambitious and meaningful targets. While more than 8,400 companies disclosed environmental data through CDP in 2019 for independent assessment against its scoring methodology, only 181 companies and 72 companies have made the A grade for their action on climate change and water security respectively.

Only Singapore Real Estate Company listed in Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for Third Consecutive Year

CDL has once again been selected for the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), which distinguishes companies for their commitment to transparency in gender reporting and the advancement of gender diversity in the workplace.

Despite existing in a traditionally male-dominated industry, CDL is the only Singapore real estate company to be listed this year, which also marks the third consecutive year that CDL has been listed since the inauguration of the global index in 2018. CDL is part of the 325 companies selected for the 2020 GEI from nearly 6,000 companies across 84 countries and regions.

The GEI tracks the financial performance of public companies committed to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation, and transparency. The reference index measures gender equality across five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies, and pro-women branding.