Singapore, 6 November 2019. Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts and Changi Airport Group have been recognised for their sustainable business operations—they were among the 2019 award recipients of the Singapore Apex Corporate Sustainability Awards. The other winners were Matex Holdings, Moya Holdings and the Right People Renewable Energy (RPRE) Singapore. They clinched the awards in the sustainable solutions category.
The Singapore Apex Corporate Sustainability Awards 2019 winners received the awards from Singapore’s Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung at a gala dinner attended by more than 120 leaders in the sustainability landscape.
Organised by Global Compact Network Singapore, the awards promote responsible corporate practices by encouraging businesses to align their operations and strategies to UNGC’s Ten Principles that encompass human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. The awards also shine a spotlight on how sustainable business practices can be profitable and serve as a competitive advantage.
The winning companies were selected based on their exemplary performances in making sustainability an integral part of their strategies and operations. The panel of judges comprised members from the business community, academia, and the government.
Winners of Singapore Apex Corporate Sustainability Awards 2019. The awards promote responsible corporate practices by encouraging businesses to align their operations and strategies to UNGC’s Ten Principles that encompass human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. Organised by Global Compact Network Singapore.
Sustainable Business Award Category
This Sustainable Business Award recognises businesses that excel in implementing sustainable practices within their core operations. Winners in this category were selected according to the following criteria: Materiality & stakeholder engagement ; Governance; Economic performance; Environmental performance; and Social performance.
Ms Claire Chiang, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, Banyan Tree Holdings and Chairperson of Banyan Tree Global Foundation, said, "As we celebrate our 25th Anniversary this year in 2019, we are greatly honoured by the recognition as a Sustainable Business Winner of the prestigious Singapore Apex Corporate Sustainability Awards. In line with our corporate ethos of “Embracing The Environment, Empowering People” since inception, we are committed in our efforts to continually protecting the environment and building communities wherever our hotels are planted.
Banyan Tree was among the winners of GCNS’ Singapore Apex Corporate Sustainability Awards in 2019.
Banyan Tree was founded with the core value of driving sustainable development, and we believe private sector engagement is essential to conserve and safeguard natural and cultural heritage, in the face of unprecedented global change. While there is no blueprint for success, we will continue to strive to do more than the precautionary principle and create stewardship for the global community and environment."
Mr Lee Seow Hiang, Chief Executive Officer, Changi Airport Group, said, “The heartbeat of Changi Airport is our 60,000-strong ONE Changi community where a Sustainable Changi is a future we build together. We are thankful to our airport partners for their collaboration and will pursue more initiatives in the coming years to connect the world more sustainably and to push the boundaries for an even more sustainable Changi Airport.”
Sustainable Solutions Award
This category recognises businesses that excel in developing a product or service with outstanding technological attributes that address the sustainable needs of other businesses, the environment and society. Winners in this category are selected according to the following criteria: Technology attributes; Focus on the future; Measurement of impact; and Innovation.
Mr Mohammad Syahrial, Chief Executive Officer, Moya Holdings Asia Ltd, said, "Moya’s mission is to invest in projects with wide social impacts and to look beyond financial returns. We are a firm believer that providing solutions and helping our communities are key to our success. Moya launched our sustainability strategies in 2016 and made it our core business efforts. A corporate culture of sustainability is a source of competitive advantage in the long run with key focus on how water is to be managed as a shared resource and how local stakeholders can be more actively involved. Moya is honoured to be receiving the Sustainable Solutions Award from Global Compact Network Singapore. We commit to sustainable business practices in managing our resources and developing our businesses."
Mr Robin Pho, CEO and Founder of RPRE, said, “Climate change is not bound by national borders. To tackle climate change, we must be willing to venture beyond Singapore and go where we can make a meaningful difference. Even if Singapore does everything right to combat climate change but the rest of the world does not, sea levels will continue to rise and Singapore will still be under water. The Sustainable Solutions Award from Global Compact Network Singapore is a great validation that our focus on the triple bottom line - People, Planet, Profit - is the right thing to do. We cannot do this alone and we need everyone to take positive action so that we can leave a better planet for our future generations. There is no planet B."
Mr Dro Tan, Executive Director, Matex Holdings, said, "The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals could not come at a better time to urge for an era of action. It is a common call for how we start or significantly increase our sustainable footprints - as it is a race against time from here. For Matex and Megapro® ECO, our next-generation eco-friendly process solution, it is an honour to be recognised by Global Compact Network Singapore. The Sustainable Solutions Award confirms we are in a community of like-minded people who seek to give and make lives better."
Global Compact Network Singapore is the local chapter of the United Nations Global Compact. As the national lead agency promoting corporate sustainability, GCNS provides an ecosystem for companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions to achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Through various platforms for multi-stakeholder engagement and collective action, GCNS advances the stewardship of sustainable business practices and Singapore’s national agenda of becoming a regional sustainable business hub.
GCNS nurtures the next generation of responsible business leaders through its youth initiatives. GCNS is a stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative and supports the Singapore chapter of the World Bank Group's Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition.