CapitaLand has been listed in the 2021 ‘Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World’ index by Corporate Knights Inc.

This marks the Singaporean company’s ninth entry in the prestigious index, which lists the top 1 per cent of corporations in the world based on their sustainability performance.  

It jumped five places from 2020 to 58th .

Raffles City Chongqing is CapitaLand’s largest integrated development in China and the largest single investment by any Singaporean firm in that country to obtain the LEED Gold pre-certification for sustainability.

The corporation, which has a presence in more than 230 cities and over 30 countries, is also one of the highest ranked real estate companies in the index.

The top 100 corporations in the index were determined following an analysis of over 8,000 global corporations against a set of 24 quantitative key performance indicators covering areas such as clean revenue, resource efficiency, employee management, financial management, and supplier performance. New indicators such as clean investment and diversity among executives and board of directors have been included in this year’s analysis.

Lynette Leong, chief sustainability officer for CapitaLand Group, said: “CapitaLand is honoured to be consistently recognised as a global sustainability leader in the ‘Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World’ index.

“With the launch of CapitaLand’s 2030 Sustainability Master Plan last October, we continue to elevate our environment, social and governance (ESG) efforts with ambitious targets over the next decade. One of our targets is to significantly reduce carbon emissions, and we are the first real estate company in Asia, excluding Japan, to have our carbon emissions reduction targets validated by Science Based Targets initiative.

“To accelerate resource efficiency and shape a more sustainable built environment by developing greener and safer buildings, we also launched an inaugural CapitaLand Sustainability X Challenge. It is the first global platform by a real estate company to advance innovation and collaboration in sustainability within the built environment.

“As a responsible real estate company, we place sustainability at the core of what we do to future-proof our organisation and deliver long-term value for our stakeholders.”

Toby Heaps, chief executive officer of Corporate Knights, said: “Congratulations to CapitaLand who has continued to demonstrate leadership in sustainability. The group has risen in the rankings due to its strong performance in clean revenue and clean investment.  

“CapitaLand has also consistently led the transformation of a more sustainable built environment through greening its global portfolio. This year the sustainability performance of each corporation is evaluated against a more robust set of indicators, and their response to the growing climate threat. Companies listed in the ‘Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World’ are not just top sustainability performers but also financially strong corporations that hold investors’ confidence and are ethical employers of choice.”

In ensuring that sustainability is embedded in its investments, CapitaLand conducts an environmental, health and safety impact assessment for each investment.

All developments must also adhere to its sustainable building guidelines, which incorporate design and construction specifications in accordance with its 2030 sustainability master plan targets.

CapitaLand is also developing a new metric, return on sustainability, in addition to the regular financial return to measure its ESG impact.

Over 23 properties across 10 cities in Vietnam supported the 2021 Earth Hour.

Over 23 properties across 10 cities in Việt Nam to support 2021 Earth Hour

As part of its sustainability efforts, CapitaLand participated in the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Earth Hour global movement on March 27, 2021.  

In Vietnam, over 23 properties across 10 cities were part of the global initiative. From 8.30pm, CapitaLand Vietnam and its wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), went beyond that hour to switch off their buildings’ façade and non-essential lights throughout the night.

They also encouraged their customers, guests, staff, and other stakeholders to lead a more sustainable lifestyle by sharing tips on how to reduce plastic, electronic and water wastes.

CapitaLand a global leader in sustainability

CapitaLand’s inclusion in the ‘Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World’ list further cements its reputation as a global leader in sustainability and highlights its strong sustainability profile to investors.

In February 2021 it was listed in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook for the 12th time. It is the top real estate company in Asia (excluding Australia), the first in Singapore to be listed in it and for the longest time.

The ranking places CapitaLand’s sustainability performance among the top 15 per cent in the global real estate industry.

In November 2020 CapitaLand was listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the ninth consecutive year.

It was also the first Singaporean company and longest lasting in the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index after being included for a 12th consecutive year.

It was awarded first place across three categories in the 2020 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark.

Internationally, CapitaLand was named the leader in the ‘Global Sector Leader for Diversified - Listed’ category.

In Asia, it won in the ‘Diversified – Asia - Regional Sector Leader’ and ‘Diversified – Asia - Regional Listed Sector Leader’ categories.

It was also included in the FTSE4 Good Index Series and the MSCI World ESG Leaders and MSCI World Socially Responsible Investment Index in 2020 for a seventh year.

CapitaLand is one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups. 

Headquartered and listed in Singapore, it owns and manages a global portfolio worth around S$132.5 billion as of December 31, 2020. 

Its portfolio spans diverse real estate classes including commercial, retail; business parks, industrial and logistics; integrated developments, urban development; and lodging and residential.

It focuses on Singapore and China as its core markets, and continues to expand in markets such as India, Viet Nam, Australia, Europe, and the US.