CapitaLand ranked as one of the world’s most sustainable corporations for the ninth time

Singapore, 25 January 2021 – CapitaLand has been ranked as one of the most sustainable corporations in the ‘Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World’ index by Corporate Knights Inc.^[1] in 2021.  This marks the Group’s ninth inclusion in the prestigious index which lists the top 1% of corporations in the world based on their sustainability performance.  CapitaLand jumped five places to 58^th position from the previous year.  CapitaLand, which has a global presence in more than 220 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.

Ms Lynette Leong, Chief Sustainability Officer for CapitaLand Group said: “CapitaLand is honoured to be consistently recognised as a global sustainability leader on 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 for a well-below 2 degrees Celsius scenario^[2].”

"To accelerate resource efficiency and shape a more sustainable built environment by developing greener and safer buildings for the communities, 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 so as to future-proof our organisation and deliver long-term value for our stakeholders,” added Ms Leong.

Mr 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 its 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 CapitaLand’s investments, an Environmental, Health and Safety Impact Assessment is conducted for each investment.  All developments must also adhere to CapitaLand’s Sustainable Building Guidelines which incorporate the design and construction specifications in accordance with CapitaLand’s 2030 Sustainability Master Plan targets.  CapitaLand is also developing a new metric, Return on Sustainability, in addition to the regular financial return to measure the Group’s ESG impact. 

CapitaLand as a global leader in sustainability

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

In November 2020, CapitaLand was listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the ninth consecutive year.  CapitaLand is also the first and longest standing company in Singapore to be listed on Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index, retaining its inclusion for the 12^th consecutive year.

CapitaLand was awarded first place across three categories for the 2020 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark.  Internationally, CapitaLand was named the leader in the ‘Global Sector Leader for Diversified - Listed’ category.  In Asia, CapitaLand won in the ‘Diversified – Asia - Regional Sector Leader’ and ‘Diversified – Asia - Regional Listed Sector Leader’ categories.

CapitaLand was also included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, as well as the MSCI World ESG Leaders and MSCI World Socially Responsible Investment Index in 2020 for the seventh year.

^{[1] Corporate Knights Inc. includes the sustainable business magazine Corporate Knights and a research division that produces rankings and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance.
[2] CapitaLand’s science-based targets validated by Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) are to reduce scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 28% which support CapitaLand’s overall aim to reduce carbon emissions intensity by 78% by 2030. More information available here.}