CDL ranked world's top real estate company on Global 100 index

CITY Developments Limited (CDL) has been ranked the world's top real estate company on the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world, and takes the 40th place on the whole index which ranks the world's most sustainable corporations.

Announced virtually on Monday at the 17th Annual Global 100 Launch, CDL has also remained Singapore's top-ranked most sustainable company in the world, a position held for the third consecutive year.

CDL is also the first and only Singapore company to be included in the index for 12 years in a row.

The Global 100 index is analysed by Toronto-based international media and investment research firm Corporate Knights and is recognised as the world's pre-eminent sustainability equity index and gold standard in corporate sustainability analysis.

Companies on the Global 100 ranking for 2021 were selected after a rigorous assessment of 8,080 companies with more than US$1 billion in revenue - each evaluated on a set of up to 24 environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators relative to their industry peers using publicly available information.

Sherman Kwek, group chief executive officer (CEO) of CDL, said: "The social and economic challenges posed by Covid-19 have accelerated sustainability and pushed it further into the global spotlight. Our strong foundation in ESG integration forged over two decades has been vital in future-proofing our business and preparing us for new challenges and unforeseen changes."

"In spite of a challenging year in 2020, ESG integration has remained a fundamental aspect of our business strategy and we will continue to drive sustainability to build resilience for a greener and healthier recovery," added Mr Kwek.

CEO of Corporate Knights Toby Heaps noted that CDL has "remained steadfast" in its efforts to drive change in the built environment and set benchmarks for other businesses to follow despite the obstacles posed by the pandemic.

Apart from this, CDL was also recognised for its commitment to sustainability performance in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) (World and Asia Pacific), and has been an index component in the DJSI since 2011.

Additionally, CDL was the only company in South-east Asia and Hong Kong that was recognised on both the 2020 CDP A List for corporate climate action and water security in December last year.