StarHub named world’s most sustainable telco on Global 100 list

STARHUB is now the world’s most sustainable telecom provider, going by the latest Corporate Knights’ Global 100 rankings released on Wednesday (Jan 18) at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The list ranks 6,720 global corporations with a gross revenue of more than US$1 billion a year. The ranking, based on indicators like carbon productivity and sustainable revenue, identifies 100 companies for its index, which is known for outperforming the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI).

Given a “B” grade, StarHub leapt 38 spots and is ranked 34th this year, three places ahead of Canada’s Telus Corp, the next most sustainable telco. 

While it lags behind Telus in carbon productivity (US$41,945 versus US$54,239), and its sustainable revenue ratio (47 per cent versus 62 per cent), the mainboard listed telco is ahead on indicators like energy productivity (US$5,139.60 versus US$3,627.50).

Three other Singapore-headquartered companies made the index this year. They are property developers City Developments Ltd ( CDL ) and CapitaLand Investment ( CLI ), and panel manufacturer Maxeon Solar Technologies. 

This is the first time Maxeon, a Nasdaq-listed company spun off from the US-based SunPower Corporation in 2020, has made the list. It placed 69th.

While CDL remained the best-placed Singapore company on the list, it is now the 28th most sustainable company on the list with a “B+” grade. It has fallen 23 places from last year, when it placed fifth with an “A” grade. The ranking drop follows a fall in its sustainable revenue ratio from 82 per cent in 2022 to 73 per cent this year.

CLI climbed 19 places to 56th position, with a “B-” grade, after improving its energy productivity score from 14 last year to 34 this year, and improving its carbon productivity score from 17 last year to 20 this year. Its sustainable revenue ratio crept up 1 percentage point to 38 per cent.

In a statement, CLI said its investment in greening its properties and achieving leading green-building certifications such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) are among factors that contributed to the improvement in its ranking.

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Separately, StarHub said its improved standing came as the company achieved 10 per cent renewable energy use through the procurement of renewable energy certificates last year. 

In the year, the telco also signed a virtual power-purchase agreement with Terrenus Energy to deepen its investment in clean energy. With it, StarHub will procure 100 per cent of the renewable electricity to be generated from Terrenus’ 13.2 megawatt solar farm on Jurong Island over the next 13 years.

CDL’s group chief executive officer Sherman Kwek noted that the company started its sustainability journey more than two decades ago, and has featured on the list for the 14th consecutive year.

“This year marks CDL’s 60th anniversary and as we continue to grow and transform our business, we will drive ESG integration across our group for enterprise excellence and to create value for all our stakeholders,” he added.

The Global 100 ranking, regarded as the gold standard in corporate sustainability analysis, is determined through an assessment of 25 quantitative key performance indicators covering resource management, employee management, financial management and supplier performance.

Created by Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media and investment research company focused on advancing a sustainable economy, it takes the view that businesses that take sustainability seriously will flourish financially as the transition gathers momentum.

With that, Corporate Knights reported that while both the Global 100 and ACWI fell somewhat in 2022, the Global 100 Index, since its inception in 2005, has generated a total investment return of 270.7 per cent, compared to 222.1 per cent for ACWI.

Ralph Torrie, Corporate Knights’ research director, said that while oil prices have risen, the development has stimulated growth in renewables, smart buildings, electric vehicles and other climate solutions, including circular-economy measures. The list remains relevant as “Global 100 companies are providing the products and services that are needed for the sustainability transition and that will form the basis of the emerging 21st-century economy”, he noted.

The top-ranked company this year is Schnitzer Steel Industries, a US-headquartered metals recycler. Last year’s leader, Vestas Wind Systems of Denmark, comes in second.