[SINGAPORE] Sustainability is not just a good-to-have, but a core part of business strategy – this is what winners of the 2025 Sustainability Impact Awards have demonstrated.
Take Keppel, which was named Impact Enterprise of the Year in the large enterprise category. Once synonymous with oil rigs, the company is transitioning from brown to green, with a growing footprint in renewable energy and sustainable data centres.
Beyond cutting carbon emissions, the move has also allowed Keppel to capture fresh opportunities with attractive returns in the green economy. As chief executive officer Loh Chin Hua sees it, those who invest with Keppel can “do good for the environment, but without sacrificing returns”.
This sentiment was echoed by The Ascott Limited, which clinched the Impact Enterprise Excellence Award in the large enterprise category.
The hospitality player found that sustainability attracted three key groups of stakeholders: travellers who care about the environment, corporate clients committed to net-zero goals and investors focused on environmental, social and governance issues.
Sustainability also extends past corporate responsibility, to individuals.
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This year’s awards honoured two Impact Leaders of the Year: Professor Lily Kong, president of the Singapore Management University (SMU) and Bjorn Low, co-founder of Edible Garden City (EGC).
For Prof Kong, sustainable living began at a young age, thanks to her mother, who was “the epitome of recycling”. Prof Kong’s commitment to sustainability was further shaped by seminal works such as Silent Spring and A Sand County Almanac.
Today, she hopes to have a “multiplier effect” on sustainability through SMU’s students. The university’s efforts include the launch of two sustainability-focused research institutes: the Singapore Green Finance Centre and the SMU Urban Institute.
Low’s journey to sustainability likewise had humble beginnings: It started with just a plan to “have fun, grow some vegetables, lead a simple life” with EGC.
That venture has since grown into a 41-person operation, responsible for building over 280 edible gardens and urban farms across Singapore. Low takes pride in being a “moderator in nature”.
The Sustainability Impact Awards 2025 also put the spotlight on innovations, with WeavInsight and Pollen Tech winning Impact Enterprise Excellence Awards in the small and medium-sized enterprise category.
WeavInsight recognised that companies face the challenge of tracking data accurately to meet their decarbonisation goals. To solve this problem, it has tapped cutting-edge technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital twin technology and satellite hyperspectral imaging.
Pollen Tech has also leveraged technology to solve an important problem: excess inventory that ends up in landfills. The company’s AI platform, Lily, is designed to help companies clear such goods before it is too late.
In recognising both small and large enterprises, as well as individuals, the Sustainability Impact Awards highlights that it takes an entire ecosystem to make green goals a reality. No longer a mere buzzword, sustainability is now a strategic priority for corporate Singapore.
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