Soilbuild Construction Group, WeavInsight recognised for balancing profit and purpose
TWO companies were recently recognised for their efforts to balance attention to their bottom lines with their “corporate purpose”, that is, what they do to also actively contribute to people, society, governance and their environment and economic impact.
One was Soilbuild Construction Group, a construction engineering company that aims to be a sustainable multidisciplinary company. The other was WeavInsight, a small and medium-sized enterprise that creates social impact – and improves resilience to climate change – via education and analysis.
The honours were handed out by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) at its conferment ceremony this year, which used a restructured “Company of Good” recognition system.
The new multi-tiered system is designed to be more inclusive, in that it recognises that companies make progressive efforts across five areas over time. Companies are also recognised for their holistic impact, including the ways they measure the impact made, and how they set targets and engage their stakeholders.
All in, about 300 companies were honoured for being Companies of Good, ranging from Company of Good - 1 Heart to Champion of Good.
Soilbuild Construction Group
Soilbuild Construction Group received Company of Good – 3 Hearts recognition. The company builds industrial, commercial and residential projects.
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Lim Han Ren, its executive director and group chief executive, told The Business Times that “having corporate purpose is a means of generating more profits… (and) this enables us to invest in our employees and build up the younger generation”.
Soilbuild’s journey of “building up the younger generation” started around 2022, when it opened a five-year partnership with the Institute of Technical Education to train students for careers in the built-environment industry.
Lim said that under the partnership, the company has a hand in designing the curriculum in schools “so that students are learning things that can be directly applied when they come out to work”.
The collaboration also offers work-study diplomas, so these students can learn on the job; they also get the opportunity to convert to become full-time staff within the company.
The organisation is in discussions with Singapore Polytechnic to set up an experiential learning centre to showcase the industry.
Internally, Soilbuild trains its employees to ensure that they keep abreast of the company’s latest technologies.
Lim said: “We are employing technologies to optimise planning procedures and improve productivity within the organisation. We encourage the use of robots, be it for jobs such as painting or inspection. These are things we will continue to try as we take on more projects.”
Sustainability has been a key consideration since 2010, when Soilbuild completed Solaris @ one-north. Lim noted this was one of the first industrial projects in Singapore to win the Building and Construction Authority Green Mark Platinum Award.
He said: “In order to reduce our carbon footprint, we are replacing our traditional diesel generator sets with battery-energy storage systems. These are electrical gen sets that can power heavy machineries on site.”
The company recycles water and reuses it at its construction sites. Lim noted that 60 to 70 per cent of construction waste can be recycled. Scrap rebar (reinforcing steel rods used in concrete), for example, is reused to create material storage racks.
WeavInsight
WeavInsight, which was conferred a Champion of Good, provides analytics using sensors, artificial intelligence-powered software and satellite and drone-imaging data. The data helps companies reduce operational costs and improve energy efficiency.
Dr Natalia Mykhaylova, its founder and chief executive, said: “Our purpose is to empower people with data… We would like to make it accessible and easy for people to take action.”
She added that having access to higher-quality data enables companies to make better decisions and more quickly as well, so they can reduce the impact of climate change.
“Right now, there are a lot of challenges in terms of reducing emissions, but with better data and technology, we can do more to make that impact less drastic and improve resilience.”
WeavInsight focuses on both environmental and social impact. Dr Mykhaylova said: “We try to invest every single dollar we get in terms of profitability into not just developing technology, but also in social impact projects.”
One of WeavInsight’s projects entails working with supermarkets and the food and beverage sector, such as supermarket and convenience store operator DFI Retail Group, to reduce food waste.
Technology is used to track food consumption patterns, lower spoilage rates and improve supply chain inefficiencies. WeavInsight works with local charities to prevent more than 1,000 tonnes of food waste and to redirect any waste towards feeding vulnerable communities.
The company also has an upskilling programme, developed with the Institute for Adult Learning. It was first offered to professionals in the real estate sector, but has since expanded to include retail and logistics, as well as the community.
Dr Mykhaylova said: “We are working to increase the awareness of sustainability issues and help upskill people in terms of background knowledge and new innovations in the field, such as technologies for improving energy efficiency and carbon capture and storage.”
WeavInsight also works with financial institutions on sustainability reporting, by furnishing them with more accurate emissions-monitoring and climate-risk assessment tools.
“We have done projects with Asian Development Bank to implement solutions for hospitality partners to save energy and reduce waste, and to help its consultants use this technology in projects across Asia,” the founder added.
WeavInsight also collaborated with the Reserve Bank of India to monitor financing, and was recognised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for its efforts.
Additionally, WeavInsight participated in Google’s Women Techmakers initiative to foster inclusivity by offering mentorship and education. It aims to support more than 500 women in tech, by helping them with access to career opportunities in technology and sustainability fields.
Starting small
Both Soilbuild and WeavInsight said taking that first step in their corporate purpose journeys is vital, no matter how small, and both said receiving NVPC’s recognition validates their efforts.
“(The recognition) encourages us to do more to be a more purpose-driven organisation,” Lim said.
Dr Mykhaylova added that she hopes what WeavInsight does motivates other organisations to run similar initiatives to bring positive change.
Learn more about the Companies of Good and their impact at thecompanyofgood.sg/conferred-companies-of-good
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