Architects of Sustainability: CDL's High-Rise Journey to Climate Action

A pioneer in Singapore’s sustainability space, City Developments Limited (CDL) has set a high standard in the industry. According to Impaakt, CDL’s aggregated impact score is +0.86 (July 2023), suggesting impactful sustainability efforts. The gap between its highest and lowest Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) rating is a shocking 6.94, hence despite excelling in some areas, it severally lags behind in others.

The SDG in question is 13: Climate Action. Despite the fact that CDL’s ESG efforts focus on the environment, this begs the question: why does such a gap exist?

Firstly, CDL’s highest rated SDG is 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, as it focuses on constructing green buildings and often exceeds international green building standards e.g. LEED, BCA Green Mark. While this targeted approach increases energy efficiency and adopts sustainable construction practices, a profit-driven company must face trade-offs.

94% of total emissions come from indirect (Scope 3) emissions from sources such as transportation, waste, and supply chain, as cost-efficiency significantly increases CDL’s overall carbon footprint and lowers its climate rating.

According to CDL’s 2023 sustainability report, few reported metrics map onto SDG13, nor are externally assured, such as most measures that come under ‘Climate and Resilience’, ‘Water and Waste Management’ and ‘Sustainable Supply Chain’. Inadequate transparency of information causes an inaccurate assessment of their impact.

Finally, as a sustainable leader, stakeholders may hold CDL to higher standards compared to industry peers. While CDL may be skilful in constructing green buildings, they could lack the resources to transpose their aims into a broader context.

CDL is unquestionably ahead of its peers. However by broadening its scope, it has potential for improvement and the possibility of being a global sustainable leader.

Author: Sarah Lim

Sources:

https://cdlsustainability.com/pdf/CDL_ISR_2023.pdf https://app.impaakt.com/companies/city-developments-337