Singapore recently launched the ESG Impact Hub, a new entity that seeks to promote collaboration on ESG finance. The launch comes shortly after the Singaporean government announced a roadmap to becoming a global leader in green finance and sustainable fintech.
ESG refers to a set of corporate governance standards that reflect a company’s impact on environmental, social, and governance externalities. ESG indicators are used by both consumers and investors seeking to make sustainable and socially conscious decisions. They are increasingly being used by investors of all stripes as a means of assessing a company’s risk exposure and growth opportunities.
Recognizing the growing importance of ESG in investment, consumption, and business decisions, Singapore’s establishment of the ESG Impact Hub underlines the country’s role as one of Asia’s leading financial centers.
The hub will facilitate the discovery, scaling, and deployment of technology solutions to address the ESG needs of corporates and financial institutions, notably in terms of accurate measurement, reporting, and verification of climate and sustainability data.
MAS will engage knowledge partners, financial institutions, and investors to organize key ESG initiatives out of the hub, such as ESG FinTech accelerator programs, training, and capacity-building workshops, and thought leadership events.
MAS will engage the hub community to deploy its programs and solutions to drive material and quantifiable impacts, which support sectoral transition efforts. Emphasis will be given to the eight focus sectors identified by Singapore’s Green Finance Industry Taskforce.
The ESG Impact Hub is the Singaporean government’s latest move to promote green finance and an ESG ecosystem.
The ESG Impact Hub and the industry collaborations are all part of Singapore’s Project Greenprint. Project Greenprint is an initiative launched by the MAS in December 2020 that seeks to promote a green finance ecosystem through innovation and technology by mobilizing capital, monitoring sustainability commitments, and measuring impact.
Singapore’s new ESG initiatives show that the country has made progress in developing a green finance industry since it first began issuing green bonds in 2017. Located in a region with pressing environmental concerns, Singapore is positioned to become one of Asia’s premier green finance centers as the industry takes shape in the years ahead.