Sustainability Programmes

About SBF'S SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMMES

​​​​​​In collaboration with like-minded partners, SBF has recently launched several initiatives to assist businesses, especially SMEs, in advancing their sustainability efforts. Participating businesses will receive structured training through workshops and guidance from sustainability experts. Even after completing the programmes, businesses will continue to have access to tailored advisory support from SBF's Sustainability Advisors, who will provide strategic guidance, assist in report preparation, and enhance their capacity to adopt sustainable practices.

SBF and Bain & Company has launched the SME Sectoral Net Zero Transition Programme to help Singapore small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accelerate decarbonisation and realise material benefits.

Our programme is underpinned by a joint study by Bain & Company and SBF, ‘Overcoming Barriers to Singapore SME Decarbonisation’, Singapore’s first large-scale survey on SMEs’ decarbonisation efforts. The study surveyed nearly 500 SMEs across more than 20 sectors in Singapore between May and August 2024. Learn more about the key takeaways from the joint study in our press release.

Our programme is designed to tackle the unique challenges faced by SMEs by providing a cost-effective, scalable, and action-oriented decarbonisation solution powered by Gen AI and Bain & Company’s deep decarbonisation expertise. It provides SMEs with end-to-end support via four cornerstone components, offering distinct advantages:

  1. Sector-specific focus - Participating SMEs learn from experts about decarbonisation levers most relevant to their industries, through structured and guided workshops which consider circumstances inherent to their sector and decarbonisation maturity.
  2. Unique AI-powered DecarboniSME tool - This provides SMEs with sector-specific materiality assessments (i.e. identify relevant emission sources), enables SMEs to understand their emissions baseline, and create “chief sustainability officer-quality” sector-specific decarbonisation strategies, pathways and targets with minimal expertise and effort (approximately 75% faster than the traditional processes). DecarboniSME also includes a chatbot which provides general decarbonisation support on a wide range of common inquiries.
  3. Access to ecosystem partners - Matchmaking with network of sustainability-focused funding and green solution providers.
  4. Ongoing advisory support - SMEs will receive continued guidance, such as on supplier evaluations, cost estimations, etc. from decarbonisation advisors. Check-ins with SMEs are scheduled two, four and six months after the final workshop.

 

The programme’s pilot run, designed to assist SMEs in the Food Manufacturing sector, was supported by Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association. Involving 21 food manufacturers which produce beverages to noodles, it was held from July to August 2024 and received strong positive feedback from participants.

Some key highlights include:

  1. 80% of the participating SMEs established their emissions baseline for the first time.
  2. SMEs identified company-specific levers to decarbonise, which could potentially reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by between 50% and 70%, increase EBIDTA margins by 4%-5%, and lower energy cost per unit by 40% to 50%.
  3. The programme empowered the SMEs to set ambitious decarbonisation targets of 50% reduction to their Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. This is timely given that SMEs in the pilot programme have an average carbon emission intensity that is twice the global average level.

Following the successful pilot, Bain & Company and SBF aim to work with relevant Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) and Enterprise Singapore to expand the programme to more food manufacturing SMEs and other sectors.

Sign-ups for the next cohort of the SME Decarbonisation Programme, tailored for SMEs in the Food Manufacturing sector, are now open. To indicate your interest, please complete the form at the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/qYTQr55hkJ

SBF, in partnership with Singapore Post (SingPost), Ernst & Young LLP (EY) and OCBC Bank, has launched a Queen Bee Enabled Sustainability Transition (QUEST) programme to enable SingPost’s local SME suppliers on their sustainability journey.

The programme was unveiled in October 2024 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by all four organisations. This was witnessed by Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth at SBF’s Future-Ready Businesses (FRB) Spotlight visit at SingPost Centre.

The QUEST programme is tailored to address the critical gap between the growing expectations of larger companies (the “Queen Bee”) and the current lack of expertise amongst their suppliers to deliver credible and accurate carbon emissions data necessary for climate reporting.

SingPost is the first logistics provider in Singapore to participate in the QUEST programme. In alignment with its sustainability goals, SingPost has enhanced its procurement criteria to include sustainability requirements for their supply chain partners. As one of the leading sustainability leaders in the logistics industry, the programme fosters a network of environmentally responsible suppliers, presenting new opportunities that sustainability offers.

Through this programme, SingPost, with the MoU partners, will engage with SMEs in its supply chain, facilitating an ecosystem of support that will provide know-how to participating suppliers on environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements that both local and international companies are increasingly putting in place as a basis to procure products and services. Through expert-led workshops, SME suppliers will develop their Scope 1 and 2 carbon inventories as well as identify and implement effective decarbonisation strategies. SMEs will also get the opportunity to network with various industry peers and leaders, receive expert guidance on sustainability practices, and align themselves with evolving market demands, potentially boosting their competitiveness in an increasingly sustainability-conscious market.

SBF plans to commence the pilot run of our programme in early 2025. Stay tuned for more information.

Contact Us

For enquiries regarding SBF’s sustainability initiatives, or discussions on potential collaborations with us, please contact us via [email protected].