14 Sep 2021 : UK Outlook : Planning For a Smooth and Tax Efficient Move to the UK
Together with Select Investors , join us for a webinar as we discuss planning your tax as you consider moving back to the UK .
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23 Sep 2021 : Battery Storage For Asia
In this session , our Energy & Utilities and Sustainability Committees bring you a webinar on the growing opportunities to invest in , develop and finance the future of battery storage in the region .
28 Sep 2021 : The Future of Green Data Centres
In this session , our Built Environment , Energy & Utilities and Sustainability Committees bring you a webinar on the future of Green Data Centres and how this impacts Singapore ' s Green Plan and more .
29 Sep 2021 : Ready for 100 ? How the Pandemic has Impacted Singapore ’ s Preparedness for Longevity
In this session , Prudential Singapore as part of our Longevity Agenda Series as we discuss how COVID-19 has impacted health , wealth , work and relationships and more . RECENT WEBINARS
SPECIAL FEATURE: SUSTAINABILITY
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PREPARING YOUR BUSINESS IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD - THE ESG LENS
How boards can drive more
robust climate risk disclosures
Preparing Your
Business in a
Post-Pandemic
World – The ESG
Lens
Boards can help address gaps in the quality of climate
risk disclosures by focusing on three key areas.
Thinking sustainability is good for the planet and your P&L
The pandemic has turned the spotlight
on many critical sustainability issues
we face alongside the growing concern
about how these challenges might
accelerate in the future for businesses.
In times like this, company leadership
during this Covid-19 crisis should
sharpen their focus on the adoption of
environmental, social and governance –
the risks and opportunities.
ESG is heading mainstream as the
growing interest from the investor
piques beyond robust risk management
but practices, progress and challenges
that intertwine the environment, health
and economy. There is a noticeable
trend that smaller, medium-sized busi-
nesses are seeing the benefits of being
green conscious that open new doors
for growth. The big agenda on sus-
tainability is no longer limited to listed
companies.
Nexia TS speaks to sustainability
professionals and business leaders
at a recent webinar titled, 'The 3Ps of
Preparing Your Business in a Post-Covid
World'. "As leaders, we need to prepare
our business to cope in a post-Covid
world – in terms of mentally, strategi-
cally and sustainably," said Henry Tan,
Group CEO & Chief Innovation Officer
of Nexia TS. "If we did not react to the
challenges arising from this pandemic
to make a better change to our busi-
ness, to strive and do better than the
last, this pandemic would have gone to
waste."
While most are spurred to invest
responsibly however often baffled by
the industry terms bodied around by
professionals and clients alike. Through
the lens of an investment professional,
Fergus Boyd, Investment Management
Partner of UK accounting firm, Smith &
Williamson, said: "Investors are taking
a holistic approach to investment anal-
ysis, where material factors – both ESG
and traditional financial information,
are identified and assessed to form a
responsible investment decision."
The distinct differences exist based on
your investment needs evolving beyond
traditional financial measures that may
have a material impact on the perfor-
mance of that investment. Fergus also
notes that there has been an increase
of younger generations emphasizing
the importance of environmental and
social impacts, and more clients are de-
manding transparency about how and
where money is invested.
It goes to show that ESG is the business
plan for the planet. Embracing sustain-
ability is not a distant goal but a journey
that strengthens the resilience of our
communities and businesses. A com-
mon struggle that companies may face
while attempting to identify these goals
are the key material topics to report
on, cited Pamela Chen, Head of Internal
Audit, Nexia TS.
She adds, "ESG revolves around the
company's value – what drives the
company. An example of a value driver
would be people – talent. This cascades
down to your employee engagement
which translates as a social topic in
your sustainability framework."
On the other hand, accountability is key
to sustainability claims where compa-
nies can't just talk the talk and not walk
the walk. The ability to substantiate the
claim and demonstrate clarity in such
disclosures are vital to investors. Gre-
enwashing is becoming a tipping point
for some companies who are exposed
to making false or misleading claims
on being environmentally friendly than
they really are.
Instead of slowing our progress towards
achieving sustainability goals, verifica-
tion mechanisms are essential to avoid
deceptive marketing. "ESG is all about
mindset," said Daphne Ng, Co-founder
of Dedoco. "The 's' (social) component
is in relation to your stakeholders – cus-
tomers, investors and employees. This
will set the tone on how a company can
organise their ESG strategies." The rise
in caring for the greater good matters
to everyone in the planet. It is no longer
an option but something that all of us
cannot afford to ignore.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Founded in 1993, Nexia TS today is rec-
ognised as an established accounting and
advisory firm. Headquartered in Singapore,
the firm has strong presence in various
countries across the region. Nexia TS Shang-
hai is a one-stop centre providing advisory
services for foreign-invested enterprises
in China. NTS Malaysia and NTS Myanmar
provide a full suite of corporate advisory ser-
vices for clientele with operations and new
foreign investments in the respective coun-
tries. Being an independent member firm of
Nexia International also means that we have
more than 35,400 staff serving clients at
752 offices in 128 countries. It is ranked as
the 8th largest international accounting and
consulting network. For more information,
visit www.nexiats.com.sg.
Simon Yeo
EY Asean Climate Change and
Sustainability Services Leader;
Partner, Assurance, Ernst & Young LLP
Climate risks are moving up the boardroom agenda as com-
panies face increasing pressure to tackle climate change
more proactively. Investors are increasingly interested in
how organizations plan to contribute to a decarbonized
economy and would reconsider or even walk away from
investments based on climate risk. Likewise, employees,
customers and other stakeholders expect corporate leaders
to lead the way in addressing climate change. Clearly, businesses need to widen their view of both physi-
cal and transition climate risks, and the opportunities that
may arise from responding to these risks. Board leadership
is critical for guiding organizations in decarbonizing their
business models and supply chains. There are three ways in
which boards can drive more robust climate risk disclosures
and position the company to better navigate climate risks
and leverage opportunities.
With the fast-growing urgency of climate action, businesses
must understand their climate risks and opportunities, speed
up their implementation of climate strategies and communi-
cate their performance. Amid this shift, companies continue
to make progress in both the quality and coverage of their
climate-related financial disclosures, according to the June
2021 EY Global Climate Risk Disclosure Barometer. The re-
search draws on companies’ public disclosures — such as in
annual reports, sustainability reports and CDP responses —
on the uptake of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and covers more than
1,100 companies across 42 countries. Connect climate reporting more directly with risks
and opportunities
But the quality of these disclosures still lags behind cov-
erage of the TCFD recommendations, and Singapore is no
exception. An analysis of more than 90 listed and non-listed
companies across 11 sectors in Singapore found that while
the companies’ disclosures covered 45% of the TCFD recom-
mendations on average, the average quality score across the
organizations was only 18% of the maximum quality score
across the 11 recommendations. These findings suggest that
companies in Singapore still find it challenging to come to
grips with their exposure to climate risks and act on it.
The research found that many organizations still lacked
reporting on metrics directly connected to risks. While dis-
closing the company’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions (i.e., direct
emissions from controlled sources and indirect emissions
from purchased electricity respectively) is critical, it is
equally important to disclose metrics that are used to assess
its exposure to physical risks like the weighted average car-
bon intensity metric, which measures exposure to carbon-in-
tensive companies. A more rigorous assessment may be
required to develop the climate-related financial disclosures
that drive behavioral change. Boards should assess whether
sufficient coverage is given to both the risks and opportuni-
ties in the company’s climate reporting to allow the busi-
ness to better assess the potential impact on the corporate
strategy.
Another common pitfall is that companies may be limiting
climate risk assessments to certain parts of the business
and only including qualitative analyses. Clearly, there is
a need to widen the scope of assessment as physical and
transition risks from climate change can have an impact on
SPECIAL FEATURE: SUSTAINABILITY
HOW BOARDS CAN DRIVE MORE ROBUST CLIMATE RISK DISCLOSURES