SINGAPORE companies will have access to more than 200 localised emission factors through a single online portal, which could support their sustainability reporting needs.
The emission factors, which companies can access for free, cover eight categories: building equipment; building materials; fuel; greenhouse gases (GHGs); land transport; purchased energy; waste; and water.
These categories were consolidated from four government agencies – national water agency PUB, the Energy Market Authority, the National Environment Agency and the Ministry of Transport – as well as the Singapore Green Building Council.
From 2025, new emission factors for other activities, such as logistics, information communication and technology, cleaning and security services, are expected to be added to the online registry, a multi-stakeholder initiative led by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF).
Emission factors refer to the average rate at which a given activity releases GHGs, and are an essential part of calculating a company’s carbon footprint.
The launch of a national database containing localised emission factors was announced in April, following feedback from companies that their GHG emissions may not be accurate.
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This is because most Singapore businesses utilise emission factors from international sources, such as the US and the UK, for their sustainability and carbon-emissions reporting, especially for Scope 3 emissions, which refer to indirect emissions arising from a company’s supply chain.
Expanding on the discrepancies between local and overseas emission factors, Singtel head of group environmental sustainability Lee Hui Mien cited the example of how security services in the UK and the US tend to include the use of petrol vehicles.
Such services are more manpower-heavy in Singapore, she said. Hence, the same activity in different markets might result in varied emission factors.
In addition to having to rely on international sources, companies would typically have to access various websites to get the emission factors of the various categories.
The online registry, known as NetZeroHub.sg, will make emissions reporting convenient for companies because it provides a single point of reference, said SBF CEO Kok Ping Soon.
While the registry is still not as extensive as those in the US or the UK, SBF said the 200 emission factors will cover a large majority of companies in reporting their Scope 1 and 2 emissions completely.
Scope 1 emissions are the direct GHG emissions which are released through activity at a facility level. Scope 2 emissions are those released at the power station for the generation of electricity that a company consumes.
Some of the 200 emission factors cover Scope 3 emissions. However, these are not as comprehensive, and companies looking to report such emissions will still have to look to international registries, said Hu Ching, head of SBF’s net-zero transition programme office.
He added that businesses are encouraged to provide feedback on critical emission factors not listed on the registry, so that SBF can work on developing these.
Listed companies in Singapore will be required to report their Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and other climate-related disclosures aligned with the frameworks set out by the International Sustainability and Standards Board from FY2025.
While the reporting of Scope 3 emissions is not yet mandatory, Singapore Exchange Regulation is looking to set out an implementation road map, which will likely prioritise the making of such disclosures by larger issuers from FY2026.
Besides data on emission factors, the online portal also contains information on sustainability resources, training programmes as well as links to carbon calculators and sustainability reporting providers.
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