SUSTAINABLE FINANCE
With sustainable finance emerging as a powerful enabler in building a greener and better future, the urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate risks open huge investment opportunities. This is evident from the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), an investor initiative in partnership with United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the UN Global Compact (UNGC), which CDL became a signatory of in September 2021. As at December 2022, the total assets under management (AUM) of companies that are committed to PRI was more than US$121.3 trillion, signalling a rapidly accelerating transition towards sustainable assets. From January 2022, CDL’s CSO was appointed as a member of PRI’s inaugural Real Estate Advisory Committee, which succeeds the Property Working Group coordinated by UNEP FI.
In December 2021, CDL rolled out our Sustainable Investment Principles (SIP). This reinforces CDL’s commitment in taking proactive action in assessing potential portfolio risks and opportunities for sustainable investment decisions. The SIP complements our existing ESG policies and guidelines, and is aligned with the Glasgow Climate Pact, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), UN PRI, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), UNEP FI and other global frameworks.
Since the issuance of our first green bond in 2017, CDL has amassed more than S$3 billion of sustainable finance, including various green loans, a green revolving credit facility, and a sustainability-linked loan. In April 2021, CDL’s South Beach Consortium secured a 5-year green loan totalling S$1.22 billion – one of Singapore’s largest green loans to date. In August 2021, CDL and our joint venture partner jointly secured green loans amounting to S$847 million for the financing of two projects that were launched in 2022 – Piccadilly Grand and Copen Grand. As a green developer, CDL is heartened that our strong sustainability track record enables the company to tap into the fast-growing sustainable financing pool to benefit our projects.
For our successful R&D and pilot of DigiHUB, a digital platform to raise building management efficiency, CDL secured a discount on the SDG Innovation Loan provided by DBS Bank. This represents the first Singapore entity to achieve a discount on a sustainability-linked loan through the adoption of an innovative project that supports the UN SDGs on a large-scale basis. In October 2022, we renewed our S$250 million SDG Innovation Loan, which was secured in 2019.
Aligned with good practices, our Sustainable Finance Framework has embraced leading global frameworks including the Green Bond Principles, Green Loan Principles and Sustainability Linked Loan Principles. It demonstrates good governance of CDL’s sustainable financing and contributes to building sustainable and climate-resilient cities and communities. In 2022, it was revised to reflect CDL’s development on sustainability and climate action since it was first put together in 2019, to update the minimum requirement for BRREAM certification, as well as to expand the SDG Innovation Loan concept to include decarbonisation projects.
In September 2021, CDL was accepted as a signatory of the UN PRI, an investor initiative in partnership with UNEP FI and UNGC. The PRI is the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment and supports its international network of investor signatories in incorporating ESG factors into their investment and ownership decisions. As an asset owner and manager, integrating PRI’s Six Principles into how CDL invests will have a profound impact beyond financial value.
From January 2022, CDL’s CSO was appointed as a member of PRI’s inaugural Real Estate Advisory Committee, which succeeds the Property Working Group coordinated by UNEP FI.
As an extension of our commitment towards sustainable investments, the Board approved the CDL Sustainable Investment Principles (SIP) to steward responsible capital allocation and investments decision-making. The SIP is aligned with the Glasgow Climate Pact, UN SDGs and other global best practices and frameworks such as UN PRI, TCFD, UNEP FI. It also complements CDL’s existing ESG policies and guidelines, including the Climate Change Policy, EHS Policy, Green Building Policy, Biodiversity Policy and Human Rights Policy.
