NATURAL CAPITAL

RESPONSIBLE SUPPLY CHAIN AND SOURCING

Procurement of Sustainable Materials

As supply chain issues progress up the rung of priorities for effective ESG integration and management, CDL continues to maintain high standards in our supply chain management through rigorous requirements and supplier engagement.

For more than a decade, CDL has been implementing sustainable procurement guidelines that contain clear specifications for responsible sourcing along our supply chain.This includes the implementation of the Responsible Procurement Guidelines¹ since 2008, and the Green Procurement Guideline for property developments since 2009. In line with our corporate EHS Policy introduced in 2003, these guidelines encourage the use of eco-friendly and recycled materials that have been certified by approved local certification bodies, such as SGBC and SEC. In December 2020, to further advance CDL’s green building ambition, CDL developed a Smart, Sustainable and Super Low Energy (3S) Green Building Framework, which includes encouraging stakeholders to use low embodied carbon materials.

Our guidelines also indicate our preference for ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 45001, and/or bizSAFE Level 3 certified vendors. In key operations like project development and property management, major suppliers and contractors must meet the EHS pre-qualification criteria. All suppliers are required to sign a Supplier Code of Conduct, which provides comprehensive guiding principles for our vendors and suppliers to comply with CDL’s expectations, including environment, health, safety, and ethical employment.

We have established a target to ensure 100% of appointed suppliers² are certified by recognised EHS standards, by 2030. In 2020, 100% of our main contractors and key consultants for property development obtained recognised EHS certifications. Before awarding development project contracts, CDL reviews and evaluates the EHS culture and track record of potential suppliers and contractors. In 2020, 93% of suppliers appointed by the asset management department were certified by recognised EHS standards. Going forward, we will review our targets and deepen supplier engagement to progressively enhance our supply chain.

For CDL’s robust efforts in working with our supplier network to address climate change, we were the only real estate company in Southeast Asia and Singapore to be awarded the 2020 CDP Supplier Engagement Leader. The recognition places CDL amongst the top 7% of companies assessed by CDP for supplier engagement on climate change.

Using Sustainable Materials for the Singapore Sustainability Academy (SSA)

A BCA Green Mark Platinum-certified building, the SSA is the first building in Singapore to have its construction materials, Cross Laminated Timber and Glued Laminated Timber, verified by the Nature’s BarcodeTM system as coming from responsible sources. The entire facility is built with over 80% of structural materials that come from sustainable sources.

As part of CDL’s efforts to support circular economy solutions, in November 2020, we retrofitted the SSA with an outdoor deck made from recycled resources. Made from 95% recycled materials comprising 65% reclaimed Forest Stewardship Council³ certified wood and 30% polyethylene, the deck is highly durable, safe, and has a low environmental impact. It has been awarded the highest-tiered certification by SGBC.

We also took the opportunity to retrofit the SSA partnership name plaques with recycled acrylic at the SSA Partnership Green Wall, which features hundreds of supporting partners in name plaques. Compared with the earlier plaque that was made of wood, the recycled acrylic plaque is durable, low-maintenance, and has a low environmental impact as it has been sustainably upcycled from other materials.

Retrofitted SSA outdoor deck made from 95% recycled materials.

Embodied Carbon Emissions from Construction Materials

Embodied carbon refers to the carbon dioxide equivalent or GHG emissions associated with the non-operational phase of a building. It includes emissions caused by extraction, manufacturing, transportation, assembly, maintenance, replacement, deconstruction, disposal and end-of-life aspects of the materials and systems that make up a building.

As part of our SBTi-validated GHG reduction targets, CDL has committed to reducing the embodied carbon of our building materials by 24%, instead of their conventional equivalents, by 2030. Further, we anticipate carbon-intensive construction materials such as steel and cement to become increasingly costly.

We also monitor and report embodied carbon performance of our projects against our adopted targets to enhance CDL’s supply chain management and encourage the use of low-carbon alternatives.

An interim target of a 7% reduction in embodied carbon of building materials compared to their conventional equivalents was set for all new projects awarded from 2018 onwards. Several projects awarded from 2018 are expected to obtain TOP by 2022. We will continue to track the performance of these projects against the current interim target⁴ and raise the next interim target as necessary to map our phased progress towards the 2030 target of a 24% reduction. Awarded in 2017, Forest Woods obtained TOP in 2020 and achieved a 24.4% reduction in embodied carbon through the use of sustainable materials.

At CDL, we apply a circular economy approach to material used for our development projects. To close the waste loop, we use recycled construction materials, such as recycled steel and concrete, wherever applicable. On top of this, we encourage the use of alternative low-carbon materials at our sites. We are also constantly on the lookout for innovative building materials and methods to facilitate the transition.

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CDL’s Top Five Building Materials (Tonnes)

Supply Chain and Supplier Risk Analysis

To identify CDL’s sourcing risk, we commenced a Supply Chain Segmentation Study on our top 100 suppliers and top five raw materials in 2019 and completed the exercise in 2020. The study is an expansion of the supply chain scenario planning conducted in 2017, which helped strengthen the company’s understanding of how emerging trends, such as automation and climate change, presented risks and opportunities to our supply chain strategy.

In developing the risk segmentation matrix of suppliers and raw materials, environmental⁵ and social risks⁶ were studied. These risk scores were blended to generate social and environmental risk segmentation matrices, with risk profiles of the suppliers and raw materials studied. Each supplier and raw material were evaluated for risk and leverage levels and placed within four categories within the risk segmentation matrices.

From the study, around 19% of our top 100 suppliers, mostly our key contractors, fall under the “Priority” risk category due to potentially high social and environmental risks and high leverage. Furthermore, the study on raw materials revealed that eight raw materials and their source countries fall under the “Priority” risk category.

Moving forward, CDL plans to glean further insights through targeted, issue-specific supplier engagement to understand and influence issues, including product sourcing and use and migrant workers management.