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Insights and Stories

Embedding Sustainability in Our Culture

July 01, 2022

At Sembcorp, sustainability is at the heart of what we do. It is important to ensure that our people are aware of the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues around the world. This is why all our key internal meetings and town halls begin with a five-minute sustainability moment. The floor is open for anyone to share sustainability-related stories that are close to our hearts.

“The sustainability moment is a unique practice in our Sembcorp culture to spread greater awareness on sustainability. As we transform from brown to green, it helps to create sustainability knowledge and competencies so that our people can be onboard with us on this journey,” said Robert Chong, Chief Corporate & Human Resource Officer.

Giving a voice to projects

What started off as a personal sharing on sustainability has since evolved into a platform where employees can learn more about the projects across markets and departments. “I might be in procurement, but I can learn about the projects in our various businesses and connect with the people on the ground,” Koh Chiew Yen, Head of Group Procurement shares.

Chiew Yen learning more about a project from her colleagues

Beyond meetings, the movement has spurred employees to brainstorm and share our ideas through global contests. We are encouraged to share sustainable practices at the workplace. Such practices range from replacing bottled water dispensers with piped water systems to green initiatives we have undertaken, such as enhancing biodiversity across quality grassland habitats in the UK, and how our wind power projects have mitigated environmental impact in India.

Changing mindsets

Furthermore, the initiative has helped to embed a sustainability-first mindset in our daily work. Sanjeev Kumar, Head of HSSE and CSR in Sembcorp Green Infra reflects on the impact of the projects he has led with his team. “It was kind of a eureka moment when I realised we could not only do better, but also scale up our reforestation projects in urban areas,” he shared. The team had the opportunity to showcase their efforts to the management, which inspired them to work on highly impactful sustainability projects. One example is the partnership with the government to provide land parcels and further conduct eco-restoration efforts across India.

Sanjeev and his team at one of the urban afforestation projects in India

Ernest Wong, Assistant Vice President, Sustainable Solutions & New Business in Sembcorp Development, sees sustainability as a necessity in our work as it helps to set the tone and focus for meetings. He cites the example of a sustainable solutions implementation in Indonesia where they were weighing the commercial viability of a project, “When we look through the lens of sustainability, we are able to see the all-in costs including the impact on the environment.”

Ernest explaining the pros and cons of a project implementation

Making sustainability our business

As a leading provider of sustainable solutions, we believe that change starts from our employees. This practice has allowed employees to think about how to be greener in their day-to-day operations and incorporate sustainability as part of their lifestyle. Through this change management, employees are now inspired to build momentum for a sustainable future, from small steps to create big impact.