Singapore will implement compulsory climate-related reporting necessities for listed and large non-listed corporations, with duties for some to begin releasing in line with the IFRS’ International Sustainability Standards Board standards commencing as early as 2025.
The new rules were proclaimed today by Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat in the Parliament of Singapore, with particulars of the new compulsory reporting requirements subsequently released by Singapore’s business accounting, reporting, and business services and markets controllers the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and (SGX Reg Co) Singapore Exchange Regulation.
Following the sanctions of the Sustainability Reporting Advisory Committee (SRAC), a board set up by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and Singapore Exchange Regulation to recommend the roadmap for proceeding with companies’ sustainability reporting in Singapore, the innovative climate reporting responsibilities will be applied in a phased method, beginning with listed corporations in 2025, followed by large, non-listed corporations, defined as those with minimum $1 billion in proceeds and $500 million in assets in the year 2027.
The precise obligations for each group of the company will also be phased in over time, with the listed corporations mandatory to report on Scope 1 and 2 releases in the first year, and Scope 3, or value chain releases, in 2026, and to get an external limited declaration on Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions two years after commencement reporting. Large non-listed corporations will follow the same timeline, though Scope 3 reporting will commence for these corporations no earlier than 2029.
In its declaration proclaiming the new rules, the controllers said that the new climate reporting necessities form part of the administration’s efforts to reinforce companies’ sustainability competencies, with corporations able to deliver climate disclosures standing to help from enhanced access to new customers, markets, and financing. Corporations are better armed to meet demand from their customers, lenders, and investors for sustainability-related data. They can additionally more readily access the increasing pool of sustainable capital. These spot Singapore stock exchange well as a green economy.