Mention “sustainability” 10 years ago and you’d likely be teased as a tree hugger or plant pecker. Advocacy groups were just starting to form then, with activities igniting awareness and calls to action mostly centred on individual initiatives.
Then, in 2018, the anti‑plastic movement boomed and suddenly, everything from food packaging to luxury fashion that was labelled as “biodegradable”, “green” and “sustainable” was trending. Mandatory compliance by the government on environmental, social and governance (ESG), as well as market pressures led to an increase in sustainability reporting among businesses and an eagerness to project themselves as eco‑conscious corporate citizens. Green finance and tech innovation have been on the upswing too: in 2019, the Monetary Authority of Singapore set up a US$2 billion green investments programme (GIP) to invest in public market investment strategies
