SINGAPORE Polytechnic has clinched a top environmental and social reporting award, beating other finalists Banyan Tree Holdings, City Developments, Comfort DelGro, Keppel Land International, Singapore Airlines, Sembcorp Industries and SMRT Corporation.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants' Singapore Environmental and Social Reporting Awards (ACCA SESRA) are aimed at changing business attitudes on climate change and encouraging sustainability reporting among companies.

And this year, the judges awarded Singapore Poly 'Best Environmental Report' because it devised an online report that was accessible to the public; identified key social and environmental impacts; and was verified by an independent third party, lending credibility.

The polytechnic's report also featured its new innovation - a carbon calculator called the SP Neutral, which is a tool that raises the awareness of a person's carbon footprint.

This is Singapore Poly's second win, after its first in 2005.

'We not only want to be a responsible corporate citizen in educating our young. We also hope to influence other organisations and educational institutions to do likewise,' Singapore Polytechnic principal Tan Hang Cheong said yesterday.

The Merit Award for Best Environment Report went to Singapore Epson Industrial.

No award was given in the social reporting category, because the judges felt the reports submitted did not grasp the fundamentals of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting.

They said CSR/Social Reporting should not be limited to an organisation's philanthropic activities but should include its practices and policies that have an impact on its employees, the society in which it operates, its customers and the environment.

The ACCA SESRA is in its sixth year and is endorsed by the National Environment Agency.

ACCA Singapore country head Penelope Phoon said: 'Climate change is a major global concern for the 21st century. It is up to governments, businesses, educators and ordinary citizens to work together for a sustainable future.'

Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and Water Resources, who was the guest of honour at yesterday's awards ceremony, said: 'The challenge for us going forward is to get the community and businesses to embrace sustainable development and switch to more eco-friendly lifestyles.'

This article was first published in The Business Times on Jun 6, 2008