Manual methods still dominate Singapore's sustainability efforts despite tech advances

Five in 10 firms rely on manual processes to measure sustainability performance.

Despite recognising the importance of digital tools for achieving sustainability targets, more than half (53%) of the firms in Singapore still rely on manual processes to measure their sustainability performance.

According to the Tech-Driven Sustainability Trends and Index 2024, commissioned by Alibaba Cloud, these manual processes include spreadsheets and email usage.

The percentage of firms using manual processes is higher than those using digital software tools, including cloud platforms (48%), for sustainability progress and measurement.

Compared to its neighbours, however, Singapore has a higher adoption of cloud-based solutions, well above the average usage of 38%.

Apart from relying on manual measurements, firms face several challenges in achieving sustainability targets.

These include inaccurate or overly ambitious targets (31%), technology limitations (30%), and budget constraints (27%).

Additionally, 19% of businesses struggle with insufficient internal capabilities to implement action plans.

Amongst those yet to set sustainability targets, time constraints (44%), complex supply chains (44%), and budget constraints (33%) are the main barriers.

Despite the challenges in setting and achieving sustainability goals, companies are motivated by factors such as regulatory compliance (68%), directives from their headquarters to align with global targets (53%), and growth opportunities (53%).

In Singapore, nearly all firms with sustainability targets (98%) have set emission reduction goals, but only 30% have committed to achieving net zero with science-based targets (SBTs).