The government of Singapore announced the launch of a new Sustainability Reporting Grant, providing companies with support covering up to nearly a third of the cost of producing their first sustainability reports.

The new grant system follows the government’s announcement last week that it will introduce mandatory climate-related reporting requirements for listed and large non-listed companies, based on the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) standards, with disclosure obligations for listed companies beginning in 2025, followed by large non-listed companies in 2027.

Announcing the new grant program in a speech at the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s (MTI) Committee of Supply Debate, MTI Minister of State Low Yen Ling said that in light of the new requirements, “businesses need capabilities and resources to track and report their carbon footprint.”

Ms Low Yen Ling added:

“To this end, we will provide funding support of up to 30% to large companies to kickstart their sustainability reporting journey.”

As companies across multiple jurisdictions globally increasingly face regulatory requirements to begin reporting on climate and other sustainability-related issues, the costs of meeting their non-financial disclosure obligations is rising rapidly. According to a study by the ERM Sustainability Institute, corporate issuers are spending on average $533,000 annually on climate-related disclosure, with the largest cost categories including greenhouse gas (GHG) analysis, climate scenario analysis, and internal climate risk management controls. Similarly, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released its estimated cost for meeting its initial proposed climate reporting rule, predicting first year costs at $640,000, and annual ongoing costs for issuers at $530,000.

The new grants, which will be administered by government agencies the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), will be provided to large companies with annual revenues greater than $100 million, to defray up to 30% – capped at S$150,000 (USD$112,000) – of the cost to prepare their first sustainability report.

While sustainability reporting has not been mandated for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), Ms Low Yen Ling also announced that the government will also provide funding support of up to 70% of the costs to participate in a program to help SMEs work with carbon service providers and develop their first sustainability reports. The SME program is expected to be launched later this year, with the government also providing SMEs with 50% of the costs for the second two years through EnterpriseSG.