On 30 April 2024, SGFIN proudly hosted the finals of the SGFIN-Fidelity Sustainable Finance Case Competition 2024. This year’s competition showcased the sustainability efforts of Singaporean SMEs through surveys conducted by the participants. The finals represented the culmination of months of dedicated effort, featuring 8 teams out of over 90 registered teams from National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University. These teams, hailing from diverse backgrounds, emerged as finalists, demonstrating their commitment to sustainable finance.

Joining the event were experienced academic and industry experts in sustainable finance. They included Esther An, CSO at City Developments Limited, Dex Chen, Associate Partner (Climate Change and Sustainability Services) at EY, Christina Lee, Founder & CEO at Global Green Connect, Aaron Tan, AVP (Sustainability Solutions) at SMBC, Timothy Tan, AVP (Sustainability & Sustainable Finance) at SGX, and Zhang Weina, Associate Professor at NUS Business School and Deputy Director of SGFIN. Together, these experts formed the judging panel, stimulating the competing teams with dynamic discussions, insightful feedback, and probing inquiries.

Associate Professor Johan Sulaeman, Director of SGFIN opened the event with a motivating address. He highlighted the crucial link between firm sustainability efforts and their financial implications, a theme that was later elaborated upon by some of the participants. He urged all participants to serve as catalysts for change and to use what they had learned to propel future SME sustainability efforts.

The 8 finalists delivered creative and insightful presentations, offering glimpses into the sustainable journeys of Singaporean SME while outlining their proposed ESG ranking systems. Many of the teams shared that they experienced difficulties in gathering responses from the SMEs. Even so, the finalists rose to the occasion and admirably fulfilled their assigned tasks. Notably, Team To Infinity and Beyond, Team 30, and Team Cookie stood out with their exceptional solutions, respectively clinching the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prizes!

Ms Esther An, speaking on behalf of the judging panel, summarized the key insights gleaned from the presentations and praised the incredible efforts and findings of the finalists. Additionally, she imparted her personal perspectives on sustainability reporting, encapsulating them in the A-B-C-D paradigm – Alignment with global standards, Business mindset with cost and benefit analysis, Collaborations with diverse industry players in the supply chain, and Disclosure with an ESG data focus. The event concluded with a celebratory prize-giving ceremony, marking the apex of a successful event.

With the conclusion of the event, SGFIN eagerly looks forward to exploring new avenues for the exchange of ideas with students, academia and industry stakeholders as it remains firmly committed to fostering capacity-building initiatives through research and educational endeavours.

CONGRATULATIONS to all winners and participants for making the SGFIN-Fidelity Sustainable Finance Case Competition a great success!