Pillar 6 – Impact Measurement and Valuation

Pillar 6
Impact Measurement and Valuation

SGFIN develops tools to quantify and monetise sustainability impacts across climate, biodiversity and social inclusion, enabling stronger integration into investment and policy decisions. Using frameworks such as Integrated Return on Investment (IROI), this work supports firms and financiers in assessing the true value of sustainability outcomes across sectors, from SMEs to green buildings and energy transition, while improving transparency and capital allocation toward impactful projects.

SGFIN research on impact measurement and valuation advances rigorous methods for assessing environmental and social impacts of policies and investments. It develops frameworks to quantify climate, biodiversity and ecosystem benefits, employs economic valuation techniques, and advances standardised metrics and disclosure approaches that support transparent impact assessment, better decision-making and accountability in sustainable finance and policy contexts.

Stock Market Fluctuations & Health

Journal Publication

Agarwal, S., Chen, S., He, H., Huang, X., & Li, T. (2024). Associations between stock market fluctuations and stress-related emergency room visits in China, Natural Mental Health 2, 909-915.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00267-5

Here we study the relationship between stock market fluctuations and emergency room visits in China. Using daily emergency room visit records from the three largest hospitals in Beijing from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2012, we find that a one percentage point decrease in daily market returns (Growth Enterprises Index) is associated with 0.185 (P = 0.040, confidence interval (CI) = 0.009 to 0.361, or 0.7%) increased cases of cardiovascular diseases and 0.020 (P = 0.060, CI = 0 to −0.041, or 2.5%) increased cases of mental disorders on that day. Moreover, a one percentage point increase in daily market returns (Growth Enterprises Index) is associated with 0.035 (P = 0.007, CI = 0.010 to 0.059, or 3.3%) increase in cases of alcohol abuse on that day. The health effects are highly nonlinear, instantaneous and more salient for older people and males. By contrast, diseases that are less related to psychological stress (for example, infections and parasitic diseases) are not significantly affected by market fluctuations. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that a ten percentage point decrease in daily market returns is associated with an approximately RMB 35 million increase in national medical expenses related to emergency room services.

Creating a Common Language for Impact Assessment

Industry Publication

Zhang, W., Kang, M. (2023). Creating a Common Language for Impact Assessment. Asian Impact Management Review, Volume 2 (2), Winter 2023. http://www.doi.org/10.30186/AIMR.202312.0008

Benefits of Energy Conservation Campaigns

Journal Publication

Agarwal, S., Sing, T.F., & Sultana, M. (2022). Public media campaign and energy conservation: A natural experiment in Singapore. Energy Economics, 2022, 114 (106281), , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106281

Singapore uses public media campaigns to motivate public housing residents to conserve energy as part of its strategies to achieve sustainable energy goals. In this research, we aim to identify if these campaigns actually work in practice. Using the energy conservation campaign conducted in Singapore in January 2016, we found that in areas with the campaigns, people living in public housing used about 0.4% less electricity compared to those in places without the campaigns. We also discovered that this saving effect was not a one-time occurrence but has persisted even after the campaign. When we calculated its value in currency, we found that this program brought about S$350,000 in benefits for the people.

Water Conservation Policies: Pumbling Upgrades & Nudging

Journal Publication

Agarwal, S., Araral, E., Fan, M., Yu, Q., & Zheng, H. (2022). Water conservation through plumbing and nudging. Nature Human Behaviour, 6, 858–867, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01320-y

In this paper, we explore the effectiveness of two approaches in addressing urban water challenges: “plumbing upgrades” and “nudging.” Utilizing data from 1.5 million accounts in Singapore over ten years, we discovered that a nationwide Home Improvement Programme, designed to enhance plumbing efficiency, reduces residential water use by 3.5%. Moreover, upgrading plumbing enhances the effectiveness of other water-saving initiatives and proves beneficial during extreme weather conditions. While the cost savings on utility bills from plumbing upgrades may not be substantial, the rise in home values justifies the investment. However, a large-scale nudging program that encourages water conservation through peer comparison did not show clear evidence of reduced water use.

The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility: Decomposing Positive and Negative Deviations from the Norm

Industry Publication

Zhang, W., & Zhang, H. (2019). The value of corporate social responsibility: decomposing positive and negative deviations from the norm. Nomura Journal of Asian Capital Markets, 4(1), 26-31. https://www.nomurafoundation.or.jp/en/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/NJACM4-1AU19-06.pdf

Environmental Regulations & Housing Markets

Journal Publication

Agarwal, S., Deng, Y., & Li, T. (2019). Environmental regulation as a double-edged sword for housing markets: Evidence from the NOx budget trading program. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 96, 286-309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2019.06.006

In this paper, we investigate the impact of the NOx Budget Trading Program (NBP), a cap-and-trade system, on housing markets. Our analysis reveals that the effect of the NBP on housing prices in participating states varies, growing in low-manufacturing-intensity regions and decreasing in high-manufacturing-intensity regions. We propose two channels—health and labor-market channels—to explain this phenomenon. Specifically, for the labor-market channels, we suggest that the NBP discourages manufacturers from employing labor due to increased production costs, resulting in reduced housing demand and a decline in housing prices in high-manufacturing-intensity areas. Additionally, we found that in high-manufacturing-intensity areas, loan application volume declined, rejection rates increased, and the probability of loan default rose, contributing to the overall decrease in the housing market of those areas.

Carbon Footprint Calculator for MICE Events in Singapore

Singapore is a hub for ASEAN and international meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE). In 2019, the MICE industry supported more than 34,000 direct and indirect jobs with a value-add of almost SG$4 billion, close to 1% of Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP). The pro-business environment and its strategic location have made Singapore a favourable choice for holding MICE events.

Climate change has made sustainability a critical consideration for large-scale gathering events. By actively tracking and estimating the carbon footprint incurred in various components of these events, organisers and participants gain a holistic understanding of carbon emissions. Consequently, event stakeholders attempt to address the imperative call for reducing carbon emissions by targeting key sources of emission based on their relative weighting and exploring viable solutions to a greener MICE environment.

In 2022, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) established a vision to be among the most sustainable MICE destinations in Asia-Pacific by 2030 or earlier. A MICE Sustainability Roadmap was established which set specific targets regarding sustainability certification for MICE venues and tracking waste and carbon emissions in Singapore.

To estimate carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions involved in different components of a MICE event, this calculator identifies critical sources of CO₂ emissions spanning Transportation, Hotel Accommodation and On-site Activities.

Try the calculator on sgfin.tech

Read our whitepaper below:

Case Studies

Keppel Bay Tower: Valuing What a Green Retrofit Delivers

Weina Zhang, Jefferson, Feimo Zhang, Jiaxin Zhang, Fanny Xueqi Or, Edmund Wong Zhang Hong, SJ Wong
27 July 2026

Keppel Bay Tower (KBT), an 18-storey Grade-A office tower at HarbourFront, underwent a comprehensive green retrofit that made it Singapore’s first BCA Green Mark Platinum Zero Energy-certified commercial building in 2020. While the retrofit delivered measurable energy and operational savings, much of its broader value — including reduced carbon emissions and benefits to tenants, the public, and government — was not captured by conventional financial metrics. In collaboration with Keppel, SGFIN applied its Integrated Return on Investment (IROI) framework to decompose the retrofit into individual green levers and quantify outcomes across stakeholders. The case study demonstrates how integrated valuation can reveal the full spectrum of value that green retrofits deliver, offering developers, investors, and policymakers a more complete basis for capital allocation and retrofit planning decisions.

NUS Green Bonds: Integrated Valuation of SDE4

Weina Zhang, Giovanni Cossu, and Jefferson
22 January 2026, IVEY Publisher, Accepted

The SDE4 is the first new-build net-zero energy building in Singapore and the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) flagship sustainability project. The building demonstrated that net-zero performance is achievable in a dense, tropical climate. Beyond energy neutrality, SDE4 integrates passive design, hybrid cooling, extensive solar panel arrays, and rainwater harvesting, while prioritising occupant health and wellbeing. NUS further positioned the building as a living laboratory, embedding research, teaching, and industry engagement into its daily operation. Notably, SDE4 demonstrates how green buildings can generate broader environmental and social value, ranging from reduced embodied carbon and water use to health benefits and knowledge sharing, beyond direct cost savings. The case will enable students to understand and compute the integrated environmental and social value of SDE4.

Samsui: Social Return on Investment

Weina Zhang, Ruth S.K. Tan, Dingyan Khoo, Gerald Chee Hean Koh, Damien Wai Cheong Lam, and Dehn Wei Jie See Toh
2 August 2019, IVEY No. 9B19M080.

Samsui Supplies & Services Private Limited provided 1.8 million meals annually to long-term care facilities in Singapore through the company’s flagship project, Samsui Central Kitchen. In April 2018, the director felt that the time was right to expand the project. To gain support for scaling up Samsui’s initiatives and maximizing the social impact the company was delivering, the director needed to quantify the value generated by the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives in a clear and simple way. Students need to: 1) evaluate the efficacy of a CSR initiative with a strategic approach that uses a firm’s capabilities to create benefits for society, add value to the business, and ensure tight links to core business values; 2) analyze the outcome of integrating inherent core competencies and ascertaining its scalability; 3) acquire skills to formulate a comprehensive CSR framework that aligns well with both the external market trends and the fundamental values of the organization; and 4) build an SROI model to evaluate the effectiveness of CSR efforts.

FoodXervices and Food Bank: A Call for Integration

Weina Zhang, Ruth S.K. Tan, Ye Bin Han, Tian Ning Hoo, Jia Ning Vivien Ng and Chuan Ming Tan
18 July 2019, IVEY No. 9B19M067

In 2012, the founders of food wholesale company FoodXervices Inc. Pte. Ltd. identified a gap between food wastage and food insecurity in Singapore. To reduce this gap, they established a charity arm, The Food Bank Singapore Ltd., which operated as a liaison, collecting near-to-expiry, excess, and unwanted food products from food suppliers, retailers, and restaurants for distribution to beneficiary organizations. In April 2018, the founders were considering integrating these two now-mature entities to take advantage of potential internal and external synergies. Students will help to: 1) identify the possible benefits and costs of integrating a for-profit company with an independent non-profit organization; 2) outline possible ways of integrating two independent entities without jeopardizing the interests of relevant stakeholders; and 3) use a logic model to evaluate different integration strategies, and recommend an optimum strategy.