Strengthen your sustainability knowledge and capabilities

As more countries and businesses embrace sustainable business practices, be part of a growing ecosystem and build sustainability capabilities for long-term business growth.

The Enterprise Sustainability Programme (ESP) supports Singapore companies, especially our SMEs, to build capabilities and capture new opportunities. The ESP includes a series of courses designed to help you get better at navigating your sustainability journey and supports various capability and product development projects via the Enterprise Development Grant.

We also work with industry partners to develop sustainability initiatives and programmes, and foster a vibrant and conducive sustainability ecosystem. The ESP will support your sustainability journey, no matter which stage you are at.

Enterprise Sustainability Programme

Key components of the Enterprise Sustainability Programme

Develop sustainability capabilities in enterprises

The ESP provides training for enterprises to develop an understanding of sustainability, and supports sustainability capability development projects and innovative products/services development.

Strengthen sector-specific capabilities

Partnerships with TACs and corporates to develop sector-specific sustainability initiatives and drive sustainability across value chains and sectors.

Foster a vibrant and conducive sustainability ecosystem

Partnerships with service providers and enablers to strengthen the sustainability ecosystem in training, certification and financing.

Build your sustainability knowledge and capabilities


  • Build knowledge and understanding on key sustainability concepts
  • Access financial support for sustainability projects
    • Get started on areas like carbon management and energy efficiency :

    • Kickstart efforts in Sustainability Reporting:
      • SME Sustainability Reporting Programme (SME SRP)
        Develop your first sustainability report in line with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) frameworks.
      • Sustainability Reporting Grant (SRG)
        Develop your first sustainability report which incorporates International Sustainability Standards Board-based climate-related disclosures (ISSB-based CRDs), before reaching your mandatory compliance timeline.

    • Embark on custom projects to grow and transform your business in sustainability:
      • Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) for Sustainability
        Develop sustainability projects to formulate sustainability strategies, optimise resources, adopt sustainability standards, and develop green products and services.

        Sustainability projects include the following:

        • Sustainability Strategy
          Formulate sustainability plans to strengthen your business resilience, leverage opportunities, and manage risks.

          Supportable areas:

          • Projects should incorporate one or more of the following components:
            • Assessment of sustainability risks and opportunities
            • Strategy development
            • Governance frameworks
            • Setting metrics and targets

        • Resource Optimisation: Improve resource and cost efficiency by optimising resource usage in the areas of carbon, energy, waste and water. Formulate sustainability plans to strengthen your business resilience, leverage opportunities, and manage risks.

          Supportable projects:

          • Adoption/development of sophisticated solutions for resource optimisation
          • Training of employees on solution deployment
          • Development of solutions that involve machinery purchase and system integration
          • Collection of robust data (e.g. through site inspection, energy monitoring system etc.)
          • Analysis of data quality, recommendation on internal policies/framework and provision of tools for future tracking/monitoring
          • Review of internal process/resource consumption and identifying of areas of improvement against industry benchmark
          • Formulate company-specific recommendations to improve and meet intended targets
          • Projects with specified projected quantitative resource efficiency improvements, such as reduction of:
            • Carbon emissions (tCO2e)
            • Energy consumption (kWh or kJ)
            • Waste generation (tons)
            • Water consumption (l or cm3)

        • Sustainability Standards Adoption: Align with national or international standards (i.e. ISO) to boost market access, enhance product credibility, productivity and recognition for your sustainability efforts.

          Supportable projects:

          • Assessment
          • Training
          • First time certification
          • Adoption of relevant standards

        • Sustainable Product / Service / Solution Development: Develop new, innovative sustainable products, services and solutions for growth. Sustainable products or service development are designed to be: (a) more durable or energy or resource efficient, (b) reparable, (c) recyclable, or (d) made with a preference for recycled materials; Or enable third parties to improve their sustainability performance.

          Supportable projects:

          • Assessment of market viability
          • Development of product roadmap and proposed functionalities
          • Demonstration of market validation
          • Development of commercialisation plan
          • Review of IP considerations, such as IP/Trade Secrets protection, IP strategy, and Freedom to Operate analysis
          • Development of prototype and small batch production, where relevant

      • Enterprise Financing Scheme-Green (EFS-Green)
        Obtain financing to capture green growth opportunities, develop sustainable solutions and reduce your carbon footprint.
  • Strengthen capabilities through partner programmes
    • Reduce your carbon footprint and accelerate your net-zero journey

    • Decarbonise business operations with expert guidance and IoT-enabled optimisation
      • Singtel SPEED Programme
        A comprehensive programme that equips businesses with the capabilities and tools to advance their sustainability goals through the deployment of IoT solutions for data-driven decarbonisation, along with expert advisory support to address sustainability requirements in tenders and capture new opportunities in the green economy.

    • Access preferential financing rates and receive mentorship support
      • DBS ESG Ready Programme
        Build capabilities in carbon accounting, decarbonisation, resource efficiency and standards adoption. You can also receive advisory, tools, and access to green financing upon achieving key programme milestones.
      • UOB Sustainability-Linked Advisory, Grants and Enablers (SAGE) Programme
        Develop capabilities to reduce carbon emissions, certify management systems, and improve Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings. You can also gain access to advisory support and unlock preferential rates for sustainability-linked loans upon achieving programme targets.
      • OCBC SME Start-ESG Programme
        Build sustainability capabilities to improve ESG ratings or reduce carbon emissions. You can also receive advisory on the implementation of sustainability practices and unlock sustainability-linked loans upon meeting programme milestones.

    • Tap on the support from Trade Association & Chambers (TACs)
      • Singapore Business Federation
        Develop your sustainability capabilities through tailored programmes like the SME Cost & Carbon Reduction Programme and the Queen Bee Enabled Sustainability Transition (QUEST) Programme, and resources like the NetZeroHub.SG platform and the Singapore Emission Factors Registry (SEFR).
      • UN Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS)
        Build your sustainability capabilities and reduce your carbon footprint through tailored programmes like the LowCarbonSG Programme, industry events, curated courses and playbooks.
      • Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF)
        Strengthen your sustainability capabilities in manufacturing through SMF’s programmes, such as the Chief Sustainability Officer-as-a-Service (CSOaaS) programme.
      • Sustainability Alliance
        Expand your networks and understanding to strengthen your sustainability capabilities.
  • Partner us to drive sustainability among businesses

    If you are an industry leader, join us as a Queen Bee partner to strengthen the capabilities of your suppliers, reduce your Scope 3 emissions and pursue other sustainability initiatives


    Contact Us for more information.

Not sure where to start?

Speak with an experienced advisor at the SME Centres to explore solutions tailored to your business needs.