The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently announced that it will collaborate with the industry to pilot four digital platforms under Project Greenprint to meet the financial sector’s demand for good data on sustainability. Project Greenprint was launched in December 2020 with the goal of leveraging innovation and technology to promote a green finance ecosystem by assisting in the mobilisation of capital, monitoring sustainability commitments, and measuring impact. Green FinTech Ecosystem Development, Greenprint Marketplace, and Greenprint Data Platform are the three strategic thrusts of Project Greenprint.
Filling these gaps will allow financial institutions to divert resources to more scalable sustainability projects. Financial institutions’ sustainability pledges will be adequately monitored, and the risks and real-world effects of their portfolios will be quantified using the data. The platforms’ pilots are anticipated to complete in the second half of 2022.
- Greenprint Common Disclosure Portal – The portal aims to make the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure process easier by transforming data inputs into various reporting formats set by various jurisdictions and objectives. International investors and financial institutions will have easier access to company and project information as a result of this. The platform can also be used as an internal ESG monitoring and management tool by businesses.
- Greenprint Data Orchestrator- Will gather sustainability data from a variety of sources, including major ESG data providers, utilities, the Common Disclosure Portal, and other sectoral platforms, and make it available to the public. New data insights will be developed through data analytics services on the platform, which will better assist investment and financing decisions.
- Greenprint ESG Registry – Will keep track of the provenance of ESG certifications granted by certifying bodies in various industries, as well as data and metrics confirmed by authorised third-party auditors. The blockchain-based registry will give a single point of access to this validated data for financial institutions, corporations, and regulatory authorities, facilitating reliable data flow.
- Greenprint Marketplace – Will connect green technology providers in Singapore and the area with a network of investors, venture capital firms, financial institutions, and corporations to encourage green technology partnership, innovation, and investment.
MAS will work on two use case projects to promote green and sustainability-linked trade finance in the building and construction, and palm oil industries, using data from the Greenprint Data Orchestrator and ESG Registry. This would enable banks to digitise their trade finance transactions and ensure that they meet the criteria outlined in their green and sustainable financing frameworks. United Overseas Bank will lead the initiatives in collaboration with DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.
“Technology is a key enabler for the financial industry to meet the challenges of green transition and achieving net-zero emissions. Project Greenprint provides foundational digital infrastructure that aggregates new and existing ESG data from ground-up across multiple sectoral platforms and solutions to facilitate trusted ESG data flows between the financial sector and the real economy – both within Singapore and globally,” says Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at MAS.
OpenGov Asia reported, per a joint press release from the two countries, Singapore will join Australia in drafting a Green Economy Agreement (GEA). The cooperation intends to hasten both countries’ transition to a greener, more sustainable future, while also creating jobs and reducing carbon emissions. The agreement will highlight initiatives to encourage and ease trade and investment, with an emphasis on reducing regulatory burdens on businesses. It also aims to eliminate non-tariff obstacles to trade in environmental goods and services and to speed up the adoption of low-emission green technology.
The countries claimed this “world-first agreement” will deepen their bilateral connection through strengthened economic and environmental relations in a joint vision statement released following the conference. The agreement’s larger goal is to serve as a guide for multilateral and regional policy development by establishing policies, standards, and initiatives that will not only create good jobs in green growth sectors but also strengthen environmental governance and global capacity to deal with environmental issues.