Big and small businesses must demonstrate how their business interests play an active role in the national economic and societal development so they can be a force for good.
We have developed a bespoke approach to guide us in our sustainability efforts, to demonstrate the value which Siemens can bring to the society.
The insights of our Business to Society Analysis also help us to address the topics that are important to our customers, employees, suppliers, communities and stakeholder groups in the country. Business opportunities and improvement actions derived from these topics will be integrated into our future operations.
Through our research and analysis we have identified 5 key pillars that set the framework to measure Siemens' contribution to the social and economic prosperity of Singapore. For each of the pillars we highlight the key insights gained and metrics used in the value map.
It is a different way of looking at things - moving beyond traditional financial reporting to measure the value and benefits we've created for Singapore.
As a company, we want to contribute to the prosperity and progress of Singapore – this is what ultimately does grant us the licence to operate in this society. Hence, the priorities, needs and challenges of the Singapore society are the starting point of our analysis, to guide us in our sustainability efforts. We have involved multiple stakeholders in this approach.
While our assessment follows the "measuring impact framework" of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, where Siemens is an active member, we also taking into consideration the specifics of the Singapore context.
Firstly, we looked at a wide variety of data like economic, societal, educational and environmental indeces. Some of those data are being presented in more detail in the following chapter in order to provide insights of where the nation stands in comparison to others in the world. The other important aspects of our analysis are Singapore‘s development goals and its infrastructure plans.
These form the ancor points to identify where Siemens can make a contribution to Singapore, and to map what we are doing as a business to determine what impact we have in the country. This has to be done using the most relevant metrics, in order to quantify the effects of our operations in a meaningful way.
The calculations are based on the fiscal year 2015/16, and most metrics are based on internal sources and calculations. In addition, the established macro-economic PwC ESCHER model was used to calculate the indirect and induced contributions of Siemens‘ global operations to the gross value add and jobs in Singapore. Indirect contributions include all effects of Siemens‘ activities in its global value chain on the value add and jobs of suppliers and sub-suppliers based in Singapore. Induced effects estimate the economic impact of the salaries of our own employees and those of our suppliers, when spend for consumption in Singapore.
Singapore in comparison - Urban infrastructure
Singapore's highly-rated urban infrastructure requires massive investments to cope with the growing population. Plans are in place to double the rail network as well as air - and seaport capacities.
Innovation and reliability are key to master the challenges infrastructure development poses on community, environment, finance & manpower issues.
Singapore in comparison - Human Capital and Innovation
Despite Singapore's excellent rankings in higher education and scientific research, the productivity of blue collar jobs has not significantly improved over the last decade. GDP share of manufacturing has declined to less than 20%.
The government has put a program on track to make Singapore the 1st true Smart Nation in the world.
Singapore in comparison - Economic Growth
Singapore's economy has one of the most advanced frameworks in the world with very low unemployment rates. But it will have to transform itself to keep up with the 4th Industrial Revolution. Especially SME's are challenged as the local suppliers bench strength is comparitively weak.
Singapore in comparison - Caring for the Environment
Although being a rich economy with high consumption, Singapore has a very good environmental performance. Yet dealing with the growing consumption of energy and water as well as pollution and waste generation continues to be a crucial task.
The country has commited to reduce CO2 emissions by 36% by 2030.
Singapore in comparison - Social Fabric
Singaporeans today enjoy a high quality of life and the life expectancy has gone up to 85 years. However, not all Singaporeans can harvest the country's prosperity but depend on help from the society. Therefore Singapore aspires to evolve from a livable to a lovable city.