CapitaLand Group, one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups, focused on sustainability innovation and solutions at its inaugural sustainability forum in partnership with Eco-Business’ annual Cities: Possibilities initiative.
The forum gathered more than 20 industry thought leaders to discuss sustainable investment trends within the real estate sector, showcased innovative solutions for the built environment, and highlighted opportunities for mobilising climate finance.
Leveraging the expertise of CapitaLand’s broad network, including investors, consultants, and supply chain partners, this platform centred attention on the innovation and collective efforts needed to shape the future of a sustainable urban environment.
At the forum, CapitaLand launched the fourth edition of its CapitaLand Sustainability X Challenge (CSXC), reaffirming its commitment to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions, while maintaining its efforts to reduce Scope 3 emissions.
Through CSXC, tenant partners could gain potential energy and water consumption savings, reductions in waste, and/or improvements in overall health and well-being by piloting green innovations from startups. This year, Enterprise Singapore is returning as a partner to support the development of innovative sustainability solutions for real-world applications, with more partners expected to join these efforts.
As the first global sustainability-focused innovation challenge for urban development by a Singapore-based real estate group, CSXC is now open for submissions until 13 January 2025. The top 10 innovations will be shortlisted in May 2025 for pitching at the CSXC Demo Day in July 2025.
Mr Vinamra Srivastava, CapitaLand Investment’s Chief Sustainability & Sustainable Investments Officer, said: “Innovation is a key lever in achieving our sustainability targets at CapitaLand. CSXC provides startups globally with a unique opportunity to testbed their sustainability innovations at our properties while tapping on industry expertise to commercialise and scale their solutions. As we embark on the fourth edition, we will deepen our engagement with tenants, partnering with them to pilot CSXC innovations in their spaces. We hope this will help improve their sustainability performance and leverage innovation to create a more sustainable environment.”
Advancing sustainability innovation through CSXC pilots at CapitaLand properties
Since its launch in 2020, CSXC has received over 1,300 entries from seven countries, showcasing cutting-edge solutions for sustainable urban development from startups and innovators.
Over the last three editions, more than $2 million in funding has been committed, and 30 innovations have been given the opportunity to be piloted at 46 sites within CapitaLand properties across Singapore, China, India, Thailand, Australia, the Philippines, and the USA.
One of the selected innovations from CSXC 2022 is Blade Air Pro Filters, by a Canadian company that completed a successful pilot. The filters, tested at Perimeter Four in Morrisville, USA, achieved HEPA-level1 class air quality and demonstrated a 48 per cent improvement in indoor air quality, resulting in energy savings of 890kWh per air handling unit (AHU) annually.
Another successfully piloted innovation was the AI-powered Video Analytics by a Hong Kong-based company, whose AI-powered video tool enhances workplace safety, productivity, and compliance. The pilot at IMM, Singapore’s largest outlet mall, was completed in September 2024, with the tool achieving a detection accuracy rate of at least 80 per cent across five distinct use cases.
The system’s alerts, delivered via Telegram and an online dashboard, detect unsafe practices in under 30 seconds. This technology is currently undergoing trials at CapitaSpring and Canninghill Piers in Singapore.
CapitaLand has also been piloting with Magorium, a Singapore-based startup that repurposes used plastic waste into a sustainable material for road construction, NEWBitumen, since CSXC 2023. Plans are in place to use NEWBitumen for roads at a Singapore property by 2025.
As part of its ESG initiatives, CapitaLand has engaged tenants in flagship properties in Singapore, including Raffles City, Tampines Mall, and Plaza Singapura, to collaborate with Magorium in repurposing their plastic waste. Since the initiative began in June 2024, the three malls have gathered approximately 1,300kg of plastic waste, with plans to expand the programme to additional properties and tenants.
CLD forges ahead in sustainability with the greening of portfolio and initiatives
During the forum, the Group’s development arm, CapitaLand Development (CLD) shared its sustainability framework to transition towards a sustainable and low carbon-built environment. Aligned with the renewed CapitaLand Investment (CLI) 2030 Sustainability Master Plan, CLD’s sustainability framework prioritises the implementation of sustainable design and construction practices in all development projects.
Under this framework, CLD sets out to achieve Net Zero by 2050 across Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the ambition to progressively include Scope 3 within defined emission boundaries, taking a full value chain approach to its decarbonisation journey.
Emissions associated with products and materials used in building developments will be gradually reduced with innovative design approaches, selection of low-carbon building materials, as well as collaborations with suppliers, manufacturers, and government regulators.
CLD has also successfully embraced a human-centric approach aimed at enhancing occupants’ health and community well-being with greener, healthier spaces, exemplified by initiatives such as WELL. CLD is the first developer in Singapore to join the WELL at Scale programme, and the first real estate developer in the country to achieve a WELL Equity Rating for its Singapore headquarters.
Mr Giovanni Cossu, CapitaLand Development’s Head of Sustainability, said: “At CLD, we aim to create quality spaces that enrich daily experiences and foster vibrant communities. Our sustainability framework serves as a dynamic pathway towards greener, more resilient environments, guiding our design and construction processes. By focusing on these areas, we can shape not just the form of the buildings, but also strengthen relationships with our stakeholders. As developers, we are committed to creating spaces that benefit future generations, acknowledging the complexity of our ecosystem and driving this transformative change together.”
Marking another step to further strengthen and broaden its sustainability strategy, CLD has raised $600 million in sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) in partnership with DBS and OCBC. The SLLs are among the first of their kind in the region to be aligned with both a WELL Certification for human well-being and Green Mark certification for environmental sustainability, across a real estate portfolio.
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