Singapore Launches Standard on Sustainability Excellence to Strengthen Business Competitiveness

SINGAPORE, May 21, 2026 — Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) through the Singapore Standards Council (SSC), in partnership with the A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (A*STAR SIMTech) and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), have launched the Technical Reference (TR) 149:2026 Specification for Organisations to Progress towards Environmental Sustainability Excellence.

TR 149 provides a structured approach for businesses to assess their sustainability maturity level (Essential / Bronze / Silver / Gold) and to measure their progress over time. Companies that aspire to improve their maturity levels can use the TR 149 to identify areas for improvement across five dimensions – People Readiness, Structure, Operations, Supply Network, and Product Life Cycle. Under the Operations dimension, companies can improve the management of environmental impacts relating to greenhouse gas emissions, energy, water and material consumption.

Navigating a Complex Sustainability Landscape

The launch of TR 149 comes at a critical juncture, as businesses contend with shifting climate policies amid global economic and geopolitical volatility, while ensuring that their environmental investments deliver measurable business value. For many SMEs, navigating evolving sustainability expectations can be challenging due to limited resources, expertise, and fragmented requirements. TR 149 directly addresses this need by offering a structured reference point to cut through the complexity.

Built on A*STAR SIMTech’s Green Compass™ framework which supports companies’ sustainability transformation efforts, TR 149 addresses this need by bringing together key sustainability considerations together into a single, coherent framework applicable across industries. The TR is designed to be accessible to companies of all sizes, with a practical, step-by-step approach that is especially useful for SMEs beginning their sustainability journey or looking to progressively build on existing efforts.

The TR provides a structured approach that enables businesses to translate their sustainability commitments into a tangible competitive edge – attracting investors, winning customers, and retaining talent. For SMEs, TR 149 is particularly relevant as global supply chain sustainability requirements tighten, offering a practical way them to demonstrate their environmental performance to larger partners and customers. Beyond individual businesses, wider adoption of TR 149 will steer Singapore's broader business ecosystem towards alignment with national environmental priorities and evolving global expectations. Refer to Annex for more details on TR 149.

Industry Adoption and Partnership with TR 149

The Green 100 movement, launched by the Council for a Competitive Climate Transition (C3T), enables wider industry adoption of TR 149. Their digital platform for sustainability disclosures is anchored on the TR framework. Large enterprises ('Queen Bees') and their SME partners who onboard onto the platform will be introduced to the TR's “Essential” level requirements – an accessible entry point to help SMEs take that first step. The platform will be further enhanced to guide companies to progressively advance to higher TR levels. Insights gathered through the platform will feed back into the TR, helping to keep the framework current and responsive to industry needs.

Beyond individual companies, ecosystem players are also embedding TR 149 into their own programmes and tools to support broader adoption. For example, SMF, together with the Asia Pacific Green Alliance, is working to closely align its G.E.M. (Green Excellence for Manufacturing) and G.E.B. (Green Excellence for Business) certification programmes with TR 149 to better support manufacturers in demonstrating recognised sustainability performance to customers, financiers, and global supply chain partners. Meanwhile, A*STAR SIMTech has updated their training for companies and consultants in alignment with TR 149; and OCBC Bank has developed a self-diagnostic tool to assist companies in applying for green financing, referencing the TR 149’s requirements.

For companies seeking to validate their sustainability efforts against the TR 149, they can approach certification bodies like SEC and TÜV SÜD for certification and verification services.

Ms Choy Sauw Kook, Director-General (Quality & Excellence) at EnterpriseSG, shared: “Sustainability has moved from aspiration to expectation – and the bar continues to rise. Helping businesses meet that challenge is at the core of what EnterpriseSG does, and TR 149 is a key part of that effort. SMEs in particular will find TR 149 useful in charting their sustainability journey, strengthening their appeal to investors, customers, and talent while building a stronger foundation for future growth.”

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Dr David Low, Executive Director of A*STAR SIMTech, said: “Many companies want to become more environmentally sustainable and may not know where to begin, what to prioritise, or how to scale their efforts. TR 149 helps address this by providing a structured way to assess sustainability maturity, identify practical areas for improvement, and take clearer steps towards stronger environmental performance. Drawing from A*STAR SIMTech’s Green Compass™, an environmental sustainability assessment and strategic road mapping tool, the TR reflects our research and technical expertise in helping companies move from intent to action.”

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Mr Lennon Tan, President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, said: “Through our involvement as the convenor in the working group that developed TR 149, SMF is pleased to help bring manufacturers’ perspectives into the Technical Reference. Building on this, we are aligning our G.E.M. and G.E.B. certification programmes to TR 149 to provide manufacturers and businesses with a practical way to demonstrate their efforts and progress in a manner that is meaningful to their customers and partners.”

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TR 149 was developed with inputs from industry, academia, and government in the Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Organisations, under the Environment and Resources Standards Committee, which sits under the SSC.

TR 149 can be purchased from the Singapore Standards e-shop at www.singaporestandardseshop.sg.

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