Surbana Jurong Group: A Business Model in Transition
Surbana Jurong Group is a global urban, infrastructure, and managed services consulting firm committed to addressing climate change. The company operates on a unique business model where its specialist groups function independently in the global market. These groups can work separately or collaboratively depending on the needs and opportunities of their projects, allowing for a dynamic response to various market conditions and client requirements. Surbana Jurong is uniquely positioned to navigate the challenges and opportunities climate change presents.
Impact of Climate Change on SJ’s Business Model
Climate change poses both risks and opportunities for SJ. On one hand, the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters could lead to higher demand for the company’s urban planning and infrastructure development services. On the other hand, the transition to a low-carbon economy could necessitate changes in the company’s operations and project designs. Fortunately, the company is already focused on sustainability.
SJ is headquartered in Singapore, which is vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. The mean sea level increased 0.5mm from 1975 to 2009, annual rainfall increased at an average rate of 67 mm per decade from 1980 to 2019, and transnational air pollution events such as haze have regularly become a seasonal issue for Southeast Asia, spanning from December through January8,9. All to say, adapting to the effects of climate change is a relevant priority.
While sustainability has been a focus for some time, it has only recently been central to SJ’s work. As the company promotes solutions for climate change, its business model is expected to shift away from traditional projects and prioritize sustainability in every design. Advances in technology also impact sustainability integration into projects, requiring SJ to adapt to manage its operations efficiently and implement leading management tactics. The unpredictable nature of technical advancements and the volatile natural environment introduce uncertainty and necessitates adaptability in all industry sectors supported by SJ.
Limiting Negative Effects
SJ employs a “Resilient Sustainability” hybrid design philosophy that brings together physical and social resilience to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change while remaining adaptable in the face of unpredictable events. The approach emphasizes life cycle analysis, decarbonization, and climate-positive outcomes, moving from a short-term focus on individual buildings to long-term sustainability. SJ’s three-pronged anticipation, prevention, and forecasting methodology supports these goals.
Urban Heat Island Map of Singapore
In the Anticipation phase, SJ members brainstorm strategies for potential scenarios in Southeast Asia, including floods, energy shortages, rising seawater levels, food insecurity, urban heat island effects, and pandemics, followed by visualizing long-term threats. SJ leverages its global infrastructure expertise to adopt efficient designs such as high-performance building envelopes, vertical greenery planning, and materials with high solar reflectance index (SRI) to counteract extreme heat. The Green and Blue infrastructure design methodology is employed to combat the effects of droughts and floods by incorporating gardens and water features into developments. Gardens act as sponges for urban heat and assist in slowing down and channeling stormwater run-off to attenuation tanks, and captured water is reused for irrigation purposes.
Gardens by the Bay in Singapore employs a green and blue infrastructure
Lastly, SJ also tries to bring in the forecasting early in the design and planning process. Specifically, they develop microclimatic modeling tools for determining the strength of street wind corridors and identifying hotspots for outdoor thermal comfort.
Leveraging Opportunities
It is essential to acknowledge that while climate change can have negative consequences, it also provides opportunities for companies to build core competencies and reposition themselves. SJ has been at the forefront of embracing and preparing itself for adversities like energy scarcity and food shortage by investing heavily in future technologies like AI 5G and design principles like reversible designs and deconstruction.
SJ has prepared itself for energy and food scarcity challenges by designing efficient designs like Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) and Super Low Energy Buildings (SLEB) and incorporating concepts like vertical farming.
The new SJ campus has a self-shading facade to maximize natural light and a high-intensity vertical farming concept.
In addition, the company is designing for deconstruction, using Buildings as Material Banks (BAMB) technology, in which building materials are recycled for use in rejuvenation and redevelopment projects. This approach not only reduces waste but also contributes to the circular economy.
Measuring, Reporting, and Rating Carbon Performance
SJ is committed to transparency in its carbon performance and using GRI standards. The company has structured its Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB) with two Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in three of its core businesses by the end of 2029 and net-zero carbon emissions on its campus by 2030 meeting its WGBC commitment. The net GHG emissions from SJ group offices in Singapore have accounted for 5,081 tCO2e for FY2022, out of which 700 tCO2e are emitted from the SJ campus. In conclusion, Surbana Jurong Group is leading the way in addressing climate change through its commitment to sustainability and innovative solutions. As urbanization grows, companies like SJ must proactively approach climate change and pave the way for a sustainable future.
Notably, the company omits Scope 3 emissions from its GHG accounting and climate goals.
Possible Additional Actions
As SJ is at the forefront of sustainable development in many ways, one additional step they could take is to phase out carbon offsets. The goal of reaching net carbon neutrality is amazing. However, as more research is done on carbon offsets, it has become more evident that they aren’t always as beneficial to the environment as they seem. If SJ started to shift away from using carbon offsets and change their business practices to remove those carbon emissions altogether, it could pave the way for other organizations to do so.
Besides reducing its use of carbon offsets, SJ needs to include its Scope 3 emissions in its GHG accounting and climate goals. For many companies, Scope 3 emissions account for the most significant portion of their total emissions. Not including Scope 3 emissions in their accounting makes their total emissions appear much lower.
REFERENCES
- https://www.theedgesingapore.com/news/environmental-social-and-governance/surbana-jurong-transforms-green-goals-reality
- https://surbanajurong.com/sustainability/
- https://surbanajurong.com/corporate-social-responsibility/
- https://surbanajurong.com/architecture-seeds/the-road-to-decarbonisation/
- https://surbanajurong.com/perspectives/articles/
- https://surbanajurong.com/perspective/infrastructure-for-a-resilient-economy/
- https://surbanajurong.com/architecture-seeds/why-resilient-design-matters/
- https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/singapore
- https://www.nccs.gov.sg/singapores-climate-action/impact-of-climate-change-in-singapore/
Authored by: Tatiana Agbeyibor, Bhaskar Kotakonda, Samyuktha Musini, Caroline Schuler
