Dear Members and Friends

This Chamber was founded in 1837 to preserve Singapore’s Free Port status without which our founders would have lost their shirts, Singapore would not have developed as it has and you and I would not be here today. Sustaining Singapore is what interests us and, indeed, was the title of our SG50 commemorative publication in 2015. To do that, we all need to sustain our planet.

It is now crystal clear. If we humans do not mend our ways and change our mindsets, our planet and all of us will not be here much longer. Read on for a self-explanatory piece from your fellow member The Hinrich Foundation on its Sustainable Trade Index (STI) 2022. It makes revealing reading.

With best wishes for a productive week ahead.

Yours faithfully
Victor Mills
Chief Executive

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The Hinrich-IMD Sustainable Trade Index (STI) 2022, released on 8 November 2022, measures how effectively 30 major trading economies are geared for long-term economic growth, environmental protection, and societal development across 70 indicators.

At the Hinrich Foundation, we believe that trade is indispensable to economic development but cannot realize its full potential without commitment to environmental stewardship and social development. The STI was conceptualized by the Hinrich Foundation and first published in 2016 to provide a framework to measure the relative capacity of economies to achieve sustainable growth through global trade. This year’s index comes at one of the world’s most challenging junctures as geopolitical tensions, strained supply chains, climate change, and increasing inequality propel economies to turn inward.

Businesses are increasingly facing pressure from governments and their customers to conduct their operations in a manner that is compliant with environmental and societal regulations and best practices. They are now interested in understanding and mitigating the negative externalities of their operational practices. The STI is a useful resource for businesses that want to assess the social and environmental impact of their trade, investments, and supply chains. It is a valuable policy tool for regulators to shape policies that integrate sustainably conducted trade with the prosperity of economies and for trade researchers who are looking to root their work in quantitative datasets.

STI resources are free. For more insights, download yours here.

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