Crafting Singapore's path to accurate carbon reporting

The intensifying effects of climate change are reshaping the business landscape. As global efforts toward net zero accelerate, companies face increasing pressure from regulators, consumers and investors to provide accurate and transparent sustainability disclosures. Singapore’s specific conditions influence carbon emissions: a warm, humid climate increases air conditioning loads, and limited land area restricts renewable electricity generation such as solar panels.

Companies operating in Singapore face a significant challenge when reporting emissions because there's been no thorough carbon emission factors database reflecting Singapore’s distinctive local context. Instead, they’ve had to rely on international factors such as those issued by the UK and US governments’ environmental agencies—making it harder to calculate emissions accurately and develop effective carbon reduction strategies.

Accurate reporting has become more urgent: companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) have been required by local regulators since early 2025 to report their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

To address this challenge, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF)—representing more than 32,000 companies—asked PwC Singapore to design and build the SEFR: a completely localised database. A minimal viable product (MVP) was launched in October 2024, and the cloud-based, open-access portal is set to play a critical role in Singapore’s drive to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.  

The project was initiated after a meeting we organised between Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability, the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Ms. Grace Fu, and local sustainability practitioners. Concerns were raised that carbon emissions reporting in Singapore might be inaccurate due to the lack of a dedicated local emissions factors registry.

The discussions led to SBF commissioning PwC Singapore to design and build the SEFR. The PwC digital solutions team led the technical development of the portal, while the sustainability and climate change practice played a key role as voluntary knowledge contributors—assessing and reviewing data and identifying potential gaps.

In July 2024, the two teams began work on the project’s first phase, focusing on developing a user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) that were intuitive and accessible. The teams collaborated closely with Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), which helped integrate data from government agencies. Other contributors included representatives from the SBF, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and Singtel.

During the first phase, thorough market research and workshops with SBF stakeholders identified industry-leading practices and key user-centric features and functions for the registry. Stringent security and monitoring controls were implemented to enable continuous portal availability and to safeguard data against cybersecurity threats.

As directed by the SBF, the registry is targeted at four groups:

References
_{* Quote extracted from an Ask PwC Singapore vodcast episode with The Business Times, titled 'Compliance to Competitiveness: Why SEFR Matters.'}