Esther An, chief sustainability officer of City Developments Limited and Robb Report Singapore Gala 2025’s Advocate For Sustainability award recipient on the urgent need for action
It is one thing to be a trailblazer, but quite another to have the stamina to stay the course. Esther An, chief sustainability officer at City Developments Limited (CDL), has done both—and she carries the weight of those titles with an inspiring mix of enthusiasm and determination.
For more than 30 years, An has championed environmental issues with an astuteness and persistence that predates trends and defies sceptics. “Whether on a global scale or from a national and industry perspective, we are still on a journey,” she says. “Climate change is real. In fact, we are living in an era of climate emergency.”
An’s journey in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) began in 1995, when she joined CDL to establish its public relations department. But her role quickly grew beyond communications. Working closely with the late Kwek Leng Joo—CDL’s visionary deputy chairman and a staunch advocate of corporate social responsibility (CSR)—An shifted to overseeing the company’s CSR programmes. Over time, these evolved into a full-fledged corporate sustainability strategy, long before ‘ESG’ entered the mainstream lexicon.
“We started with philanthropy,” she recalls. “Many corporations give donations. But at CDL, we felt we could do more than just write cheques. We wanted to make a real impact on society.” Out of that ambition came the company’s enduring ethos, ‘conserving as we construct’.
A holistic approach
That motto proved to be both foundational and enduring. Back then, advocating for sustainability in the corporate world was perceived to be radical, if not a tad unnecessary. Yet An’s conviction and her ability to turn ideals into measurable results set CDL apart. Arguably the most tangible expressions of An and her team’s work can be seen in the company’s annual Sustainability Report—first published in 2008 as the inaugural report by a Singapore-listed company. The 2025 edition marks its 17th year, detailing initiatives that range from green building design to sustainable financing.
In 2024 alone, CDL’s notable highlights and accolades included being the first Singapore real estate developer to sign the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC) Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, being ranked 39th on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, and securing almost S$9 billion in sustainability funding since 2017.
“It is like an annual health check,” says An of the reports. “With it, we can identify growth opportunities and risk adaptation.”
And she has identified many areas for actionable improvement and progress. From investing in renewable energy and emerging green technologies to finding fresh ways to communicate ESG causes, she leaves no opportunity unexplored. An also champions the ‘triple bottom line’—people, planet, and profit—believing it to be both practical and urgent.
“Without a healthy planet, you won’t have healthy people or a market for businesses to thrive,” she says. “The triple bottom line is very implementable and easy for companies to understand. I would suggest that companies look at their triple bottom lines and consider how these apply to their businesses and ecosystem of stakeholders.
“Over the last 10 years, everybody wants to listen to the business case for sustainability. I believe that corporations can integrate sustainability efforts to create both immediate and long-term value, and future-proof their businesses.”
Beyond CDL, An holds leadership roles with the WorldGBC’s Corporate Advisory Board and the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association’s ESG Committee. These platforms allow her to shape conversations beyond her industry. “It’s not about ticking boxes,” she says. “Being engaged on multiple fronts widens our perspective.”
Three decades into her mission, An’s focus on her ‘north star’ remains as sharp as ever. “When I started, people spoke about sustainability as a long-term strategy. But we are running out of time,” she warns. “We are supposed to meet many ESG targets by 2030 and we are still some way off. Some say the train has left the station. I believe we can run faster and bring a lot more people on board to catch it.”
