- More than 150 SMEs across different sectors were conferred this year, up from 39 in 2022
- Companies invested almost 800,000 hours on volunteering and donated around $323M, according to the COG 2024 Cohort Report unveiled during the event
- Extension of DBS Bank’s Business for Impact Banking Package to eligible conferred SMEs was also announced
Singapore, 18 July 2024 –The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) held its Company of Good (COG) Conferment ceremony today at the Raffles City Convention Centre, where 290 organisations were recognised at the national level as Companies of Good. Over 400 distinguished guests witnessed the milestone in NVPC’s COG Recognition System, marking the first year companies are assessed under the enhanced framework that goes beyond traditional metrics on corporate giving and tracks an organisation’s progress and impact across Corporate Purpose and five impact areas, including People, Society, Governance, Environment and Economic.
2. Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat graced the event as the guest of honour, conferring the Champions of Good recognition to 78 organisations out of the 290 conferred companies.
3. Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs & Ministry of Social and Family Development, Sun Xueling, also graced the event as a Special Guest, conferring the Companies of Good — 3 Hearts recognition to 92 organisations.
4. The Company of Good 2024 Cohort Report was also unveiled during the event, revealing significant progress in Corporate Purpose adoption and integration, with 99% of the cohort articulating a Corporate Purpose, and demonstrating strong collective impact.
More Companies Recognised under the Enhanced COG Recognition System, Designed to Celebrate a Company’s Impact and Progress
5. As part of the Company of Good 2.0 strategy, NVPC embarked on an enhancement of its national-level corporate recognition system, to be more holistic and inclusive. The COG Conferment 2024 marks the first year NVPC is recognising purpose-driven businesses. This new recognition system moves beyond the previous focus on corporate giving and recognises businesses’ progress in integrating Corporate Purpose and their contributions across the five impact areas.
6. The enhanced recognition system was designed with key principles of harmonisation, inclusivity and progression in mind, and takes into consideration existing standards, marks and awards attained by organisations of different sizes and industries, and encourages companies to continuously improve. Perspectives and input were also sought from a panel of multisector stakeholders including academic experts from Institutes of Higher Learning as well as ecosystem partners such as the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), Singapore Business Federation (SBF), Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and UN Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS), which constituted the Inter-Agency Judging Panel for the 2024 COG Conferment.
7. This year’s recognition system saw a significant increase in the number of conferred companies, with 290 organisations recognised as Companies of Good – more than double compared to the previous recognition model in 2022. Out of the 290 companies, 78 were recognised as Champions of Good, 92 as Companies of Good — 3 Hearts, 39 as Companies of Good — 2 Hearts, and 81 as Companies of Good — 1 Heart.
8. The COG Conferment 2024 also saw a significant rise in SME participation, with 155 SMEs being conferred – nearly 4 times more than the previous recognition model, reflecting an increased sense of relevance and engagement for businesses of all sizes and across diverse sectors, including finance, food and beverage (F&B), energy, retail, fashion, healthcare, and services.
9. One such example is Social Gifting, a social enterprise that seeks to redefine gift-giving through partnerships with organisations like SPD and SG Enable. Aside from providing avenues of employment and income for at-risk individuals and people with special needs, the company also encourages responsible consumption through the upcycling of their gifts. Iconic works by Social Gifting, the Lion and Bird Paradise mosaic art pieces were presented to the GOH and Special Guest as tokens of appreciation for gracing the event. These diamond bead mosaic art pieces were handcrafted by one of Social Gifting’s talented artists, Gareth Ng, who is a teenager with autism.
10. Another example of an exemplary SME is Wholesome Savour, which took part in NVPC’s recognition for the first time. They blend social responsibility and sustainable initiatives with their healthy food business, aiming to revolutionise the food industry with science-backed nutrition. They champion inclusivity by hiring inmates and persons with disabilities (PWDs). Their commitment extends to community programmes for nutrition and health education, and partnerships with healthcare groups to provide nutritious options post-health screenings. With innovative products and sustainable practices, they contribute to health and environmental stewardship, aligned with broader societal goals such as Singapore’s push for a more sustainable and healthy society.
Unveiling of the Company of Good 2024 Cohort Report and Key Findings
10. The COG 2024 Cohort Report was also unveiled during the event. Notable findings that emerged from the report in the Corporate Purpose and five impact areas include:
- Corporate Purpose: Nearly all companies (99%) have either articulated their Corporate Purpose or are in the process of doing so.
- People: Collectively, the cohort invested 7.2M hours on training and upskilling to their employees.
- Society: As a cohort, their combined donations amounted close to $323M, with volunteer hours totalling close to 800,000 in their respective past financial year.
- Environment: 95 companies have invested in research and development to reduce their environmental impact.
- Governance: On average, 65% of their employees have attended at least one form of governance training or accreditation.
- Economic: The collective financial investment made in other local businesses amounted to around $10 billion.
11. Mr Tony Soh, CEO, NVPC, said, “Since launching the Company of Good strategy in 2016 to enhance corporate engagement in social impact, we have seen businesses committing more resources to sustainable value creation. Through Corporate Purpose, businesses are encouraged to redefine their ‘reason for existence’ beyond just generating profits, using their significant resources and capabilities for broader societal impact. As we move forward, collective responsibility across all segments of society is crucial for nurturing a thriving community and this will in turn provide the environment to nurture successful and competitive businesses. This year’s conferment, with 290 companies honoured across different industries and sectors, highlights an encouraging and growing trend, where we see more companies actively defining and integrating their Corporate Purpose into their strategies and operations, to create positive, sustained impact across multiple domains—People, Society, Governance, Environment, and Economic. This is clear evidence that companies can indeed prosper and do well, by doing good and doing right.”
Extension of the DBS Business for Impact (BFI) Banking Package
12. In addition to the celebration of the conferred companies, the extension of the DBS Business for Impact (BFI) Banking Package to eligible SMEs that are recognised as Companies of Good and Champions of Good was also announced during the event.
13. The DBS BFI Banking Package was specifically designed to address the banking needs of purpose-driven businesses and to support SMEs with sustainable business models. The preferential banking solution includes multi-currency accounts with fee waivers, insurance with preferential rates, access to working capital loans, and programmes in digitalisation and skills development.
14. DBS was the first bank to introduce a dedicated banking package for social enterprises back in 2009. This formed a key part of DBS Foundation’s holistic support for purpose-driven businesses to scale their businesses and impact. Established in 2014, DBS Foundation is committed to uplifting lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable, and works with an ecosystem of businesses for impact and other like-minded partners to drive change. To date, it has provided grants to more than 140 social enterprises and SMEs, in addition to support measures including mentoring, networks, as well as the DBS BFI Banking Package offered by the bank’s SME banking team to help companies scale up.
15. This extension is the culmination of the ongoing collaborative effort between NVPC, the Singapore Business Federation and DBS, a 2024 Champion of Good and two-time awardee of the President’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards by NVPC. This announcement was made alongside other initiatives by NVPC to further propel SMEs along their Corporate Purpose journey, such as the ongoing Grow with Purpose programme with ABR Holdings and Saladstop!, and a sustainable procurement pilot with Sodexo.
