Certified Destination: Sentosa, Singapore

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By Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC)

Sentosa, Asia’s leading leisure destination and Singapore’s premier island resort getaway, welcomes about 19 million visitors annually pre-COVID. It is located just within 15 minutes from the central business and shopping districts. The island resort is managed by Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), which works with various stakeholders in overseeing property investments, attractions development, and operation of the various leisure offerings and management of the residential precinct on the island. The 500-hectare island resort is home to an exciting array of themed attractions, award-winning spa retreats, lush rainforests, golden sandy beaches, resort accommodations, world-renowned golf courses, a deep-water yachting marina and luxurious residences – making Sentosa a vibrant island resort for business and leisure.

In 2021, SDC  announced its Sustainable Sentosa strategic roadmap underpinned by two key goals: to attain carbon neutrality by 2030 and to be globally recognised as a sustainable destination. 

Goal 1: Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2030

The threat of climate change is an existential threat for many island destinations, including Sentosa and Singapore. In meeting the ambitious goal to acheive carbon neutrality by 2030, SDC has developed pathways to resolve two key challenges in the island business ecosystem:

1. Securing buy-in from the eco-system‘s stakeholders that sustainability is both a business and environmental imperative 
2. Catalyse action amongst the island community by closing gaps in knowledge, resource and capability, so as to develop commitment and confidence in the adoption of solutions

1. Securing buy-in from the Eco-system stakeholders that sustainability is both a business and environmental imperative 

With the goal of achieving carbon neutrality for the whole of Sentosa by 2030, it is imperative that Sentosa’s business establishments are onboard the same journey towards carbon neutrality. Through numerous discussions and groundwork, SDC has garnered leadership buy-in across hotels and major attractions to form the Sentosa Carbon Neutral Network (SCNN) which drives collective action towards this goal. To date, SCNN comprises of 21 members, accounting for more than 97% of the island’s carbon profile.

2. Catalyse action amongst the island community by closing gaps in knowledge, resource and capability so as to develop commitment and confidence in the adoption of solutions

To enable action among businesses in Sentosa during the Covid-19 pandemic, SDC invested in capability building strategies, including the following:

1. Developing a carbon accounting methodology and providing assistance to collect and understand businesses’ carbon profiles, to demystify carbon emissions
2. Developing guidelines for implementing green events, management of disposables, local food sourcing
3. Developing courses in sustainability customised for businesses on Sentosa, to equip their staff with the knowledge and skillsets to become environmental stewards 

Collectively, this lowered the knowledge and resource barriers for businesses to be onboard key sustainability initiatives, accelerating the pace in which businesses have adopted various sustainability solutions. Coupled with constant engagement and communication of these efforts through in-person SCNN platforms and quarterly bulletins, these initiatives built  confidence among businesses on Sentosa to consider relevant initiatives for the future, and created a culture of openness towards collective action in key sustainability goals.

Goal 2: To be Recognised as a Sustainable Destination

While sustainability is not new to SDC and the businesses on Sentosa, there was broad recognition on the need to benchmark Sentosa against international standards. To this end, Sentosa embarked on the journey towards being  certified against Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Destination criteria (GSTC-D). In July 2022, together with Resorts World Sentosa, Sentosa became the first island destination in Asia certified with the GSTC-D criteria.

As the GSTC-D criteria was broad ranging, SDC mobilised the whole organisation to be part of the Sustainable Sentosa Steering Committee (SSSC), whose members led and delivered initiatives to embed sustainability through SDC’s core roles as the island’s promoter, operator and master planner. 

As a popular tourist destination, there is an opportunity for enhancing sustainability awareness amongst visitors. One example is SentoSights, a series of 11 sustainability- and heritage-themed tours, specially curated to deepen guest’s interest in the environment around sustainability issues. This is also true for Sentosa’s business visitors, where SDC worked with a carbon consultant to create a carbon accounting methodology for events held on Sentosa, providing the foundation of green events that meet the needs of sustainbility-conscious businesses.