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CDL was recognised for its strong corporate culture of giving and was presented with the coveted Corporate Citizen Award by Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, Speaker of Parliament, at the Awards Ceremony.

At CDL’s 5-Star Environment, Health & Safety Award Presentation, exemplary contractors with consistently high 5-star audit scores were conferred the award.
 
SETTING OUT OUR COMMITMENT

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present CDL’s report on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which shares our commitment to our stakeholders and reviews our environmental and social performance for 2006.
RISK MANAGEMENT

 CDL has a formal risk management framework, established since 2002, that enables significant business risks within the Company’s property investment, development and management arm to be identified, assessed, evaluated, monitored and managed. These business risks are reviewed regularly by the Board. For the first time, we have provided a dedicated report detailing the Company’s risk assessment and management for the year under review as set out on pages 44 and 45.

To instill a culture of business integrity and ethical values, management and staff are required to comply with the Company’s Code of Business and Ethical Conduct, which forbids bribery, fraud and misappropriation of corporate funds, assets or confidential information. We have recently implemented a whistle-blowing policy where employees are encouraged to raise their concerns over possible improprieties relating to accounting, financial reporting, internal controls and auditing matters. Anyone with such concerns may choose to remain anonymous and raise it to the Audit Committee, who will ensure that the issue is investigated and resolved. The Company provides awareness training on its policy in whistleblowing and procedures for all employees.
OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH OUR INVESTORS

CDL continued to promote corporate transparency and communication avenues with the investing community – providing timely disclosure on the Group’s quarterly financial performance and briefings to analysts, fund managers and the media on the Group’s half-year and full-year results. For the first time last year, we gave a presentation to our shareholders during the Annual General Meeting to update them on our corporate activities, business strategies and directions. We intend to continue with this practice in future Annual General Meetings. Top management also held frequent meetings with analysts and fund managers and participated in investor conferences, to address queries on the Group’s performance and prospects.
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

Operating Responsibly for a Safe and Green Environment
CDL has been vigilant about developing properties for a safe, green and healthy lifestyle. Our Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) management programme which includes independent audits, helps us to monitor safety aspects of our operations as well as the impact of our operations on the environment using the 5-star Assessment System quarterly audits.

Safety at the worksites has always been a top priority in our EHS policy. While safety can never be guaranteed, we continually put in safeguards at the worksites to mitigate the risk. In line with the corporate whistle-blowing policy, we provide hotline numbers at our construction sites to facilitate the reporting of worksite infringements. Towards this, CDL was the only private property developer to receive the Developer Award at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Workplace Safety and Health Awards (WSH) 2006. This honour is conferred to developers who actively contribute to promoting occupational safety and health practices at the worksites and for its effective management system and processes. Apart from the Developer Award, CDL’s developments also clinched six WSH awards given out by MOM.

For its exemplary efforts, CDL was the only Singapore company to receive the international Gold Award at the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards of the UK, the world’s leading health and safety professional examining body. CDL received the Silver Award in 2005.

In adopting safe and green practices, our developments continue to receive prestigious industry awards such as the Building and Construction Authority Green Mark Gold and Green Mark GoldPLUS for developing environmentally-friendly buildings as well as the International Federation of Landscape Architects Award (IFLA) for Landscape Architecture for the design, conservation and management of the environment. Our residential properties, namely Savannah CondoPark, The Esparis and Monterey Park were among the finalists in the “Excellence in Design Awards 2006” by the US-publication Environmental Design + Construction Magazine.

CSC staff volunteers celebrated Christmas with children from Assisi Home & Hospice with a host of activities including the Duck Tour!


INFLUENCING THE COMMUNITY

As a green property developer, we lead the way to influence our stakeholders, which include architects, engineers and contractors, to adopt best practices at the worksites. This means constantly innovating and introducing eco-friendly design features and construction methodologies to enhance safety and also minimise environmental impact.

We ensure that our contractors and suppliers share the same level of commitment and standards in EHS performance. Through rigorous and stringent independent audits known as the CDL 5-Star Assessment System held every quarter of the year, CDL continually pushes for improvements in EHS standards at its developments. The Company conducts training and facilitates information sharing and peer learning to encourage better EHS performances for the next review. CDL also set up an EHS Excellence Award to recognise and reward exemplary contractors with consistently high 5-Star audit scores over a one-year period. Since the establishment of this scheme in 2005, five of our contractors have received the award for their efforts in promoting high standards of quality and safety in our developments. I am pleased to report that two of the contractors have clinched the only two Gold Awards given to the construction industry at the national Annual Safety and Health Performance Awards. Our influence and commitment on raising EHS standards have motivated our consultants to set up their very own EHS Management System. To-date, more than 50% of them have obtained ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification.

CDL continues its support for Project Eco-Office, an outreach programme with the Singapore Environment Council to encourage more companies to go green. Among its programmes is the On-Line Eco-Office Rating System to help offices perform a self-audit based on their corporate environmental policies and management systems. Offices that rate well will undergo an on-site audit check and can apply for the coveted Green Office Label. CDL was among the pioneer four organisations in Singapore to secure the green office certification in 2005 which included government agencies like National Environment Agency and Ministry of Environment, Water and Resources. In 2006, another four more organisations were welcomed into the Green Office Label circle, including the British High Commission to serve as role models to champion the work green movement.

We have established a complimentary and permanent recycling scheme to encourage tenants and homeowners to recycle waste. 16 commercial developments and over 2,000 households are participating in this programme. Average tenant participation was 88%, an increase of 20% from 2005. We expect to reach out to a further 228 households by end 2007 with the completion of two new developments. As one of the good practices in maintaining operational efficiency of our major commercial buildings, we monitor and review the monthly energy and water consumption of both landlord and tenants. We highlight to tenants any abnormal consumption trends and work closely with them to improve their consumption efficiency.
SOCIAL PERFORMANCE

Enriching the Workplace
CDL has various policies and practices in place to help create a conducive work environment for our employees. We welcome diverse people in terms of background, age and religion and offer an environment for employees to feel included as part of the organisation. We provide opportunities for learning and self-development and continually seek ways to advance worklife harmony for a motivated and engaged workforce. More information can be obtained in our Human Resource Review on page 43.
A HEART FOR THE COMMUNITY

Giving back to the community has always been a key guiding principle at CDL. We contribute actively and widely to various causes for the environment, the arts, youth development and the less fortunate.

Caring for the Environment
CDL has been supporting on-going Green projects such as the Green Partnership Programme with the Singapore Environment Council, Nature Society’s official publication “Nature Watch”, as well as the China Exploration & Research Society in its exploration, research and conservation activities.

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City Square Residences, one of the two CDL projects awarded a Green Mark GoldPLUS by BCA.

The Reed Sculpture by Peter Chen, the winner of the inaugural CDL Singapore Sculpture Award, was unveiled. It is located along the Singapore River, next to The Pier at Robertson.

Our “Beauty of Nature” corporate calendar series, which celebrated its tenth year, highlighted the importance of environmental conservation. The calendars, distributed to business associates and employees, serve as a daily reminder that nature and its inhabitants are ours to protect. In celebration of the inaugural Singapore Garden Festival, I was glad to have contributed 12 photographs from my photo exhibition on nature for an auction. It raised $80,000 for the Garden City Fund which finances programmes such as conservation, outreach, education, research and infrastructure that facilitate the continued growth and development of the nation as a Garden City.

Promoting Art and Culture
In promoting the appreciation of arts, we are pleased to report that the winning work of the inaugural CDL Singapore Sculpture Award was produced and installed along the Singapore River, next to The Pier at Robertson, as a full-sized sculpture for the public to enjoy and appreciate. Our commitment to present and maintain this sculpture as a public art was made in conjunction with the National Heritage Board’s Public Art Tax Incentive Scheme. We will be commissioning the winning sculpture of the 2nd Award for the upcoming urban park at CDL’s City Square Mall.

CDL co-sponsored the Modern Art Society’s 21st Asian International Art Exhibition which promoted Asian identity through the arts and showcased more than 178 paintings, sculptures, digital photographs and video works by significant artists in 13 Asian countries and regions.

Nurturing the Young
The future belongs to the youth of today. Hence, youth development is an area of keen interest. We continue to invest and enrich the lives of young Singaporeans. Last year, we continued our long-standing support for the good work by National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) Council. We also supported the Boy’s Brigade’s “BB Cares” programme which inculcates community service and volunteerism among the youth. We initiated the CDL Young Architectural Photographer Award to inspire young photographers to further develop their skills and talent in the area of architectural photography. To be held biennially, this award provides our youth with the opportunity to showcase their talent and to further develop their skill sets and interest.

Improving the Lives of the Less Fortunate
In addition to monetary contributions, we offer our time and talent to create effective and sustainable programmes for our community partners. Through our employee volunteer programme, City Sunshine Club, we facilitated and encouraged employees and their families to volunteer their time to improve the lives of the community. Our programmes included visiting and befriending the lonely elderly, mentoring children-at-risk of delinquency, and organising festive and social outings for the less fortunate.

As a long time supporter of Assisi Hospice, we celebrated the year-end festivities with the patients in a meaningful and heartwarming way. Our staff volunteers rolled out fun-filled activities and excursions for the children as well as decked the Hospice with handmade Christmas decorations assiduously designed and created during their personal time. We also enlisted the help of our contractor and paint supplier in a joint community effort to brighten up the Hospice’s day centre with a fresh coat of paint.

The strong corporate culture of giving, coupled with the active involvement of our people in community work over the years, has helped the Company achieve the coveted Corporate Citizen Award, conferred by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre in 2006. We are very honoured and encouraged by this recognition, as CDL was the first local-based company to win this pinnacle community award which has mainly been awarded to multi-national corporations.

I hope this CSR report will provide a clear picture of what we do. As our CSR journey continues, we intend to refine and improve on our programmes to strengthen relationships with our community partners and reinforce business sustainability.
KWEK LENG JOO
Managing Director