It brings me great pleasure to present to you the company’s inaugural sustainability report. This report marks a significant step in our organisation’s path towards greater sustainability for the future. It not only provides an account of our corporate social responsibility performance, but also demonstrates our on-going commitment towards greater transparency in the disclosure of our company’s activities.

PowerSeraya has in recent years faced challenges of fuel security in our resource-constrained world, and increased competition in the retail electricity market in Singapore. Coupled with the current global financial crisis, they add further pressure on economic returns for our shareholders. Amidst the economic challenges, the company recognises the need to continue its sustainable development path and balance its economic, social and environmental performance to ensure the company’s success.

With power generation as our core business, we have a strong dependence on fossil fuels and an undeniable association with carbon. Over the years, we have embarked on a journey towards more energy-efficient technologies as well as switched to less carbon-intensive fuels. This has allowed the company to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by about 30% over the past decade. Moving forward, our sustainable development plans include the construction of an 800MW Natural Gas-fired Combined Cycle Power Plant which has the potential to deliver a further 10% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions come 2010. Our newly constructed desalination plant also complements our integrated energy strategy to provide steam and cooling water to our customers in an economic and sustainable manner. We will persevere in our journey by continuously examining our business and its impact on the environment.

At PowerSeraya, our environmental approach covers the workplace and community at large. We monitor our resource consumption in our corporate headquarters and conduct regular internal initiatives to educate employees on environmental issues. It is my desire that through the organisation’s actions, our employees will be inspired to do their part in adopting sustainable practices not only at work but also extending these to their homes. Beyond the workplace, we aim to raise environmental awareness among the general public through joint efforts with non-governmental organisations and schools.

Placing great emphasis on our social performance is also high on the corporate agenda. We believe that creating an inclusive and nurturing working environment for our employees is key for continued growth. Besides encouraging a healthy work-life balance, our on-going investment in training and development provide ample opportunities for employees to enhance their capabilities.

PowerSeraya’s social contributions extend to our customers and the community. Over the years, our retail subsidiary Seraya Energy has been educating our customers to better manage their energy consumption as part of its efforts to help minimise their electricity costs and lower their carbon footprint. We owe it to our customers to engage them in such climate change mitigation efforts even if it seems counter intuitive to the goal of an energy company. To reach out to talented individuals of the younger generation, we have also established other initiatives such as the Nithiah Nandan Book Prize award and the PowerSeraya Scholarship Programme with Nanyang Technological University. Our investments in our future leaders and citizens represent opportunities for them to develop and nurture their talents and serve as good role models in society.

I hope this report will give you a holistic understanding of the company and our progress towards sustainable development. The road to sustainability is a tough one but I am convinced that this is the right path to take so that our children would have a better world to live in and continue to enjoy the simple pleasures that nature provides and which pure economic success cannot buy.

Neil Garry McGregor
Managing Director
PowerSeraya Ltd