More than half of Singapore real estate investment trusts, or S-REITs, have yet to plan for sustainability assurance readiness despite greater investor scrutiny and their role in the city's built-environment transition, PwC Singapore said in a report Monday.
According to a survey of 20 S-REITs representing 48% of the sector's total assets under management, 60% had no plans to obtain external assurance over sustainability-related information.
Meanwhile, only 25% of the S-REITs surveyed had made plans for sustainability assurance readiness, while another 15% had already done so.
The sustainability assurance readiness ensures S-REITs' environmental, social, and governance data, internal controls, and reporting processes can pass an independent, third-party audit.
"Our study highlights that external assurance amongst S-REITs remains limited, alongside ongoing challenges in obtaining complete, audit-quality data, particularly where data relies on third parties such as tenants and service providers," PwC Singapore said in its report.