English 
简体中文 
The article is excerpted from Lianhe Zaobao:
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/finance/singapore/story20221108-1330857
According to the Sustainable Trade Index report released by the Lausanne School of Management and the Henrich Foundation, the Sustainable Trade Index has three evaluation indicators, namely economic, social and environmental. Topping the list is New Zealand, followed by the UK, Hong Kong and Japan.
When the macroeconomic environment is unstable, it becomes even more important for economies to strike a balance between trade and sustainable development. Singapore's Sustainable Trade Index ranks third in the Asia-Pacific region and fifth globally.
Topping the list is New Zealand, followed by the UK, Hong Kong and Japan.
The Sustainable Trade Index, released on Tuesday (November 8) by the Lausanne Institute of Management (IMD) and the Hinrich Foundation, reports that the Sustainable Trade Index has three assessment indicators, namely economic, social and environmental. .
According to the report, my country's economic indicators ranked second in the world with a score of 88.8, second only to Hong Kong.
This is because Singapore is an important financial center in the region. my country has performed well in attracting foreign investment and has developed technological infrastructure, which reflects my country's ability to promote economic growth through international trade.
However, our country scored lower on the social and environmental dimensions. Social 73.1 points, ranking ninth in the world; environment 72.8 points, ranking 10th in the world.
The report analyzes the economic growth, social capital development and environmental protection of 30 economies around the world, factors that affect trade sustainability when political tensions and inflation are severe, to assess the ability of economies to carry out long-term sustainable trade.
Top Economies Promote Technological Innovation
The report found that the top-ranked economies promote technological innovation, have low trade barriers, have high life expectancy, conserve energy and support global climate goals.
In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Professor Arturo Bris, director of the Competitiveness Center at the Lausanne School of Management in Switzerland, said that Singapore has gained a competitive advantage by relying on global trade. my country's economic indicators ranked second in the world, reflecting my country's economic openness and free trade.
“Singapore is one of the countries with the best environmental standards and participates in most of the conferences related to trade quality. The country performs well in wastewater treatment and has effective carbon pricing and carbon offsetting. policy."
As for social standards, although our country places great emphasis on talent development and high-skilled jobs, there is room for improvement in labor standards. my country's labor standards ranks 24th in the world.
Professor Brees believes that improving labour standards in manufacturing exports and services can help improve our country's performance in sustainable trade.
Professor Brees pointed out that globalization and sustainable development are at odds with each other. “Companies and countries have used global trade and sourcing to improve financial returns, but now we are well aware that this will affect sustainable development to a certain extent, such as the depletion of energy and natural resources.”
Therefore, both government and business leaders must strike a balance between being able to support the national economy while meeting environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.
