StarHub earns first-ever ‘A’ rating in CDP climate change assessment

StarHub has received its first-ever ‘A’ rating in the CDP Climate Change Assessment, marking the highest score the company has achieved to date and a significant milestone in its sustainability journey.

The ‘A’ rating places StarHub among a small group of organisations globally recognised for leadership in climate transparency and action. CDP’s top rating is awarded to companies that demonstrate strong governance, robust risk management, credible emissions targets, and transparent disclosure of climate-related data. For StarHub, the recognition reflects a shift from disclosure-led compliance towards embedding climate considerations more deeply into everyday operations and long-term business planning.

The assessment evaluates how organisations identify, measure, manage, and communicate climate-related risks and opportunities. StarHub’s improved performance in the 2025 assessment follows a year of tighter operational discipline, improved data quality, and stronger execution across areas that are structurally complex for telecommunications operators.

From disclosure to operational integration

Operating large-scale, always-on digital and network infrastructure is inherently energy-intensive. For telco operators, emissions reduction is closely tied to maintaining network reliability and performance while managing rising data demand. Over the past year, StarHub has focused on lowering the carbon intensity of its operations without compromising service delivery.

Key initiatives include improving energy efficiency across network sites and data centres through advanced monitoring, increased virtualisation, and the progressive retirement of legacy systems. These measures are designed to reduce energy consumption while supporting operational resilience.

StarHub has also expanded its use of renewable energy through renewable electricity purchases and on-site solar deployment across its facilities. In parallel, the company has taken steps to decarbonise fleet and operational activities through cleaner mobility options, while strengthening emissions management practices across its supply chain.

Rather than treating climate performance as a standalone reporting exercise, StarHub has increasingly integrated emissions data, targets, and risk considerations into core operational decision-making. This shift has been central to its improved CDP score and reflects a more mature approach to climate governance.

Strengthening data quality and value chain engagement

A key contributor to StarHub’s ‘A’ rating was its deeper approach to data collection and value chain engagement. The company worked closely with key suppliers using a stewardship-led approach to obtain bottom-up, activity-based emissions data. This enabled more accurate measurement of emissions across its most material Scope 3 categories, which typically represent the largest and most complex portion of a telco’s carbon footprint.

By refining datasets with supplier-level inputs, StarHub strengthened the quality and credibility of its climate disclosures. This approach also supported more informed decision-making around emissions hotspots and reduction opportunities beyond its direct operations.

These efforts are guided by a practical decarbonisation and supplier engagement roadmap anchored in science-based principles. The roadmap outlines how StarHub intends to reduce emissions in line with longer-term ambitions towards 2030 and 2050, while recognising the operational realities of a capital-intensive, always-on industry.

The company has also demonstrated closer alignment between emissions performance and its science-based targets. This reflects a move beyond reporting numbers towards active climate risk management, particularly in areas where technological, commercial, or infrastructural constraints remain.

Building momentum through renewable energy and transparency

StarHub’s disclosure improvements are supported by tangible actions already underway. In 2024, the company introduced long-term Power Purchase Agreements to increase the share of renewable energy used across its operations. These agreements are intended to support a gradual reduction in the carbon footprint of its network over time.

At the same time, StarHub continues to disclose progress and challenges transparently, reflecting the complexity of decarbonising digital and network operations. This openness aligns with CDP’s emphasis on credibility and consistency, alongside ambition.

Achieving an ‘A’ rating marks an important milestone rather than an endpoint. It reflects stronger discipline, improved transparency, and sustained commitment to making meaningful progress in a complex, always-on industry. For telecommunications operators, where emissions are closely linked to infrastructure scale and service demand, this progress signals a more resilient and accountable approach to sustainability.

Beyond climate performance, StarHub continues to position sustainability as a core part of its broader corporate strategy. The company has been named among TIME’s World’s Most Sustainable Companies 2025 and ranked as the world’s most sustainable wireless telecommunication provider on the Corporate Knights Global 100 in 2025. It also ranks 187 on the FORTUNE Southeast Asia 500 for 2025 and is listed on the Singapore Exchange mainboard, where it is included in several sustainability-focused indices.