@ green | September-October , 2020

Bad air quality causes allergic reactions .

By Kavickumar Muruganathan

Thick orange haze above San Francisco on Sept 9 , 2020 from record wildfires in California , daytime view of ash and smoke floating over the Bay Area .

Subsequent significant drops were witnessed during the global economic recessions in 1975 , 1983 and 2009 , resulting in 100 , 1000 and 300 tonnes of carbon emissions reduction respectively .

Projections based on current travel , work and industry restrictions have estimated emissions to drop by 2500 million tons globally for 2020 . Singapore too will face reductions in absolute emissions with the implementation of circuit breaker measures .

Overall air quality has already improved significantly as a result of reduced industrial and socio-economic activities brought about by the restrictions put in place and increased telecommuting .

Singapore has recorded reduced pollutant levels in the atmosphere . The average Nitrogen Dioxide ( NO2 ) level was 13 µ g / m3 , down from 27 µ g / m3 in the same period last year .

The average levels of Particulate Matter ( PM ) 10 and 2.5 , carbon monoxide ( CO ) and sulphur dioxide had also fallen by between 8 per cent and 43 per cent as a result of the circuit breaker measures .

With this , Singapore ’ s daily pollutant levels are now within the World Health Organization ( WHO ) air quality guidelines , something it had struggled to achieve in the past .

There has been a spike in the use of disposals and packaging material , air-conditioning and the dependence on food delivery services . But this has been offset and dwarfed by a reduction in commute to work and social activities .

Though experts reckon the drop in emissions and improvement in air quality may be short-lived , it offers the environment a temporary respite from the toll posed by human activity .

Employers have a critical role to play

Much of the damage done is irreversible and more needs to be done beyond this global pandemic to mitigate climate change .

While industrial activity is expected to pick up once restrictions are relaxed , telecommuting instead of business travel can potentially become the new norm . It can be one strategic lever for corporates looking to decarbonise and reduce their environmental risk exposure .

At a national level , this episode will provide food for thought on long term emission mitigation measures that would contribute towards the climate goal of halving emissions from 2030 peak by 2050 .

The social impact of Covid-19 on mental health and emotional wellbeing has been tremendous , given the anxiety and uncertainty over the future . Calls to mental health hotlines have gone up , expressing worries about health and economic fallout .

The suicide prevention agency Samaritans of Singapore ’ s

( SOS ) received an increase of more than 22 per cent in the number of calls attended to in March as compared to that of the same period last year .

The invisibility of the virus has resulted in paranoia and an attitude of hypervigilance and overthinking that impact mental health negatively .

Restrictions on movement have broken routine and socialisation and changed lifestyle patterns , compounding existential stressors . Domestic violence and conflict also saw an increase during the implementation of movement restriction measures , with 476 police reports from April to May .

Employers have a critical role to play in addressing the mental wellbeing of their employees . The pandemic offers corporates an opportunity to restructure their approach to employee wellness and place a greater emphasis on managing mental health at workplaces .

This might result in redesigning workplaces to integrate more greenery and having more flexible working arrangements to embrace work-life harmony . Traditional employee benefits and reward systems can make way for more liberal systems that embrace diversity and inclusivity .

On a positive note , the pandemic has brought out the best in some corporates attempting to do good . On the onset of the pandemic , the Jobs Support Scheme ( JSS ) was launched to provide wage support for companies to retain local employees .

A total of 32 companies have returned pay-outs totalling $ 35 million and will not take future pay-outs . Some have decided to donate the funds to causes supporting migrant worker assistance , animal cruelty and humanitarian services .

DBS Bank donated $ 2.5 million to help feed vulnerable groups and provide 200,000 meals to the elderly and lowincome families . CITI Singapore is providing about 1,600 of its employees a $ 1,200 special compensation award .

The moral deliverable and the sense of shared responsibility and community for corporations has heightened during this period . It could potentially be transformational in shifting the needle and witness the more systemic sharing of social burden between the government and corporates .

Back to the drawing board

This will allow for a more targetted approach for assisting groups that may not have been picked up by government social safety nets . It sets the path towards a more holistic approach towards nation building and caring for the community .

Because of the pandemic , corporates have found it harder to hold their Annual General Meetings ( AGMs ). To ensure critical business decisions , such as dividend payouts that may affect the cash flow of investors , are not compromised , the Covid-19 ( Temporary Measures ) Bill passed amendments to allow AGMs to be held virtually .

A smaller quorum number could also be set with documents for notice of meetings sent electronically instead of hard copy . Provision for proxy voting has been made with one specific officeholder , designated as the sole proxy , as a safeguard with extension in timelines for the conduct of AGMs .

On a larger scale , travel restrictions could limit the work of external auditors , potentially leading to incomplete reports or late filings which could , in turn , impact compliance with debt covenants and contribute to additional uncertainty to markets .

Asset and liability valuation could be affected by the need to perform additional impairment tests . With asset values under pressure , write-downs can be expected in areas such as investments and intangibles .

This will have a profound impact on current accounts , year-end results , future earnings and dividend payments .

More crucially , this black swan event will force companies to go back to the drawing board to revisit their contingency strategies and reinforce that business will no longer be usual again . — @ green

Kavickumar Muruganathan is a sustainability professional .