NUS and Leading Bank Spearhead Pioneering Green Bond Reporting Tokenisation Initiative

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has introduced a first-of-its-kind green bond reporting tokenisation initiative in collaboration with a leading bank. This innovative project marks a significant milestone in green finance, with NUS becoming the first university in Singapore to adopt blockchain technology for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting.

The tokenisation initiative is part of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Guardian, a global effort to enhance the liquidity and efficiency of financial markets through asset tokenisation. By leveraging blockchain, the initiative aims to increase transparency, data integrity, and investor confidence in sustainable investment practices.

At the core of the initiative is the green bond reporting token, which will hold environmental impact data from NUS’s third green bond, issued in 2023. This token ensures that the data remains secure, immutable, and reliable, providing a transparent and tamper-proof record of the environmental impact of the bond.

For investors, this is critical as it guarantees that the data is unchanged, even as the bond is transferred between parties. This provides consistent and up-to-date reporting for investors’ sustainability obligations, enabling them to assess their progress toward their ESG goals.

A cutting-edge digital assets platform will be used to mint and store the green bond reporting token. The bank, acting as the lead arranger of the bond issuance, will gather vital feedback on how the tokenised data can improve investors’ sustainability reporting. This initiative is a crucial step in aligning green finance practices with global transparency and regulatory standards, advancing the sector’s overall credibility.

NUS Senior Vice President and Chief Finance Officer, Mr Tan Kian Woo, expressed the university’s pride in leading this first-in-market green bond reporting tokenisation initiative. He stated, “By creating a token that enhances the integrity and transparency of our environmental data, we aim to build greater confidence among investors, helping them meet their sustainability reporting goals.”

Mr Tan also emphasised that this initiative is just the beginning, as NUS continues to push the boundaries in sustainable financial practices.

The university has long been committed to sustainability, with a particular focus on campus decarbonisation. Mr Koh Yan Leng, Vice President (Campus Infrastructure) at NUS, shared, “Through this project, we are offering stakeholders prompt access to updates that support their sustainability reporting needs. This reflects our ongoing efforts to optimise energy use and reduce carbon emissions across our campuses.”

These efforts demonstrate NUS’s ongoing and long-term commitment to driving innovation in sustainability.

The collaboration underscores the transformative potential of blockchain technology in the green finance space. By leveraging digital assets platforms, the initiative ensures the integrity and transparency of green bond reporting data, which is crucial for investors. This initiative is a step forward in creating a more sustainable financial ecosystem. Such partnerships highlight the growing significance of digital assets in sustainable finance.

The bank’s Head of Group Investment Banking also highlighted the importance of this project in driving the future of sustainable finance, “Through this tokenisation initiative, we are providing real-world feedback on the usability of tokenised data, ensuring that it meets the standards required for transparent and reliable sustainability reporting.”

This tokenisation initiative is just the first phase of a broader partnership between NUS and other stakeholders. The collaboration, formalised in a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in November 2024, will focus on fostering cutting-edge research and developing solutions to address challenges in ESG finance.

Through this innovative project, NUS continues to lead the way in green finance, exploring new opportunities for tokenisation to improve transparency, accountability, and impact in the sustainable finance sector. The success of this initiative could pave the way for future industry-wide adoption and further global recognition.