An active advocate for green building and sustainability for over two decades, Esther has been instrumental in establishing CDL’s leadership in sustainability. It is ranked top real estate company on the 2021 Global100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World. It became the first real estate conglomerate in Southeast Asia to sign theWorldGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings in February 2021.  Key ESG initiatives she has spearheaded include publishing the first sustainability report in Singapore in 2008; issuing the first green bond by a Singaporean company in 2017 and building an integrated sustainability reporting framework since 2015.  

A forerunner in embracing the UN SDGs, Esther was conferred 2018 SDG Pioneer for Green Infrastructure and A Low Carbon Economy by the UN Global Compact.  She is also signatory for the UNGC Caring for Climate network and an executive council member of the UN ESCAP Sustainable Business Network. She sits on the boards or advisory platforms of several organisations, including World Green BuildingCouncil, Global Reporting Initiative, GRESB Asian Real Estate BenchmarkCommittee and UNEP FI Real Estate Work Group. She chairs the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association’s Sustainability andESG Committee; Co-Chairs the Urban Land Institute Singapore’s SustainabilityProduct Council and is the Vice-Chairperson of the Singapore Institute ofDirectors’ ESG Committee.