SINGAPORE – Companies can do well by doing good – this was the key message from the Steward Leadership Summit, which was held at the Shangri-La Singapore on Wednesday.

Steward leadership is born out of a desire to pursue a corporate agenda beyond profit-making, and it permeates every part of the organisation, from its business model to its strategy and corporate culture, said Mr Rajeev Peshawaria, chief executive of Stewardship Asia Centre, a non-profit organisation set up by Temasek Holdings.

He added that the goal is to create a better future for all stakeholders, including the society, the environment and future generations.

Speaking at the summit, Temasek Holdings chairman Lim Boon Heng said a mindset shift is needed to drive everyone to work together towards “creating that collective better future”.

He added that this better future requires everyone, regardless of their roles in society, to step up to play their part and do the right thing.

“This will help ensure that we leave this world in a better shape for the current and future generations,” he said.

Mr Lim also unveiled the inaugural list of 25 companies that were honoured on Wednesday for doing well by doing good. They are from diverse industries, including financial services, transportation, agribusiness and real estate.

The Steward Leadership 25 list will be expanded to cover more parts of Asia over the next four to five years, with South Korea expressing interest in participating in 2023, said Mr Peshawaria.

The inaugural list is made up mostly of companies from Singapore and other parts of South-east Asia. Further down the road, the Stewardship Asia Centre might consider extending the listing to companies globally.

The 25 companies in the list

• Angkas, Philippines
• Avtar Group, India
• Ayala Corporation, Philippines
• BNP Paribas Asset Management, Singapore
• CapitaLand Investment, Singapore
• City Developments, Singapore
• DBS Bank, Asia-Pacific
• Faber-Castell, Asia-Pacific
• Farm Fresh, Malaysia
• Foreword Coffee, Singapore
• Genashtim, Singapore
• GUAVA Amenities, Asia-Pacific
• Mandai Wildlife Group, Indonesia
• Marico, India
• Mirvac Group, Australia
• Noburo Platform, Thailand
• OCBC Bank, Singapore
• reach52, Asia-Pacific
• Sunway Group, Malaysia
• Tata Consultancy Services, Singapore
• Thai Wah Public Company, Thailand
• The Social Kitchen, Singapore
• UAL Biotech, Asia-Pacific
• UBS, Asia-Pacific
• UOB, Asia-Pacific