1500hrs - 1630hrs SGT (GMT +8)
Global business leaders are eager to position themselves as sustainability champions, with firms setting aggressive climate and net zero carbon targets. The strong rhetoric has drawn some concern from regulators, investors and consumers about greenwashing
Fears about greenwashing — and being caught doing it — have propelled action to increase the quality of climate and environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related disclosures. The creation of disclosure standards is one step on the path to building a definitive language that the world’s regulators can use to assess sustainability metrics. Regulations and standards should help guard against ESG greenwashing, but harmonisation of these standards is some way off.
In Asia, corporates and financial institutions are under pressure to comply with tightening regulations for ESG reporting. They are also having to prove to customers, regulators and investors that their sustainability claims are genuine and transparent. With sprawling supply chains, patchy governance and an inadequate skill set to measure ESG, Asian firms risk falling short of globally recognised benchmarks.
Some questions arise: How are disclosure frameworks being applied in key Asia markets? What does the future hold for ESG regulations, as the region starts to get tougher on greenwashing? What is the outlook for businesses operating in Asia, and how can they prepare for the increasing, but inevitable, scrutiny into their ESG credentials? How can businesses effectively respond?
In this first of a two-part webinar series, we will discuss these important questions as we dive into insights as to how ready Asian businesses are for the implementation of ESG regulations.
Learn more about the second part of the webinar series here.
Director of Partnerships, Eco-Business
Vice President, Group Corporate Sustainability, Singtel & Optus
Chief Sustainability Officer, UOB
Head of Asia Pacific ESG Solutions at S&P Global Sustainable1
Deputy Editor, Eco-Business