Sharpening the ESG focus 2026: Driving sustainable capital with confidence

Sharpening the ESG Focus is Eco-Business Intelligence’s annual outlook briefing helping leaders get a jump start on Asia’s sustainability agenda for the year ahead.

Held in Q1 every year, this event has become an essential “pulse check” for the region’s sustainability community, offering an early-year checkpoint on how global forces in geopolitics, finance, and the environment are redefining corporate strategy and risk.

Each edition charts Asia’s evolving sustainability agenda, covering themes such as disclosure frameworks, transition finance, supply-chain decarbonisation, nature and biodiversity, greenwashing and more.

Now in its third year, it has become the region’s essential checkpoint for executives, policymakers, and academics to stay ahead of the curve.

Building on the success of last year’s session, Sharpening the ESG Focus 2026 will convene sustainability practitioners, financial professionals, and policy observers to explore the next phase of ESG integration where compliance meets capital mobilisation and resilience. The day will open with a high-level briefing from COP30 and their implications for Asia’s markets, outlining how global climate and biodiversity goals are translating into regional disclosure, investment, and trade dynamics. ‍

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Part 1: CSO Outlook and Insights Masterclass

A half-day masterclass highlighting key trends to watch in 2025, followed by a topic-by-topic deep-dive into issues that are becoming mission critical for directors and managers assuming the role and responsibilities of the chief sustainability officer. This masterclass will cover:  

1. Geopolitics and sustainability in a fragmenting world – Key outcomes from COP 30, how China–US tariff shifts are reshaping clean-tech supply chains, rare-earth access, and corporate ESG strategies across Singapore and Asia, while driving liquidity risks and financial market volatility.
2. Evolving ESG regulation and disclosure – updates from MAS and SGX regarding IFRS S1 and S2, EU Omnibus developments, and a spotlight on ACRA’s Book of Knowledge
3. Nature and biodiversity finance – what “nature-positive” means for investors, insurers, and asset managers, including metrics and pipeline examples.
4. Carbon markets in Asia – From offsets to obligations, the fragility of the carbon markets is still an important tool for credible decarbonization. What will be the way forward in 2026?
5. Health as a growing material climate risk – the financial materiality of physical and social health impacts; implications for insurers, property managers, and investors.
6. Greenwashing safeguards – The latest on financial and non-financial guidelines against greenwashing

*The masterclass is recommended for C-suite and senior executives with corporate sustainability responsibilities. Space is highly limited and subject to review and confirmation by Eco-Business Intelligence. ‍

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Part 2: Shifting Centres of Gravity: Asia’s rise in the transition economy

2026 marks a strategic pivot in global climate governance: voluntary alliances are fragmenting, investor coalitions are recalibrating claims, and the credibility question is moving from pledges to proof of capital deployment. At the same time, China’s state-led industrial policy is redefining competitiveness in solar, EVs, batteries, and critical minerals - shifting price discovery, trade flows, and supply security across Asia.  

This panel will explore what comes next: Who will drive the energy transition order in Asia? Will carbon credits stabilise? Will Asia’s real economy momentum ultimately rewire sustainable finance from rhetoric to reality?  

The programme will culminate in an interactive panel and networking session open to a wider tenant audience.  

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Who should attend:  

◾ Senior Management with sustainability responsibilities  

◾ Investment leads and analysts  

◾ Insurance executives  

◾ Senior media and communications leads  

◾ Policy observers and academia

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Price (excluding GST)

Support our work by joining as an EB Circle or Enterprise member!

◾ Full day session - S$600 (S$390 for EB Circle/Premium/Enterprise members)

◾ Panel dialogue & networking session only - S$60 (S$40 for EB Circle/Premium/Enterprise members)