BY FATIHAH MANAF

The ASEAN Climate Governance Network , in collaboration with the Sustainable Finance Institute Asia , recently organised a webinar entitled “ How is the climate agenda going to affect me ?”, discussing the Environmental , Social , and Governance ( ESG ) journey of public listed companies .

The session , moderated by Dato ’ Seri Johan Raslan , Director of Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia , featured Helge Muenkel ( Chief Sustainability Officer of DBS Singapore ), Tayakorn Jitrakuldhacha ( Director of Bond Department , Securities and Exchange Commission Thailand ), and Jenifer Thien ( Independent Non-Executive Director of UEM Edgenta Berhad ).

The ESG investing trends

Muenkel highlighted that rewiring the economies would require collective action . No one can tackle climate change alone , and one of the critical roles of financial institutions is the reallocation of capital away from unsustainable activities towards sustainable activities .

He said : “ We need to rewire our economies . We must completely change how we do our businesses and transition to lower carbon , more sustainable societies .”

“ Very importantly , we need to do this justly because different people will be affected by this transition in different ways , and we need to make sure that we take everyone along on this journey .”

Muenkel said whilst sustainability challenges were daunting , governments and businesses were accelerating their efforts on sustainability . More and more countries have started to commit to the net-zero pledges , and more and more companies incorporate science-based decarbonisation plans and targets in their operations .

“ There ’ s an explosion of Assets under

Management that seeks to invest in ESGfocused opportunities . There is a tsunami of money to invest in sustainable opportunities effectively .”

He then shared that DBS had a reasonably comprehensive approach to sustainability , focusing on responsible banking , business practices and impact beyond banking .

Sustainable financial initiatives in Thailand

Three financial regulatory authorities in Thailand are the Bank of Thailand ( BOT ), the Thai SEC , and the Office of Insurance Commission ( OIC ).

Tayakorn said : “ We ( regulators ) establish and mandate the Financial Sector Working Group on Sustainable Finance to develop a sustainable finance policy framework to foster a culture of sustainable finance throughout Thailand ’ s financial sector .”

In Aug 2021 , the working group jointly published Sustainable Financial Initiatives for Thailand . The initiatives recommend five critical strategic initiatives ( KSIs ) as follows : 1 . Developing a practical taxonomy 2 . Improving the data environment 3 . Implementing effective incentives 4 . Creating demand-led products and services 5 . Building human capital

For the capital market , Takayorn stated that the Thai SEC with other stakeholders , laid out a map for developing the ecosystem for sustainable finance . He said there were three focus areas of the initiative to spur the action on climate governance among listed companies .

“ The first area is the supply side . Beginning this year , all listed companies in Thailand must disclose the sustainability information integrated with the business report . It will include the carbon emissions information and the human life issues .

Tayakorn highlighted the tone at the top concept , saying the board of directors should have a clear sustainability policy .

“ The second area is the demand side which is the product . Bond is one of the most prominent instruments in sustainable development . We saw promising trends for ESG-bond in 2021 .

“ The last area will be cooperation . Thai SEC has been working closely with other

financial authorities and regulators to develop plans to transform the five KSIs into concrete actions and tangible results .”

Embracing new sustainable ways of working

Thien shared that she had 26 years of experience working at Mars Incorporated before joining her current organisation . More than 15 years ago , as a business , Mars Incorporated faced a series of sustainability and climate change issues , including deforestation , loss of biodiversity , GHG emissions , overfishing , child slavery , and forced labour .

“ All of these issues seemed to present themselves to Mars in a brief period . It was unprecedented and uncharted territory for us ,” said Thien .

“ As a big business with solid brand names , we were quickly put in the spotlight and held to account . We were initially defensive but soon realised that our old ways of working and thinking would have to change , and we needed to adapt and develop new muscles quickly .

“ Fast forward to 2022 , Mars Sustainable in a Generation Plan is held as one of the role models in the fast-moving consumer goods world . It gives the business a solid foundation to deliver their commitments , including the net-zero target .”

Thien highlighted that the progress for the business to get to where it is today was not a straight line . It started with acknowledging the business itself regarding issues related to the ESG .

“ As a business with huge environmental and social footprints , we have a huge responsibility to be part of the solution . We need to take full accountability and deal with our historical liability .” — @ Green

Helge Muenkel

Jenifer Thien

Tayakorn Jitrakuldhacha