the future of good business
From the Editor’s Desk
Editor Jessica Cheam jcheam@eco-business.com
Writers Vaidehi Shah vaidehi@eco-business.com Medilyn Manibo medilyn@eco-business.com
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (second from right, in blue cap) at the People’s Climate March held in New York City, ahead of the Climate Summit that he hosted the UN headquarters on 23 September.
Mint Kang mint@eco-business.com Celine Lim celine@eco-business.com
Designer Zoran Maksimović
Jessica Cheam Editor
Contact Us Editorial: news@eco-business.com Advertising and marketing: partners@eco-business.com
PUBLISHED BY Eco-Business Pte Ltd 71 Ayer Rajah Crescent, 05-25, Singapore 139951
WWW
Watching the developments at the recent United Nations climate summit unfold from Asia, I was struck by UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s optimism, which shone through all the grand posturing and speeches delivered over the course of the week. Declaring that the meeting had delivered, the UN Secretary-General pointed to all the commitment and pledges made by government and business leaders as proof: financing for the Green Climate Fund, commitment from a coalition to mobilise US$200 billion for low-carbon and climate-resilient development, the doubling of the green bonds market, and the support for carbon pricing by major companies, among other pledges. Critics say this isn’t enough. After all, we’ve had a slew of sobering news recently. The World Meteorological Organisation last month reported that greenhouse gas emissions reached a record last year, and that our oceans are acidifying faster than at any time in the last 300 million years. WWF also reported that the planet has lost half of its wildlife in the past 40 years due to human threats. It is therefore useful that meetings like the UN climate summit help keep climate action in sharp focus and at the top of the global agenda.
There is growing momentum in the business world to take sustainability seriously, and this is increasingly evident in Asia, where a recent Accenture report observed that 76 per cent of Asian CEOs expect sustainability to transform their industries within the next five years. In other words, CEOs are realising that doing good business is good for business. This is why Eco-Business has adopted a new tagline, The Future of Good Business, which encapsulates our mission in writing about the companies and governments that are leading the way and advancing dialogue on this global shift towards a new form of capitalism. In this issue, we provide a snapshot of the state of responsible business in Asia in the run-up to the Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development to be held in Singapore next month. As the leading event on sustainable business in the region, the forum will convene regional business, government and civic society leaders to discuss why it is important that businesses re-think the way they operate and how to redefine the age-old Asian concept of prosperity. We also look at the pace of change that is gripping Asia’s energy landscape and look forward to the inaugural Asia Clean Energy Summit, which will seek to discuss ways to accelerate Asia’s path to renewable energy. We hope you will enjoy this issue as much as we did putting it together. Meanwhile, stay tuned as we continue to bring you reports on global developments in this space, especially in the lead up to the UNFCCC meeting in Lima, Peru, and what it means for business.
3