Increasing ESG practices can help Asia reach goals of carbon neutrality
Asia-Pacific stock market data on LED display screen (Pavel Bobrovskiy/Shutterstock)
Since Larry Fink of BlackRock wrote to the world’s CEOs in 2020 advocating for sustainability as a new standard for investing, corporate enterprises around the world have faced increased pressure to improve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) profiles. Many Western companies, including Microsoft, Apple, Salesforce, and Delta have followed through, pledging to become carbon-negative or neutral, sending a clear signal that the private sector needs to fulfill its roles in solving the health, climate, and biodiversity crises. However, in general, East Asian companies have not exhibited the same corporate ambition and commitment to environmentally and socially sustainable investment. For example, among major stock markets, China’s CSI 300 companies received the lowest ranking in Bloomberg’s ESG disclosure.