Make money and save the environment? How some Asian firms aim to achieve both goals

Despite the impact of climate change, many regional companies do not know how to derive value from sustainability, a survey shows

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Solar panels installed at Kusu Island in Singapore. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:00pm, 2 Nov 2024

As global leaders prepare to assess the impact of climate change at the coming UN’s Cop29 summit, more Asian companies are embarking on a sustainability path by balancing between the goals of revenue growth and environment protection.

These companies are exploring niche solutions to protect their communities facing harsh weather conditions and rising temperatures, even as they focus on ways to satisfy their shareholders.

The Cop29 summit will be held in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku from November 11-22.

“If the CEO does not drive profitable growth, it is not sustainable from his tenure standpoint or the organisation’s standpoint. We can’t antagonise the shareholders,” said Sunil Puri, a senior vice president at the Stewardship Asia Centre, a non-profit group which guides firms on sustainability goals alongside business growth.

There were multiple ways for companies to focus on sustainability and keep shareholders happy, Puri said. So long as companies could “consistently drive profitable growth”, shareholders would not be bothered by an environmental, social and governance (ESG) corporate agenda, he added.

The second way was to convince shareholders to look beyond quarterly earnings guidance and support climate-related business projects with a long-term horizon, Puri said.