ESGN

23/07/2021

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the global body enabling businesses to set emissions reduction targets in line with climate science, is unveiling a new strategy to increase minimum ambition in corporate target setting from ‘well below 2°C’ to ‘1.5°C’ above pre-industrial levels. All companies and financial institutions that submit targets from 15 July 2022 will need to align to the new criteria.

Read more: https://esgn.asia/sbti-raises-the-bar-to-1-5c/

19/07/2021

Nintendo’s best-selling game, Pokémon Go, has caused numerous fatalities and accidents #

Read more: https://esgn.asia/nintendos-best-selling-game-pokemon-go-has-caused-numerous-fatalities-and-accidents/

Written by: Kanak Gupta Impaakt is a crowd-sourced, collaborative platform that relies on collective intelligence to produce high-quality impact analyses and scores available to all of us, for free. Augmented Reality (AR) is described as a technology that lets computer-based content add to the real....

16/07/2021

GRI and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) Project task Force announced a Statement of Cooperation, agreeing to share technical expertise to co-construct new EU sustainability reporting standards and contribute to further global convergence. This collaboration aims to assist the European Commission in fulfilling its objective to increase corporate transparency in support of the European Green Deal. Requirements for companies to report to new European sustainability reporting standards is set out in the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) proposal.

Read more: https://esgn.asia/gri-welcomes-role-as-co-constructor-of-new-eu-sustainability-reporting-standards/

12/07/2021

United Overseas Bank invested $955.6 Mn via loans and underwritings in coal companies

Read more: https://esgn.asia/united-overseas-bank-invested-955-6-mn-via-loans-and-underwritings-in-coal-companies/

09/07/2021

SLBs are on the rise and are being increasingly adopted by more and more corporates.

Read more: https://esgn.asia/sustainability-linked-bond-offers-more-flexibility/

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated and strengthened the interest of different stakeholders in sustainable investment. The transition toward sustainability in financial markets has been gaining momentum and this is reflected clearly in green bond issuance in 2021. Increasing investor demands and g...

07/07/2021

Along with China Unicom, China Mobile invested $5.8 billion in the Telecommunication Universal Service project, which focuses on bridging the digital divide between the rural and urban population. The project focuses on speed upgrade and tariff reduction so that the rural population have equal access to internet.

Read more: https://esgn.asia/china-mobile-is-bridging-the-gap-between-rural-and-urban-digital-divide-in-china/

Written by: Meenakshi Narayanan Impaakt is a crowd-sourced, collaborative platform that relies on collective intelligence to produce high-quality impact analyses and scores available to all of us, for free. In 2020, China had 940 million internet users. While 71.8% of these users are concentrated in...

05/07/2021

SHKP leased to land worth USD($)128,000 NGO’s to provide homes for low-income families. This program will provide 2,000 apartments to families who have been waiting for public housing. The average wait time is 5 and a half years. The first project, which is expected to be completed by 2022, would shelter 1,600 families. Another project will be carried out on 3.7 hectares to supply 2,000 transitional apartments. #

Read more: https://esgn.asia/sung-hung-kai-properties-is-assisting-in-the-construction-of-2000-homes-for-low-income-families/

Written by: Citaugu Impaakt is a crowd-sourced, collaborative platform that relies on collective intelligence to produce high-quality impact analyses and scores available to all of us, for free. According to the United Nations Human Settlement Program, 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing,...

30/06/2021

Women’s representation in KPL’s overall workforce is at 37%, but 50% in management and 43% in managerial positions. Although it has almost closed its pay gap, KPL must adopt measures to achieve workforce gender balance. #

Read more: https://esgn.asia/kpls-workforce-has-only-a-37-representation-of-women-but-50-in-management-positions/

Written by Tejaswi Chunduri Impaakt is a crowd-sourced, collaborative platform that relies on collective intelligence to produce high-quality impact analyses and scores available to all of us, for free. Empowering women uplifts the social and financial prospects of families, communities, and countri...

28/06/2021

The Carbon Trust published a new white paper examining the carbon impact of streaming video on demand to improve the understanding of the carbon emissions associated with video streaming and enable future decisions to be based on informed understanding of the methods, complexity, and uncertainties involved. The study is released at a time of high demand for video streaming, but little consensus of video streaming’s impact on the climate.

https://esgn.asia/updated-carbon-impact-of-video-streaming/

The Carbon Trust published a new white paper examining the carbon impact of streaming video on demand to improve the understanding of the carbon emissions associated with video streaming and enable future decisions to be based on informed understanding of the methods, complexity, and uncertainties i...

25/06/2021

SoftBank launches $100 million fund investing in ‘people of colour’

SoftBank has recently created a separate $100 million fund specifically dedicated to people of colour. To start with, SoftBank will invest $2 million or more in 14 US startups led by black founders and other underrepresented groups. Though this is a welcomed step, it amounts to only a fraction of the overall funds managed by SoftBank. Their flagship, $100 Billion Vision Fund had invested “in just one company with a sole founder who was black, and one other company with a black co-founder, over its three-year existence”. The real success will come when black entrepreneurs can easily access mainstream banks and investors for funding their future growth and scale-up.

Read more: https://esgn.asia/softbank-launches-100-million-fund-investing-in-people-of-colour/

Written by: Sandeep Panikkal Impaakt is a crowd-sourced, collaborative platform that relies on collective intelligence to produce high-quality impact analyses and scores available to all of us, for free. Racism has been a scar on our society, which still exists even after years of struggle and polic...

23/06/2021

In 2020, Singtel set up a Gender Diversity Council to expedite steps towards having 30% women in middle and top management by end of 2020. However, they managed to have 26% and 28% respectively.

Although Singtel’s female representation is above the industry average, the proportion in top and middle-management is still low. It needs to take aggressive steps to attain gender balance at all levels.


Read more:https://esgn.asia/with-28-women-in-top-and-middle-management-levels-singapore-telecom-yet-to-achieve-gender-balance/

Written by: Andrew Mathai Impaakt is a crowd-sourced, collaborative platform that relies on collective intelligence to produce high-quality impact analyses and scores available to all of us, for free. Participation of women in the labour force in 2019 stood at 47% compared to 74% men. According to I...

21/06/2021

“Modern biotechnology is technology based on biology that provides breakthrough products and technologies to combat diseases, reduce the environmental footprint, feed the hungry, use less and cleaner energy, and have safer, cleaner, and more efficient industrial manufacturing processes“. Biotech has significant importance, especially during times such as now when infectious diseases such as COVID-19 are rapidly emerging with more than 144 million cases up until now worldwide. Biotech companies came to the rescue and led the fight against it, providing vaccines for more than 212 Mn people.

The global biotechnology market size was valued at USD 449 Bn in 2019 and is expected to continually grow. One of the major drivers of this growth in the financial aspect has been Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). HKEX is one of the world’s leading IPO markets, operating a range of equity, commodity, fixed income, and currency markets. In 2020, HKEX raised USD 76.8 Bn of equity funds.

Read more:
https://esgn.asia/hkex-is-helping-biotech-companies-raise-billions-through-its-platform/

Written by: Imisae Impaakt is a crowd-sourced, collaborative platform that relies on collective intelligence to produce high-quality impact analyses and scores available to all of us, for free. “Modern biotechnology is technology based on biology that provides breakthrough products and technologie...

18/06/2021

China Mobile contributed to smart city development through 5G and IoT innovations

Around 55% of the world’s population reside in cities around the world. The number of people living in cities will be reaching 68% by 2050. Around 2.5 Bn people are projected to get added to the urban population by 2050. As the urban population is increasing, there is a necessity to transform cities into smart cities where resources are utilized optimally.

Internet of Things (IoT) is a connected network of a large number of devices through which data can be transferred seamlessly. IoT can be leveraged to transform an urban area into a smart city. IoT plays an important role in improving the efficiency of smart cities by effective management of traffic, reduction of pollution, and improved safety. 5th generation mobile network (5G) also augments efforts to develop smart cities by offering scalable connectivity across the city.

China Mobile is one of the leading telecommunication service providers across Mainland China and Hong Kong. As of 2019, the company is estimated to have around 456,239 employees and 950 Mn customers. China Mobile spearheads smart city development through the latest technologies such as 5G and IoT.

As of 2019, China Mobile has 884 Mn IoT connections. It also deployed 50,000 5G base stations and offers 5G services to more than 50 cities. The company, through its innovation hub called “And-Creation,” incubated projected related to smart cities and IoT. As of 2019, 40 such projects were incubated. In 2018, The company implemented IoT based smart parking system in 4,000 spaces of Yunnan province. In Southeast Guizhou, its smart parking system connected more than 300 parking bays. The smart parking system implemented by the company reduced power consumption and reduced costs.

China Mobile contributed positively to the goal of smart cities by offering cutting-edge technology such as IoT and 5G. It can further maximize its impact by expanding its projects to more cities.

16/06/2021

HKEX Names New Group Head of Internal Audit

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is pleased to announce last Friday (Jun 11th) that it has named Ms Winsome Ng as Managing Director and Group Head of Internal Audit.

In her new role, Ms Ng will oversee HKEX Group’s Internal Audit function, as well as providing independent assurance to the Board on the group’s risk management, governance and internal control processes.

Ms Ng will join HKEX in early September, and will directly report to both Nicolas Aguzin, HKEX Chief Executive Officer, and Stephen Yiu, Chairman of HKEX’s Audit Committee.

HKEX Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Aguzin said: “I am very pleased to be welcoming Winsome to HKEX. She brings solid experience and technical knowledge of the financial services sector and capital markets to our business, and I look forward to working with her as we continue to strengthen and advance Hong Kong’s role as a leading international financial centre.”

Ms Ng joins HKEX from Credit Suisse, where she was Managing Director and Chief Auditor, Asia Pacific for the past five years, responsible for risk assessments and audit coverage of the bank’s Asia-Pacific businesses across 10 markets. Prior to this, Ms Ng spent nearly 19 years at J.P. Morgan, where she was most recently Managing Director and Regional Audit Head, Asia Pacific – Corporate and Investment Bank.

Ms Ng holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in accounting and commercial law, from the University of Melbourne in Australia. She is a qualified Certified Practicing Accountant in Hong Kong and Australia.

16/06/2021

No major G7 stock index aligned with Paris climate goals

New research from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a body enabling businesses to set ambitious emissions reduction targets, reveals that none of the G7’s leading stock indexes are currently aligned with a 1.5°C or 2°C pathway (1) and calls on the largest listed G7 companies to urgently increase climate action.

In the lead up to the G7 Summit, the analysis shows that the G7 countries’ leading indexes (2) are on an average temperature pathway of 2.95°C, (3) according to their constituents’ current corporate climate ambitions. Stock indexes, composed of stocks of the most significant companies listed on a country’s largest exchange, are vital benchmarks to understand market trends.

The report, prepared by CDP and the UN Global Compact on behalf of the SBTi, finds that four of the seven indexes are on dangerous temperature pathways of 3°C or above. Notably, fossil fuels are a key contributor to the emissions of all seven indexes, making up 70% of Canada’s SPTSX 60 3.1°C temperature rating and almost 50% of Italy’s FTSE MIB 2.7°C rating.

Lila Karbassi, Chief of Programmes, UN Global Compact and SBTi Board Chair, said: “G7 companies have the potential to cause a ‘domino effect’ of positive change across the wider global economy. This report highlights the urgent need for markets and investors to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement. As the G7 meets this week, Governments must go further to incentivize ambitious science-based target setting.”

11/06/2021

AIA Group investment in education helps it be the second leader on ESG management of its industry

Education is a powerful tool that can break the cycle of poverty and transform lives. The Asia and Pacific region has made great progress in providing education opportunities at various levels, however, 136 million children were still out of school in 2014. Specifically, in 2019, 16 million primary school-aged children and 34 million lower secondary-aged adolescents were out of school. By aligning profits with purpose, businesses can become important partners for governments and civil society in closing the educational gap.

AIA is acting to develop education at various levels in its region: the company offers a ‘Young Leadership Development Programme’ that allows university students in Hong Kong to develop leadership skills, equipping them to become socially responsible leaders. This program has existed for 22 years and more than 470 students have been trained by it. In 2018, partnering with local and international institutions, the company built 183 classrooms in the Philippines, helping improve education in underserved or unserved areas where the Marawi Siege disaster struck. The company reached around 6,000 adults in that same country in 2018, with its workshop on Financial Education, endorsed by the Philippine Government’s Department of Education. In Thailand, that same year, the company offered 20 scholarships to low-income students to help relieve the financial burden on their families.

The company’s efforts on creating value for society is being recognized. Although it is not known how much they invest in education specifically, Sustainalytics’ 2019 analysis ranked AIA second out of 253 companies in its industry sector for its ESG risk management. Failing education could mean failing to achieve all the Sustainable Development Goals since it plays a central role. By providing educational opportunities AIA Group creates shared value, building a good reputation for itself, a purpose for its employees, and a stronger society.

07/06/2021

In 2019, Yokohama consumed 6.78 Mn MWh of energy, with no mention of renewable energy consumption

Globally, 173.34 billion MWh of energy was consumed in 2019, of which nearly 84.3% came from fossil fuels, 11.4% came from renewable sources, and 4.3% came from nuclear sources. The combustion of fossil fuels for energy releases CO2 and other greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, making them the primary drivers of climate change.

Tire manufacturing, on average, requires 828.8 MJ (230 KWh) of energy. The manufacturing sector in Japan consumed over 361 million MWh of energy on average in 2019. According to a report, Japan sources 88.9% of its energy from fossil fuels. Japan is on the verge of severe climate change effects; a rise of 3 meters of water would put nearly 200 km2 of the area under water. Japan consumed a total of 5.18Bn MWh of energy in 2019, with a per capita energy consumption of 40.9 MWh.

The Yokohama Rubber Company is a Japan-based rubber tire manufacturing company. In 2019, the company consumed 6,783,477 MWh (6.78 Mn MWh) of energy. The company mentions transition towards renewables; however, there is no tangible data about this. Thus the total energy consumed by the company is obtained from non-renewable sources. The company’s energy consumption increased from 5,176,948 MWh in 2017 to 6,783,477 MWh in 2019, a 31% increase.

Read more: https://esgn.asia/in-2019-yokohama-consumed-6-78-mn-mwh-of-energy-with-no-mention-of-renewable-energy-consumption/

04/06/2021

Q&A with Janet Li, Wealth Business Leader, Asia, Mercer

How would ESG benefit pension schemes in Hong Kong and China, and how could it provide more proper retirement protection to the public?

ESG refers to environmental, social and corporate governance issues that investors are considering in the context of their investment portfolios. The awareness of ESG amongst pension schemes in Hong Kong is generally increasing and some pension schemes have been looking into ESG-related investments. In China, most pension schemes are still domestically-focused and ESG-related investments would be constrained by the investment universe.

Generally, ESG brings better governance to pension schemes and also a clear investment belief which helps with investment decisions. Over the long term, we expect these to have a positive impact on the pension investments and thus retirement protection for the public.



Read more:
https://esgn.asia/qa-with-janet-li-wealth-business-leader-asia-mercer/

02/06/2021

UBS, Bursa Malaysia, and Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) join Singapore fintech STACS and Deutsche Bank as industry collaborators of ‘bond in a box’ proof- of-concept on the use of DLT for digital assets and sustainability-linked bonds

Deutsche Bank and STACS announced the completion of their Project Benja earlier (18 May 2021)

UBS, Bursa Malaysia, and Union Bank of the Philippines (‘UnionBank’) join Hashstacs Pte Ltd (‘STACS’) and Deutsche Bank as industry collaborators in their proof-of-concept (‘POC’) known as “Project Benja”. The three industry participants contributed their various domain expertise towards the final Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-enabling and interoperable end-to-end Distributed Ledger Technology (‘DLT’)-enabled bonds lifecycle management solution for the financial industry.

Read more: https://esgn.asia/ubs-bursa-malaysia-and-union-bank-of-the-philippines-unionbank-join-singapore-fintech-stacs-and-deutsche-bank-as-industry-collaborators-of-bond-in-a-box-proof-of-concept-on-the/

31/05/2021

Moody’s has published a Sector In Depth “Banks – Asia-Pacific: Climate risks are growing, with large, diversified banks better positioned to cope”, indicating that climate change and related government policies expose Asia-Pacific banks to physical climate risks, as well as risks that stem from sudden changes in asset values as economic priorities shift. New standards and regulations will increase compliance costs for banks, while engaging in or facilitating activities with a significant negative environmental impact can inflict reputational damage on banks and tarnish their brands.

Climate change and related government policies are posing various risks for banks in Asia- Pacific. While climate change raises asset risks for banks, legal and reputational risks from it are growing. All Asia-Pacific banks are exposed to such risks but large, diversified banks in Singapore, Australia and Japan, along with major pan-Asia Pacific banks, are better positioned to cope with them and preserve their credit strength.



Read more: https://esgn.asia/banks-asia-pacifics-large-diversified-banks-better-positioned-to-cope-with-climbing-climate-risks/

31/05/2021

Climate change and related government policies are posing various risks for banks in Asia- Pacific. While climate change raises asset risks for banks, legal and reputational risks from it are growing. All Asia-Pacific banks are exposed to such risks but large, diversified banks in Singapore, Australia and Japan, along with major pan-Asia Pacific banks, are better positioned to cope with them and preserve their credit strength.

Read more: https://esgn.asia/banks-asia-pacifics-large-diversified-banks-better-positioned-to-cope-with-climbing-climate-risks/

28/05/2021

In 2019, the global energy consumed was estimated at 173.34 Bn MWh. Even if strict climate action policies are implemented, fossil fuels are expected to dominate the total energy mix with an estimated 59% share in 2040.

https://esgn.asia/yamada-denkis-total-energy-consumption-is-equal-to-0-109-of-japans-energy-consumption/

26/05/2021

As of 2020, it is estimated that about 380 billion (B) m3 of wastewater are discharged annually. In Japan, the annual wastewater discharge is 14.7B m3, which represents 3.9% of the total wastewater released globally. Wastewater is used water that contains substances such as human waste, oils, and chemicals. If not properly managed it can cause harm to fish and wildlife populations, depletion of oxygen in water, and contamination of drinking water.

Read more:
https://esgn.asia/wastewater-discharged-by-se-in-2019-accounts-for-1-3-of-the-wastewater-produced-in-japan-per-annum/

21/05/2021

ESGN is a news platform featuring Environmental, Social and Governance related sustainability news with an Asia focus.

https://esgn.asia/