People, Planet, Profit

This year could see the return of a difficult haze season, given the projections of a severe El Nino phenomenon. We discuss the findings of the Haze Outlook 2023 report with Khor Yu Leng of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs to find out what factors apart from weather contribute to haze and how ASEAN countries are responding Image Credit: MIFAS / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio....

Southeast Asian economies face the tricky balance of securing long-term economic growth while also keeping carbon emissions in check. Is this a Sisyphean task? Dale Hardcastle of Bain & Co shares insights on potential pathways for the region to achieve both aims, based on the SEA Green Economy 2023 Report , published in collaboration with Temasek, GenZero and Amazon Web Services. Image Credit:...

The aviation industry is cognisant of public perception towards flying being bad for the environment, and to counter the narrative, it has set an industry target of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. What are the pathways to this ambitious goal? We discuss aviation players' efforts to reduce carbon emissions with Shantanu Gangakhedkar of Frost & Sullivan. Image by: Shutterstock See om...

There is intense pressure on governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions to slow the pace of global warming. However, a key concern for developing countries is the worry that reducing carbon emissions come at the expense of economic growth. How can countries balance these seemingly competing ends? Murali Ram of Arup Malaysia discusses the potential of clean growth and the opportunities compil...

Scientists have warned that 2023 could be the hottest year on record so far What does this mean for the agriculture industry and food security of the region? We discuss how agriculture economics, food security and climate change intersect with Dr. Paul Teng, Professor & Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listene...

More and more consumers are demanding that products come in sustainable packaging, but there isn't consensus on what this means. In a recent column, author and journalist Adam Minter argues that the considerations should go beyond just whether packaging is paper or plastic. He joins us to discuss the nuances in defining sustainable packaging and why vilifying plastic is a red herring.  I...

As global economies strive to adapt to the sustainability imperative, are Malaysian corporates responding in tandem to secure their position in the supply chain? We discuss insights from a report released by PwC Malaysia in collaboration with Capital Markets Malaysia, titled Corporate Malaysia's journey towards a sustainable supply chain with Redha Shukor. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Renewable energy presently makes up around 30% of the global share of electricity generation. However, these levels need to triple over the next 25 years to achieve the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit on global warming. What are the policies and investments needed to get us to that end goal? We discuss the global outlook for renewable energy with Francesco La Camera, Director General of the Internationa...

SMEs form the backbone of the Malaysian economy, but how prepared are they to embrace ESG standards and practices that are rapidly becoming the norm in global business? A report jointly commissioned by Alliance Bank, the UN Global Compact Network Malaysia and Brunei, and SME Corp Malaysia, explores the level of ESG adoption among SMEs in Malaysia. We discuss the findings and recommendations to emp...

Although the Penang South Islands (PSI) have yet to be built, the project won a Low Carbon City design award from the Malaysian Green Tech Corp in February this year, which drew flack from environmentalists and civil society groups. We speak to Samantha Ho, a regional correspondent with the sustainability news portal Eco-Business, on why the PSI project is so controversial. Image credit: Shutterst...

How transparent are companies when it comes to ESG reporting? The Global ESG Monitor assesses transparency levels across ten market indices, including the FBMKLCI. We speak to the co-founders of the study, Michael Diegelmann and Arianne Hofstetter on their findings, why transparency in reporting is lacking and how to improve ESG disclosure practices. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/l...

Malaysia is at a nascent stage of its carbon pricing journey, recently launching a voluntary carbon market on Bursa Malaysia, with a carbon tax and domestic emissions trading scheme also being considered. What factors go into carbon pricing design and why are CPI initiatives important? We discuss this with Darshan Joshi, climate consultant with the Asia Foundation and co-author of the report: Carb...

The amount of municipal solid waste that Malaysia produces is akin to developed economies, yet our waste management systems lag behind regional peers. What are the gaps in waste management that need to be addressed in order to achieve true circularity in the economy? Waste management expert Prof. Agamuthu Pariatamby gives us his policy recommendations. Image Credit: Friko Keiro See omnystudio.com/...

We typically hear about water pollution in the news when it becomes a significant problem to affected communities. Are we doing enough to prevent water pollution from happening in the first place? Water quality and modelling specialist Dr. Zaki Zainuddin helps us better understand how water pollution is being addressed. Image credit: 123rf.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Malaysia strives to increase its renewable energy mix from less than 5% to 31% come 2030, how much can biomass contribute to the target? We discuss the state of play for biomass energy and the policy push needed to harness the economic potential of the industry with Dr. Denny Ng of Sunway University. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia has a target of achieving 40% of its renewable energy mix by 2035, but we're starting from the low base of 3.3% in 2023. Can Australia provide lessons in building up renewable energy capacity given the explosion of solar energy take up in recent years? We discuss trends in renewable energy with Dr. Andrew Blakers of ANU. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The retabled Budget 2023 is the largest on record, but what does it say about the government's priorities for sustainability and climate change action? Climate change expert Dr. Gary Theseira walks us through some of the key initiatives in Budget 2023 as well as the policy gaps that need to be addressed to progress towards Malaysia's sustainability targets. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudi...

Malaysia has made no secret of its intention to advance low-carbon mobility by encouraging the take-up of electric vehicles. However in order for EVs to run, there also has to be an adequate network of charging infrastructure. What policies would support the government target of 10,000 charging stations by 2025 - and what else is needed to develop the EV ecosystem? We discuss this with Alireza Meh...

Countries the world over have acknowledged the need to transition to renewable energy in order to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to irreversible climate change. However, for developing countries like Malaysia that rely heavily on carbon resources to generate energy, can this shift to renewables be done without economic development also taking a hit? Praharsh Mehrotra, Research Fellow of t...

According to Morningstar's latest report, global sustainable fund flows rebounded in the fourth quarter of 2022, mainly driven by investor enthusiasm in Europe. What trends could influence the landscape for sustainability investing in the coming year? Morningstar's Hortense Bioy shares insights from the report. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're new to the sustainability sphere, navigating the various metrics and methodologies in existence can be incredibly confusing. A new book looks to demystify the standards in play and discusses the trends driving the ESG conversation. We speak to Dr. Renard Siew, the author of the " Sustainability Analytics Toolkit for Practitioners " on key themes in this space. Image credit: Shutterstock...

The year 2022 wasn’t smooth sailing for proponents of ESG. The energy crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine underscored global dependence on fossil fuels for the medium term, while allegations of greenwashing by big brands also created public backlash towards ESG labels. Will 2023 be another year of reckoning for ESG? We discuss ESG themes and trends with Tan Zhai Yun, the Editor for ESG at The...

The palm oil industry is embracing ESG via various certifications such as The Indonesian Sustainable  Palm Oil Standard (ISPO), Malaysian Palm Oil Standard (MPSO) and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RPSO). In spite of this, there are still a slew of accusations hurled against the sector. Can the industry shake this off and evolve to be a more sustainable industry? We speak to Khor Yu Leng...

The hard truth is global emissions are still growing. Countries that piously signed the Paris agreement have not cut their emissions enough to meet its targets. At COP27, negotiators also failed to reach a deal on greater cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. Is carbon tax the answer? We discuss this with Yin Shao Loong, Senior Research Associate at Khazanah Research Institute. Image credit: Shutterst...

KPMG’s biennial Survey of Sustainability Reporting 2022 provides analysis of the sustainability and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) reports from 5,800 companies across 58 countries and jurisdictions including Malaysia. Is it an adequate benchmark of a company's ESG reporting and disclosure? Or are there still gaps that make consistent, comparable and reliable sustainability disclosure dis...