Two Lancaster University researchers brought important sustainability messages to policymakers and key financial figures in Southeast Asia.

During a two-week visit to Malaysia, Professor Jan Bebbington and Dr Neytullah Ciftci, of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business, took part in the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in at the Securities Commission Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

ASEAN is a geopolitical and economic organisation made up of 11 countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam).

The one-day ICAEW ASEAN summit brought together policymakers, regulators, business leaders, finance professionals and sustainability experts from across that group. It was attended by more than 600 in-person delegates and close to 500 virtual participants across the globe.

Professor Bebbington, Director of the Pentland Centre and Rubin Chair in Sustainability in Business in Lancaster University Management School, delivered a talk on materiality and proportionality for nature as part of Capital Markets Forum at the event. She was hosted by Richard Spencer, Head of Sustainability at ICAEW in the UK, and a member of the Pentland Centre Advisory Board.

“A key priority of the Pentland Centre is to engage with businesses and policymakers who are at the forefront of sustainability action,” said Professor Bebbington. “The aim of the summit was the start turning sustainability ambition into action, and through our connections in Malaysia and at the ICAEW we were able to play our part in helping that to happen.

“Being able to speak to such a high-level grouping of capital market regulators was especially engaging because Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) reporting is most prevalent in Asia and this is the region where innovation around reporting will emerge.”

Also on the trip, Professor Bebbington presented material on the TNFD framework at Thailand’s stock exchange (SET) in Bangkok. The audience was the ESG Experts Pool, which is a group of ESG professionals in listed companies and academics.

“SET is part of the Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative and has been proactive in thinking about sustainability factors in capital markets,” added Professor Bebbington. “This was an opportunity to speak to people at the heart of finance in Thailand and address issues which are becoming increasingly important for us all.”