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Global, Regional Leaders Promote Sustainable Business in Asia

15 July, 2004

ASrIA Press Release

Singapore, July 15, 2004 - The Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA) is holding its third international conference addressing the key developments in sustainable investment in Asia. “SRI Leaders in Asia—the People and the Issues”—is taking place in Singapore on July 15th and 16th and features global and Asian leaders in the SRI field. The focus of this year’s ASrIA conference is cutting edge SRI practices, both for investors and for companies. SRI funds now top US$3 trillion globally and there is growing demand for information that can shed light on the business-related environmental, social, and ethical risks that affect companies with operations in Asia.

“SRI has made major inroads in the investment community over the past three years and is now gaining ground in global financial centres like Singapore,” says Tessa Tennant, ASrIA’s chair. “Critical environmental issues are posing high profile risks for economies across Asia and the challenges of establishing a fair workplace are intense. Now that more investors, companies, and governments are focusing on SRI issues, the question is how to identify real leaders and the issues that will make a difference to investors.”

The conference provides a forum for addressing SRI issues for investors, companies, policymakers, and advocacy groups. The focus is on understanding how Asian and global companies with operations in the region set standards and how to assess the investment implications. Conference sessions are covering a range of issues which shape the SRI agenda:

• How Asian companies have built their own SRI business models
• What has given Australia and Japan the edge in developing SRI funds?
• Analyzing the Asian supply chain—how to look at labour and environmental risks
• Which SRI issues matter most for Asians and how are NGOs shaping the agenda?
• Finding the right tools for investors who want to look at SRI risks
• The SRI opportunity in private equity—raising standards and creating value 

Featured speakers at the event include the following experts:

• Kai Nargolwala, Group Executive Director of Standard Chartered based in Singapore, will be talking about a number of Standard Chartered’s initiatives related to CSR, especially training programs and standards that they are implementing for their credit officers.
• Rachel Kyte, the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Director of Environment and Social Development, will be talking about the IFC’s approach to private equity. IFC is the largest investor in emerging markets private equity funds to which it applies its stringent environmental and social policy standards and guidelines.
• Ken Larson, head of CSR at Hewlett Packard, leads the company’s efforts to meet rising CSR standards and to oversee improved supply chain management. In addition, he is involved in outreach efforts by HP including recycling joint ventures in Asia.
• Claudia Kruse, a governance and SRI analyst at ISIS Asset Management, was involved in ISIS’s recent study of SRI risks for the leading global supply chain. The report looked at the extent of supply chain oversight and disclosure of social risks.
• Richard Welford of Hong Kong University’s Corporate Environmental Governance Programme, and Hauman Yeung of ASrIA have recently collaborated on a survey of public opinion concerning SRI issues and interest in SRI funds.
• Rajesh Srivastava, Regional Head, Asia, Food & Agribusiness, supervises the Sustainable Development sector in Asia and is also responsible for private equity related initiatives in Rabobank Asia. He has been actively involved in private equity in Asian since 1994 and is currently supporting syndication of the Robeco Sustainable Private Equity Fund.

ASrIA’s conference enjoys backing from the International Finance Corporation, Daiwa Securities Group, Nikko Cordial, Rabobank, and UOB Asset Management with additional support from Calvert Group and FTSE. 
  
ASrIA is a not-for-profit membership association dedicated to promoting sustainable investment practice and corporate responsibility in the Asia Pacific region. ASrIA currently has more than 100 members, managing over US$2.0 trillion of funds. Among its many activities, ASrIA has run a number of highly successful conferences and seminars throughout Asia and has played a significant role in stimulating SRI investment throughout the region. For further information on ASrIA’s 2004 conference, please see www.asria.org.

Note to Editors: Experts are available for interviews upon request. For members of the press interested in seeking an interview with the featured speakers, you may contact the following people to request interviews:

• Regina Seow, Standard Chartered, for Kai Nagorwala   65-6530-3488
• Desmond Dodd, International Finance Corporation, for Rachel Kyte 852-6478-7749
• Megan Lewis, ASrIA, for all others      65-9353-1025

040715_ASrIA_Confpressrelease.pdf