As part of efforts to deepen its long-standing sustainability commitment in Asia-Pacific, Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) has established the abrdn Sustainability Institute in the region. The company says the initiative reinforces ASI’s mission to enable its clients to be better investors, by driving sustainable investing and supporting the buildout of a resilient environmental, social and governance (ESG) ecosystem in Asia-Pacific.

The Sustainability Institute will be a fully integrated sustainability innovation hub that brings together experienced ESG experts from its Asia-Pacific business to drive sustainability outcomes for investors. It will comprise ESG investment professionals across asset classes and sustainability specialists from various business functions, including regulation, product development, distribution and corporate sustainability. ASI will continue to add ESG-dedicated headcounts as part of its strategy to deepen its APAC sustainability capabilities.

The institute will be led by Danielle Welsh-Rose, ESG investment director for Asia-Pacific. It will be advised by a Sustainable Investment Advisory Board, chaired by its Asia-Pacific chief executive officer René Buehlmann. It will also draw on the global experience of more than 30 on-desk ESG investment experts and its 20-strong Central ESG function.

Buehlmann says: “Asia is still far behind the rest of the world in deploying sustainable investment strategies, but is moving fast to catch up with client demand. Capitalizing on our deep global and Asian ESG expertise, there is an opportunity for us to drive positive changes in the industry. Active engagement with companies, policymakers, industry partners and clients on ESG matters will be key to help build an impactful sustainable investing infrastructure in the region.”