Over 400 delegates gathered today in Gaziantep, Türkiye for the second day of Horasis Global Meeting to debate key global issues in sustainability, international relations and economic development.
The meeting’s plenary opened up with a discussion on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). 2005 UN’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rules were not explicit and presently are found to be weak. What can be done to ensure investor transparency?
Have regulations to be invoked or might honesty prevail? Specififcally, how compatible are the three ESG goals and how could more be done to clarify and make them explicit?
Panelists included Bo Inge Andersson, Chief Executive Officer, Uzauto Motors; Eelco van der Enden, Chief Executive Officer, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI); Adnan Hashim, Chief Financial Officer, Gulf Air Group; Bora Isbulan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Plaza Premium Group; and Girish Ramachandran, President Asia Pacific, TCS.
The plenary included a panel of disparate beliefs and experiences from the business leaders, with an interesting account from Eelco van der Enden, CEO of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
Said the business leader, “ESG has gone from a marketing gimmick to now being an essential component of corporate strategy”.
Said Adnan Hashim of Gulf Air Group, “Air-travel accounts for around 12% of transport related issues. The aviation industry is in a good position in terms of ESG, but it is held back somewhat by the current state of technology.”
“We’ve all heard of EV, but this doesn’t yet translate to aircraft in the same way. SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) is 3 times more expensive than regular fuel, for example”.
Forms of sustainable finance have grown rapidly in recent years, as a growing number of institutional investors and funds now incorporate various ESG investing approaches.
This growth has been spurred by shifts in demand from across the finance ecosystem, driven both by the search for better long-term financial value, and a pursuit of better alignment with values.