PROGRAM OVERVIEW
In recent years, board responsibilities have broadened to encompass new and emerging risks including understanding sustainability and climate issues. As sustainability and climate change issues have become more critical, the spotlight is on directors to provide good and effective oversight over the management of such risks.
This program is specially designed for directors who take their sustainability oversight responsibilities seriously and who want to gain a comprehensive understanding of sustainability issues that will enable them to carry out those responsibilities more effectively.
The program will be offered over two levels and comprises a total of four modules over the course of 13 days; each module will cover several topics for 3-4 days. The modules will run from July till October 2023. At the end of each level, there will be a Sustainability in Action or learning in action component, to help drive home the sustainability message in a tangible way.
At the end of this program, participants will be able to:
- Define sustainability and ESG; and why they are important;
- Explain the causes and impacts of climate change and how companies will be impacted;
- Explain key “social” requirements under international human rights and labor laws, international governance standards, anti-corruption laws as well as major trade agreements;
- Describe the impacts of biodiversity loss and its socio-economic consequences;
- Discuss the basic principles behind carbon markets and carbon trading;
- List key reporting standards and their metrics that are used locally and internationally for sustainability reporting such as GRI, SASB, etc;.
- Assess sustainability-related risks in a company’s supply chain;
- Explain the role of Big Data and how it intersects with ESG Reporting;
- Explain the important role of sustainable finance and investment;
- Apply solutions to specific sustainability issues via the learning in action components.
Under “Sectoral” which is offered under Level 2, module 2, participants will have several options of topics to choose from. Participants need to attend one topic to complete the program but can sign-up for any or all of the topics offered under this category as standalone programs.
Who should attend?
- Board of Directors
- Board Sustainability Committee members
- Board Risk Management Committee members
- Senior Management
- Anyone who may find this program helpful.
The entire program will be conducted in-person except for one topic which will be delivered online unless otherwise advised.
For more information, please e-mail fide@asb.edu.my
FACULTY BIOGRAPHY
HELENE LI
Helene Li is a seasoned management consultant and finance industry professional, Helene has held various senior management positions in Strategic Planning, Marketing and Branding throughout her career which includes tenure at global consulting giants, Boston Consulting Group and Willis Towers Watson.
Prior to founding GoImpact platform, developed to accelerate the adoption of Sustainable Finance, Helene was Managing Director and Head of Strategic Planning, Brand and Communications Asia Pacific for BNP Paribas Wealth Management, a role she held for 5 years. She also held similar roles at J.P. Morgan Private Bank and Swiss wealth
management firm, Lombard Odier. In these capacities, she was instrumental in advancing the agenda of Sustainable Finance and Investments across a broad client base of family offices and asset owners.
HSU-SHENG WONG
Hsu-sheng Wong, has an extensive legal and finance background, having worked for over 16 years as a lawyer, investment banker and commercial banker. In his last banking role, he was appointed as Head, Financial Institutions at the regional headquarters of a major Middle Eastern bank and was subsequently appointed as Acting General Manager to manage the operations during the COVID crisis. Prior to joining GoImpact, he was a partner and course facilitator in a private equity and educational institute specializing in digitization, business transformation and sustainability.
GARY THESEIRA
Dr Gary Theseira has more than a decade of experience in Climate Change and Sustainability Policymaking. He holds a seat on the council of Climate Governance Malaysia (CGM), and was an independent director on the board of the Centre for Environment, Technology and Development Malaysia (CETDEM) and is a Consultant Technical Advisor to the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Centre (MGTC). He was seconded to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Malaysia (NRE) as Deputy Undersecretary before serving under YB Yeo Bee Yin, then Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change as Special Functions Officer. In the course of his tenure at the Ministry, he negotiated on Malaysia’s behalf at fourteen COPs of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and served as lead coordination for the G-77 and China in the negotiations on the Paris Agreement.
JAMES YIN
James Yin is the founding member of V-Plus Agritech Pte Ltd. A veteran of the Singapore Army for 2 decades, James pivoted from protecting his country to protecting our planet. He is no stranger to crises, disasters and conflicts, having been deployed for the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami relief, the Defeat ISIS Coalition in Iraq, and Singapore’s COVID-19 response. He saw climate change as a crisis that requires urgent action, and decided to step forward.
James combines his deep expertise in strategy and communications with qualifications in integrating ESG, sustainable finance and ESG reporting standards to drive climate action. He is currently scaling circular agriculture and is on the lookout for new opportunities to deliver environmental and social impact.
SHARDUL PHADNIS
Dr. Shardul Phadnis is Associate Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at the Asia School of Business. Previously, he served as the Associate Professor and Director of Research at MIT SCALE Network’s Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation. His research explores the intersection of supply chains and strategic management: how organizations create value by orchestrating supply chain operations, and how strategy processes influence adaptability of supply chain structures and processes.
LEE SWEE SIONG
Lee Swee Siong is a digital strategist, business transformation adviser, investor and educator with more than 2 decades of experience in financial services, public services and entrepreneurship. In banking, he held global leadership positions in international banks including Standard Chartered and OCBC, helping these institutions develop new products and capabilities in corporate banking. He was also involved in numerous industry-wide initiatives with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, including Offshore RMB Market Development, Real-time Payments and Common Addressing Scheme projects.
VIKRAM WIDGE
Vikram Widge, an innovative leader with recognized expertise in climate and development finance, brings a global perspective to designing and deploying financial solutions to mobilize private capital for climate-smart development. He specializes in bridging public finance with capital markets and institutional and impact investors to effect the transformation to a low-carbon future that we need.
Vikram is currently a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Adrienne ArshtRockefeller Foundation Resilience Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC. Until recently, he was the global head of Climate Finance and Policy at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the largest development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.
