Eco-Business

😨 To the dismay of many, Europe moved last week to postpone the EUDR, a landmark law meant to tackle commodity-related forest loss. 🌴 Big producers and lobby groups welcomed the 12-month delay, while smallholders and sustainable palm oil associations said they would have been ready to comply with the original deadline of end-2024 anyway. 🗞 🔔 Read more in the latest edition of EB Insights, a condensed version of 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆. This once-a-week digest delivers the best news and views to your inbox. 📬 To get the latest stories directly in your inbox every Wednesday, subscribe to 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆. Explore the complete selection of newsletters on our website at https://lnkd.in/gphNAkS (they're free!).

Can data centres really be green? After 9 months of gestation, we're thrilled to deliver "The future of data centres", Eco-Business's latest whitepaper on pressures to decarbonise ASEAN's data centres. 4 years ago we launched the first paper "The future of data centres in the face of climate change", inspired from Singapore's then-moratorium on new data centres. A deliberate move, given the massive amounts of energy the industry consumes to keep our servers running. While the moratorium has since been lifted, the problem hasn't exactly gone away. Scope 2 emissions remain a major concern. 2024 poses a different, bigger challenge. We've framed this paper on based a few key tenets: 1) DCs now facing an astronomical growth potential with the surge of AI and cloud computing; 2) the growing global Net Zero commitments 3) the hidden Scope 3 emissions that has not yet been understood, including the potential e-waste tsunami up ahead. There are solutions on the horizon. Our whitepaper aims to help frame the issues in a pragmatic way that caters to the unique conditions of our fragmented region. We've spotlighted on three key markets in this piece: Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. If this whitepaper is too long for your busy schedules, don't worry - we've got the summary version here for your reading pleasure! 😄 Sincere thanks to Tai Sin Electric Limited - Bernard Lim for the support right from the get-go. And of course to all who contributed to the paper - Jessica Hanafi Andrew Young Sharmel J. Ali Wandrille Doucerain PS Lee Pritimukta Sarangi Nils Warburg. Your perspectives and insights were invaluable! And of course, credit to Holly Naylor Natasha Oei Jennifer Non Layla Zhaoying N. Wai Mun Ng Liang Lei Jessica Cheam at Eco-Business Summary version: https://lnkd.in/gFRQJCKg Full whitepaper: https://lnkd.in/gvG33b3e

As momentum to adopt mandatory #sustainabilityreporting rules builds in Asia, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has finalised its much-awaited guidelines to verify the quality of climate-related disclosures. The auditing standard, known as ISSA 5000, aims to give investors confidence that a company is not greenwashing in its sustainability reports – similar to how regulators require third-party accounting firms to review financial statements to guard against fraud. Prior to the IAASB’s new standard, there were no standalone guidelines for sustainability assurance providers beyond a broad set of assurance standards called the ISAE 3000, which provides high-level guidance for non-financial reporting. The new standard was approved by the IAASB last month and will kick in from 15 December 2026. According to the timeline posted on the global standards body’s website, it will also publish a range of guidance and application materials by next January. Understand what this means for businesses and organisations: https://lnkd.in/gpHBM9K6 #ISSA5000 #ISAE3000 #IAASB #ESGreporting #climatefinance

🇮🇩 Indonesia has Asia’s laxest sustainable finance classification system, according to a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). In Indonesia, captive coal-fired power plants – that is, #coalplants that provide localised power for industrial plants – that started operations before 2030 are categorised as “amber”, which is Indonesia’s codification for #transitionactivities in its taxonomy. Captive coal plants are classified as eligible for #sustainablefinance if they power facilities that process transition metals such as nickel, cobalt and aluminum, which are used in the manufacture of electric vehicles and batteries. In contrast, the taxonomies of Singapore and Thailand are Southeast Asia’s most robust, allowing #greenclassifications only for power plants that generate the rigorous European standard of lifecycle emissions of less than 100 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour (gCO2e/kWh). Such emissions are too low to be generated by any fossil fuel-based technology. Read our explainer on the report findings: https://lnkd.in/gCM2sewZ

Calling all EB subscribers! Eco-Business is hosting a virtual ESG Intelligence Briefing that is free for all paid members of our community. Not a subscriber yet? Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/gK8e8Tap Hosted by Junice Yeo, Executive Director, Head of ESG Intelligence, Eco-Business and Gabriel Ho, Chief Sustainability Officer, Asia SAF Association, this one-hour briefing will discuss the advancements in technology shaping the future of #sustainableaviation, including: 🛩 The evolving suite of sustainability policy and regulatory frameworks affecting the aviation industry such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS)  💼 Challenges and opportunities for decarbonisation in the aviation industry  💪 Emerging solutions, with a spotlight on SAF  ————————— ESG Intelligence Briefings are free for EB Circle and EB Premium subscribers. Subscribe today to gain complimentary access to our regular events and training sessions hosted throughout the year. Read more details: https://lnkd.in/gefAcWSS

🇵🇭 For ten consecutive years, the Philippines ranked among the most dangerous nations for environmental defenders, according to watchdog Global Witness. For Filipino ranger Raymundo Alejandro, Jr, run-ins with armed poachers are inevitable. Yet despite the risks, Alejandro and his fellow forest guards have had to push on, supported only by the conviction that they have a responsibility to the conservation of their home province’s #naturalresources. They receive meagre salaries and little supporting resources, and are short-handed due to low ranger numbers. Very few rangers are now employed by the region’s #environment agency and local government unit. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gYZSCWjM

At the recent Energy Finance 2024 conference organised by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), several experts at the event shared their thoughts with Eco-Business on practical steps Indonesia can take to finance its #energytransition. Rerouting subsidies and implementing a better tender process for renewables can help Indonesia reduce its dependence on #coal and other #fossilfuels, they said. Read the full story now on the Eco-Business website: https://lnkd.in/gYKaM3g2

𝗚𝗧𝗙 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗘: 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡, 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞, 𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 Join us on October 21-22, 2024, at the Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa for "GTF CONNECT SINGAPORE" – focusing on ‘Tear Down, Rethink, Rebuild for Tomorrow’. Located on Singapore’s southern coast, GTF Connect Singapore will be a landmark event where thought leaders, innovators, and visionaries converge to tackle the most pressing challenges of our time. Experience cutting-edge sustainable innovation with impactful speakers and pioneering businesses. 🎤 GTF CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION - Oct 22nd: Partnering with Vodafone Business, join visionaries and top speakers to explore the future of sustainability. 💼  GREEN INVESTOR CRUNCH: Network with select start-ups, investors, and companies dedicated to building a sustainable future. 🤝  NETWORKING & WORKSHOPS: Engage with industry leaders and participate in hands-on workshops designed to spark transformative ideas.  🏖 GTF x STRIDY BEACH CLEANUP - Oct 23rd: Join GTF and Stridy for a Beach Cleanup! The GREENTECH FESTIVAL is here because we care, and we believe that together we CAN and MUST rethink and rebuild for a better tomorrow. Don’t miss out on being a part of this pivotal event. Get involved at GTF Connect in Singapore! Mark your calendars and secure your ticket now. See you there! https://lnkd.in/gHv3whtW

Dr Brajesh Dubey recently took a six-hour train ride from Bhubaneswar to Kharagpur, passing through dozens of quasi-urban Indian towns on his journey. Along the way, he observed heaps of litter, ranging from single-use plastics to multi-layer packaging and potato chip packets. “On my journey, I couldn’t find a stretch of more than two minutes where plastic was absent on the tracks. All sorts of plastics are visible,” said Dubey, a veteran researcher on plastic pollution at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur. Experts say that the government’s efforts to bolster the petrochemicals industry result in the rampant production of non-essential plastics. Swathi Seshadri, director of research and team lead for oil and gas at Centre for Financial Accountability, a New Delhi-based organisation working to strengthen financial accountability in India, criticised the government’s “contradictory” policies. She highlighted that the government promotes polymer production while simultaneously imposing ineffective single-use plastic bans. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gA6J5e-v

Malaysia’s upcoming #ClimateChangeAct could see the establishment of a domestic emissions trading scheme, according to a draft bill published by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES). The introduction of an “emissions threshold” will require organisations to comply with requirements set under the #emissionstrading scheme, said the draft bill, which was published on Saturday for public consultation. “The threshold introduced will be the basis for allocating allowances and is based on emissions released from the sector or facility,” it said. The bill did not define what a facility is, but said that “initial emphasis should be placed on hard-to-abate sectors or large #emitters.” Malaysia’s largest sources of #emissions as of 2022 were the #energy, #roadtransportation and #manufacturing sectors. Read the full story now: https://lnkd.in/gZy88u_H