How COVID Is Making the Case for Sustainability

Eden was involved in a panel organized by the Chicago Booth which took place virtually in Hong Kong. The panel discussed how Asian companies are increasingly required to demonstrate awareness of corporate social responsibility. In India, businesses now have to invest 2 percent of their profits to address environmental, social, or governance (ESG) issues, said Seema Arora, deputy director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry. Katherine Ng, chief operating officer of the listing department of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, said that as of July 1, all listed companies must have a conversation about ESG and sustainability at the board level. Businesses in Singapore have a similar mandated responsibility, said Swee Chen Goh, ’03 (AXP-2). Goh, the former chairman of Shell Companies, positioned ESG as a business opportunity, talking about the potential for job creation and the possibility of loans linked to meeting sustainability targets. Eden’s moderator, Calvin Chu Yee Ming, ’09 (AXP-8), explained that COVID-19 has revealed that business resilience and long-term sustainability go hand in hand.

Access the panel recording here: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/why-booth/stories/corporate-social-responsibility-revisited-videos