NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

As Asia begins to adapt to the new post-pandemic normal, some economies have begun to reopen while others continue to battle on. At the same time, we also acknowledge the pandemic is a terrible human tragedy spanning the global and sparing almost no economy. As we all collectively confront and adapt to this new normal, the roles of and need for sustainable finance and impact investing could not be more critical and urgent.

Notwithstanding the lessons learned from previous epidemics such as SARS, MERS, and Ebola as well as Bill Gates’ prescient TED talk in 2015, the uneven responses of various economies to the COVID-19 pandemic point to a dire picture of what could happen to humanity if we fail to tackle the more serious threats of climate change and extreme weather events going forward.

In the immediate term, as we await for vaccines that can be produced at scale, developed and developing economies alike will continue to face unprecedented economic and public health challenges. Already we are seeing some economies begin to delay or roll-back some climate- and sustainability-related initiatives as a matter of economic survival. And there are growing concerns that stopgap solutions to jumpstart economies could stall the growth of sustainable finance.

In this virtual fireside chat, Impact Entrepreneur’s Laurie Lane-Zucker and Asia Value Advisors’ Philo Alto will discuss with our distinguished group of panellists — Leonie Kelly of Sustainable Finance Initiative, En Lee of LGT, Ronie Mak of RS Group, and James Robinson of PRI — the trends and developments in growing sustainable finance in Asia in the new post-pandemic normal.

The conversation will tackle topics such as:

• Trends and developments in sustainable finance in Asia in the private, institutional and development sectors in the current transition phase to a new post-pandemic normal
• Political and economic headwinds in the post-pandemic normal and how sustainable finance is (or is not) staying the course in Asia
• Playing the long-game — building a cross-sector talent pipeline in sustainable finance
• Practical considerations — state of impact measurement and management; challenges and gaps in the sustainable finance ecosystem in Asia; and, how US, Europe and Asia regions can learn from and support each other
• Turning crisis into opportunities for the future — role of policy and ecosystem capacity building; advice on how one’s own professional journey can support sustainable finance and contribute to systems change in the new normal

Impact Entrepreneur’s Building an Impact Economy Webinar Series features presentations, conversations and panel discussions with the leading individuals and organizations in impact investing and entrepreneurship.

For more information, visit www.impactalchemist.com

Note: This program is a Live Webinar & Q&A that is accessible from any web-enabled computer or mobile device. Premium members of Impact Entrepreneur get complimentary admission to all live webinars and free access to the entire archive of past programs.

Time: 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM EDT