NAGOYA, Japan – This capital city of Aichi Prefecture on the main Japanese island of Honshu is the center of the third most populous urban area in Japan, next to Greater Tokyo and Metropolitan Osaka. It is the home of Chubu Centrair International Airport, which opened in time for the World Expo 2005 as a replacement for the old Nagoya Airfield.
In 2014, Nagoya hosted the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Global stakeholders from the public and private sectors called for urgent action to scale up ESD to enable current generations to meet their needs while allowing future generations to meet their own with a balanced approach regarding sustainable development.
As a result, the UNESCO-Japan Prize for ESD was established to award three prizes of $50,000 each annually to exceptional projects and programs in the field of ESD. Since 2015, there have been 18 winners of this Japanese government-funded prize who were selected by the UNESCO Director-General on the basis of recommendations made by an independent international jury.
No awards were given in 2020 and 2022 due to the pandemic, but nominations for the 2023 edition are now up for judging. Among Southeast Asian countries, only Indonesia has won the prestigious award so far and it already has two ESD Prize laureates, namely the Kalabia Foundation and the Jayagiri Centre.
Filipino companies must start investing in sustainability because it is the responsibility of everyone in a world increasingly threatened by climate crises. This, in a nutshell, was one of the insights shared by Commissioner Kelvin Lee of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during a recent forum where he painted a vivid picture of a future where businesses are not merely surviving but thriving in the face of challenges.
“To be future-ready, we must be sustainability-ready,” he said during a media interview, echoing the sentiment that sustainable development is an investment in the future of business. It is a necessity especially in the Philippines, which ranks as one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.
Lee underscored the need for businesses to be forward-looking in their strategies in view of the financial risks that climate change imposes. He disclosed that the SEC acknowledges these risks and aims to mitigate them through a focus on digitalization and sustainable finance.
Citing a report on “The State of Organizations 2023” from McKinsey & Co., he deplored the fact that only half of surveyed business leaders globally believed their organizations were well-prepared to anticipate and react to external shocks. A crucial part of sustainable development is achieving net zero emissions, which Lee explained is one of the commitments made by more than 190 countries under the Paris Agreement.
He emphasized that incorporating sustainability initiatives like net zero emissions is a matter of survival for Philippine firms. Technology adoption was highlighted as instrumental in the context of the pandemic, as well as the need for corporate officers to familiarize themselves with regulatory policies such as SEC guidelines and regional or global disclosure frameworks to ensure that their sustainability efforts align with recognized best practices.
Lee is a staunch advocate of financial technology (fintech) and sustainable finance in the country. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of the SEC’s PhilFintech Innovation Office in 2021, for which he was recognized as the “Thought Leader of the Year” by the Seoul-based Asia Pacific Stevie Awards for business leaders.
He also won the Grand Stevie Award for 2023 after garnering the highest score among all awardees this year. His exceptional contributions to the fintech sphere has gained recognition from the international community and cemented his position as a key figure and leading authority in the Asia Pacific region, triumphing over other winners from Australia, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Local business leaders should heed Lee’s advice that sustainability is not just a trend but a necessity to future-proof businesses. Aside from publicly-listed companies, all other businesses including SMEs, investors, and market players must do their share in making Filipinos tech-savvy, financially inclusive, and future-ready.
Officials of Philippine cities and provinces can also take their cue from the Nagoya Master Plan 2023 – a long-term vision that will ensure a comprehensive and systematic management of the city government. It envisions what Nagoya would be like in 2030 following its hosting of the 2026 Asian Games and after the start of the Tokyo-Nagoya maglev transit line known as the Chuo Shinkansen.
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J. Albert Gamboa is a Life Member of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) and Vice-Chair of the FINEX Ethics Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and the Manila Bulletin. #FinexPhils www.finex.org.ph