Event Overview
In April 2023, the FAIRR Index Team invited a group of investors and industry experts to FAIRR’s first Asia Index Event. Institutional investors attended the event alongside the CEO of Stewardship Asia Centre’s (SAC), Rajeev Peshawaria and the Asian Corporate Governance Association’s (ACGA) Head of Research, Jane Moir.
During the roundtable, the group discussed the current trends FAIRR has seen within the Asian animal protein sector, the added value FAIRR membership provides to investors interested in engaging Asian markets, and how both stewardship and governance can play a role in reducing ESG-related risk and improving company’s sustainability performance, with a focus on Asian companies.
Asian companies account for 45% of the global market based on revenue, and the companies within FAIRR’s Index account for 21% of this market’s revenue. This acts to highlight the large impact which engaging Asian companies can have in terms of reducing ESG risk globally.
FAIRR commonly receives feedback from investors that Asian companies, particularly those based in China, are difficult to engage with from a shareholder perspective, and the roundtable event provided valuable insights and experiences on navigating this challenge successfully.
FAIRR’S Increased Engagement with Chinese Companies
Last year FAIRR brought onboard a market specialist to engage with Asia, starting with the Chinese companies in our Index universe.
FAIRR has now successfully engaged with ten companies.
Five companies now provide feedback on our assessment.
Six companies now take part in one-to-one calls with FAIRR to discuss their assessment results.
SAC Overview
Rajeev Peshawaria has over 30 years of experience working within corporate governance, being appointed CEO of the Stewardship Asia Centre in 2020, and enlightened the group with a talk on the impact steward leadership can enact on ESG-related issues. Through implementing steward leadership, guided by a set of core values to ‘do better’, Rajeev spoke of companies being able to transform into leaders of the space instead of being box-checkers, simply working to meet regulations.
ACGA Overview
Jane Moir is the Head of Research at the ACGA, a non-profit organization which advocates for improved governance through engagement at both a regulatory and company level. Jane spoke to the group about common hurdles and themes when trying to engage the Board members of Asian companies. Namely, difficulty in directly meeting board members, boards that lack climate expertise and training, most sustainability expertise is found within middle management, and companies often not willing to expose themselves to scrutiny on climate governance.
FAIRR in Asia
FAIRR’s Engagements Involving Asian Companies
Capacity and relationship-building trip to China
Co-host of workshop with CDP China (Beijing)
Panel speaker at event hosted by RSPO China (Beijing)
Attendance in the Climate Bond Initiative APAC Conference (Hong Kong)
Keynote speaker at event hosted by CLSA U (Hong Kong)
Responsible Investor (RI) Japan Event
Panel speaker: Sustainable Oceans and the Blue Economy
Panel speaker: Climate Change Scenario Planning
If you want to learn more about our activities and work in Asia, don't hesitate to contact Erika Susanto.
Resource
FAIRR Index Reports
Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index Asia Trends Report – English, Mandarin, and Japanese versions available
Key Information
| Date: | 26 April 2023 |
| Time: | 07:00 - 11:00 BST (UTC+1) |
| Location: | London, United Kingdom |
| Address: | FAIRR Initiative, London, United Kingdom |
