Professionals can discuss ethical leadership in areas like compliance, with new networking platform

SINGAPORE – Professionals across a range of industries will be able to discuss various aspects of ethical leadership on a new networking platform launched on Thursday.

The ethBe online platform allows members to access training programmes and discuss issues related to “Grace” principles – governance, risk, anti-money laundering, compliance, ethics and environmental, social and governance.

The aim is for listed companies, multinational corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises to have their employees sign up as members, allowing them to access courses and networking opportunities through events and forums on the platform.

A few hundred people have joined so far.

The platform is operated by RHT Grace Institute, a social enterprise supported by the ONERHT Foundation. Local partners in the initiative include data governance solutions firm Straits Interactive and the Risk and Insurance Management Association of Singapore.

The platform was launched at the foundation’s annual Greening Asean: Initiatives and Leadership Forum, which is in its sixth edition and was attended by more than 150 delegates at Suntec City Convention Centre.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat told the event that societies should collectively invest in sustainability as a priority – not just because it is fashionable or generates good returns, but also out of a sense of responsibility to future generations.

“To be effective and responsible stewards requires taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to sustainability, with the public, private and people sectors each playing our part and working together,” he said, outlining four ways to steward a more sustainable future for Asean and the world.

First, governments should lay out a clear and deliberate vision to rally public support for a more sustainable future, with the private sector also helping to create greater momentum for sustainability.

“Businesses are increasingly setting out their own net-zero targets to support national sustainability goals... As environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics gain greater prominence in investment and risk assessments, corporates will need to clearly articulate their core principles and metrics,” he said.

Citing the ONERHT Foundation’s Grace principles as an example, Mr Heng said: “Such frameworks give businesses a common base understanding from which to map out their sustainability strategies, assess the progress they have made over time, and redeploy resources and expertise if necessary.”

Asean will need an estimated US$3.1 trillion (S$4.1 trillion) in infrastructure investment alone between 2023 and 2030 to sustain economic growth, reduce poverty and respond to climate change, he noted.

It is unlikely that governments on their own can meet such high investment demands, especially amid global economic uncertainties, added Mr Heng.

Second, “the private sector and philanthropies can therefore help to unlock new green-transition opportunities by crowding in private and other forms of capital to augment public expenditure”, he said.

Third, Mr Heng said that a more sustainable future for Asean will also require significant innovation and technological breakthroughs to lower costs and increase the benefits of green transitions.

“Asean member states should invest in R&D (research and development) and build closer cross-border scientific and research collaborations to harness one another’s strengths,” he said.

Fourth, Mr Heng added that innovations and breakthroughs must be deployed at scale to create a tangible impact over the long term.

Asean has a combined population of 665 million people, and this is expected to grow to 717 million by 2030 and 741 million by 2035.

“As a region, there is great potential for any new breakthroughs to be scaled up to achieve impact,” he said.