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A high-level roundtable on the green economy was hosted by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and the WWF yesterday.
The roundtable brought together leading experts in the fields of business, accountancy, investment and non-governmental organisations to discuss the green economy and its impact, influence and effect on these specific groups.
Darryl Wee, Head of ACCA Singapore, says: “Working in the green economy will need collaboration and co-operation on the part of business, government, and society as a whole. For businesses, they will have to adapt to the way they operate in areas such as governance, risk identification, corporate reporting, product sustainability, resource use and business model creation – essentially mind-sets will need to change.”
A panel of leading experts in the fields of business, accountancy, investor relations, and non-governmental organisations have been brought together to discuss the impacts and influence of the green economy on the corporate sector.
The event was moderated by Gordon Hewitt, Sustainability Advisor, ACCA and the speakers included:
• Adam Tomasek, Managing Director, Borneo and Sumatra WWF;
• Holly Lindsay, Director, CSR Asia Singapore;
• Durreen Shahnaz, Founder and Chairwoman, Impact Investment Exchange Asia;
• Esther An, Deputy GM and Head of CSR, City Developments Limited;
• Kevin Lee, Sustainability Manager, PowerSeraya Limited;
• Rob Daniel, Technical Advisor, PwC Indonesia.
The panellists provided insights on how governments are developing new policies in the green economy; how businesses are adapting the way they operate; the risks and opportunities presented by the green economy; how sustainability can lead to shareholder value; and the need for new business models and investment strategies as the business as usual methods are no longer viable.
Accountants in today’s business world must play an instrumental role in the sustainability agenda. They can play an active role in carbon reduction, providing advice on sustainability policies, governance issues and implementing frameworks which track and measure sustainability initiatives.
Rob Daniel, Technical Advisor at PwC Indonesia says: “Accounting is still in a business as usual scenario while everybody else is changing to accommodate the new economic paradigm. In order to adopt, accountants will need to bring in other skills such as risk and opportunity, get out of their silos and become multi-taskers.”
Gordon Hewitt, Sustainability Advisor at ACCA says: “At ACCA we believe environmental accountability is important for organizations and their stakeholders. The current state of the global economy has led to an unsustainable use of resources, income inequalities, environmental degradation and a greater level of risk.”
“Accountants are increasingly helping businesses and policymakers to measure, understand and reduce their impact on society and the environment as a whole, and we thank our panellists today for their insights which will help shape the future of the green economy,” he added.
Other roundtable events are scheduled to be in Jakarta, Indonesia on 19 April as well as Beijing, China and Hong Kong in June 2012. The feedback gathered at all events will go towards a research report which will be released later this year.
About ACCA
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.
ACCA (accaglobal.com) has been actively involved with the unfolding debate on corporate social and environmental responsibility since 1990.
We promote transparency and best practice in a number of areas including:
• reporting and disclosure;
• auditing;
• research.
We aim to help businesses and organisations realise the growing importance of sustainability to them.
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esther.teo[.]accaglobal.com 
