Sustainable Finance Institute Asia partners with ESGpedia as the official technology platform partner in driving regional disclosure efforts through the Single Accesspoint for ESG Data (SAFE) Initiative.

The SAFE Initiative aims to deliver credible, comprehensive, and consistent ESG data reporting for ASEAN by closing data and disclosure gaps as a regional community of stakeholders - supported by ESGpedia's suite of ESG technology solutions that will reduce and simplify processes, enabling holistic and integrated reporting for businesses.

SINGAPORE and KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sustainable Finance Institute Asia (SFIA) has announced the appointment of Asia's leading Environmental, Social, and Governance ('ESG') data and technology solutions company, STACS ESGpedia, as the official ESG platform partner for the Single AccessPoint for ESG Data ('SAFE') Initiative.

The SAFE Initiative is a regional approach to tackling the issue of ESG data, bringing together key stakeholders, including governments, regulators, standard setters, financial institutions, corporates, and SMEs, towards championing data and disclosures for ASEAN and beyond.

The appointment of STACS ESGpedia as the official ESG platform partner for the Initiative is a key step in providing the necessary tools to support corporates, SMEs, and financial institutions in their corporate sustainability and ESG reporting journey – understanding the key challenges faced by providers and users of data alike, the partnership between STACS ESGpedia and the SAFE Initiative provides a quasi-public utility approach which focuses on enabling access for all stakeholders.

The partnership and go-to-market are complementary to SAFE's recently signed Memorandum of Agreement ('MoA') with Global Reporting Initiative ('GRI') on the Sustainability Innovation Lab ('SIL'). For further information on the SIL initiative, please visit https://www.sustainabilityinnovationlab.asia/. ESGpedia is a GRI-licensed platform.

The cross-border partnership was unveiled after the 40^th ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum (ABMF) Meeting in Kumamoto, Japan, where SFIA signed a MoA with GRI to formalise the SAFE-SIL collaboration. This official announcement follows the successful completion of the SAFE pilot with ESGpedia in various ASEAN markets including Philippines with Philippine Financial Market Infrastructure PDS Group, Vietnam with Bamboo Capital Group, and Indonesia with Funding Societies | Modalku earlier in 2023.

Through the partnership, SFIA will collaborate with STACS ESGpedia for the utilisation of ESGpedia, initially in Asia-Pacific markets, to facilitate the region's ESG journey with a set of regular corporate disclosures. ESGpedia provides a digital platform which simplifies various ESG standards and frameworks, providing a guided sustainability journey. It includes digital tools to automatically calculate GHG emissions under the standard GHG Protocol and in accordance with the ISO14064 standard, localized to emissions factors of countries within the Asia Pacific region, allowing companies to gain insights into their carbon footprint. It provides functionality to produce ESG Reports according to both international and local regulatory standards and offers data analytics and visualisation services for both the reporting corporate, as well as their supply chain or financial services portfolios.

The launch of the STACS ESGpedia platform within the SAFE InItiative as its selected Technology Platform, and joint go-to-market collaborations between SAFE and SIL is opportune amid the Asia Pacific region's acceleration towards a green economy, particularly with upcoming mandatory climate disclosures and new policies to enable sustainable practices and reporting, including requirements of Scope 3 GHG emissions reporting.

Benjamin Soh, Founder and Managing Director at STACS ESGpedia, said: "With the increasing requirement for ESG reporting impacting companies worldwide, there is a need for solutions in Asia to empower companies in the region, to ensure the supply chains of Asia remain resilient, sustainable and hence competitive in the face of global ESG regulations. We are honoured for ESGpedia to be the official ESG platform powering the SAFE Platform and to provide our full end-to-end suite of solutions to support companies of any size, from day one to full ESG readiness. Working with SAFE Initiative, we look forward to further expanding our growing partner ecosystem of government agencies, international organisations, and financial services providers, to provide holistic solutions for the real world industries in Asia as we jointly advance the region's sustainability transition."

Eugene Wong, CEO at Sustainable Finance Institute Asia, said: "We are pleased to announce our partnership with STACS ESGpedia, providing the key enabling technology for the SAFE Initiative as its reporting Platform. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our journey towards a unified and accessible ESG data disclosure platform for the ASEAN region. By leveraging ESGpedia's capabilities, we believe the SAFE Platform will provide much-needed support to businesses of all sizes, especially SMEs, to disclose credible ESG data that are crucial for accessing sustainable finance and competing in global supply chains. Working with STACS ESGpedia and SIL, the SAFE Initiative promotes interoperability across standards and jurisdictions, and develops sustainability disclosure capacity for the region. Together, we are committed to driving transparency, accountability, and informed decision-making in the sustainable finance ecosystem across ASEAN and the global markets."

For more information on the SAFE Initiative and to register interest, please visit https://www.sfinstitute.asia/disclosure/.

About STACS ESGpedia

STACS (Hashstacs Pte Ltd) is Asia's leading ESG data and technology company, headquartered in Singapore. Its ESGpedia platform powers the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN) Asia-Pacific Green Deal digital platform, the Asia-Pacific Single Accesspoint for ESG Data (SAFE) initiative, and the Singapore-Australia Go-Green Co-Innovation Programme. With more than 5 million sustainability data points, ESGpedia serves as the Nexus of ESG, digitally empowering corporates, SMEs, and the financial sector to ensure compliance towards ESG regulations and attain their ESG goals. ESGpedia is GRI-licensed. For more information, please visit www.stacs.io and www.esgpedia.io.

About Sustainable Finance Institute Asia

Sustainable Finance Institute Asia ("SFIA") is an independent institute established to catalyze ideas on Sustainable Finance at the policy level, as well as propel action in support of those policy ideas in Asia, particularly in ASEAN.  It aims to provide thought leadership and act as a one-stop center for Sustainable Finance in ASEAN through collaborations with governments, regulators, central banks, multilateral development banks, industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations.

SOURCE STACS ESGpedia