Citigroup: More institutions in APAC pursuing ESG strategies

More institutions in Asia Pacific (APAC) are pursuing the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies, with over two-thirds of the 259 institutional respondents attributing COVID-19 as a driving force of ESG policies and practices in their firms, according to a survey by Citigroup Inc.

The main drivers behind the adoption of overall ESG standards included alignment to overall corporate sustainability strategy (65 per cent), positive impact on relationship with customers and stakeholders (57 per cent), and social and environmental factors (48 per cent), it said.

“Others included regulatory obligations and pre-empting broader policy and regulatory changes (42 per cent), access to funding dedicated to ESG projects (28 per cent), as well as demand and pricing impact on ESG products (22 per cent),” Citigroup said in a statement today.