Why Sustainability Matters

• Big gap in fully understanding issues around sustainability and ESG
• Tech & digitalisation play big part in helping businesses & society adapt

Information is key in times of crisis. The financial press in the U.K., for example, grew at a time when the economy was in crisis. What we know today as business journalism grew out of the need to understand what was happening in the economy. Journalists had to learn how to read financial statements and understand economics in a way that the rest of us take for granted.

We are facing a new crisis now. And just like before, media outlets are racing to fill the gap in sustainability reporting and information. Some of the more notable media organisations have started rolling out dedicated ‘green desks’ over the last few years: Bloomberg Green, The Economist, The Washington Post Climate, and The New York Times Climate & Environment; while closer to home we have ESG-related sections from The Edge and The Star.

Sustainability is a huge domain, with journalists still trying to figure things out in parallel to businesses learning how to adapt. Thankfully, there are more resources available to media organisations now. The Oxford Climate Journalism Network and the BBC feature dedicated training resources for journalists.

So, why Sustainability Matters? Two reasons.

Firstly, we have witnessed first-hand CEOs of our Malaysian public listed companies appear at sustainability-themed conferences and bungle their answers. Perhaps they can be forgiven for not knowing any better, but it is very unlikely that any of them take the stage at these events without being prepped by their comms/PR teams.

That gives you an indication of how big the gap is when it comes to fully understanding the issues around sustainability and ESG. This ignorance comes at a cost. Read our first story here where we look at how enlightened stakeholders are holding companies to account based on their reporting and (in)action.

Secondly, technology and digitalisation will play a big part in helping businesses and society adapt. There is a need to cover how these technologies are progressing, and what solutions are available for businesses to adopt. There is value in covering this to help businesses and startups make better decisions and that is why Sustainability Matters is a natural fit for Digital News Asia. Its authentic and organically built social media following is another key strength to amplify the stories we cover.

Sustainability Matters is founded by Hardesh Singh who is the editor as well. He has been in the digital media space for the past 10 years and is also pursuing his postgraduate studies in Sustainable Development at the Jeffrey Sachs Centre on Sustainable Development. Tay Kay Luan who has authored three books on sustainability, has been writing passionately about sustainability issues from the early 2000s and is currently CEO of FIDE Forum, will be a regular columnist.

The overall editorial support will be provided by Karamjit Singh, as co-founder of Sustainability Matters and the team from DNA.