CSO Insights: How sustainability pullback is playing out in Southeast Asia

Aug 19, 2025

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If you work in sustainability, you know that 2025 has been a time of upheaval in many parts of the world. At the All Things Sustainable podcast, we want to understand how sustainability leaders are handling the changing landscape. So this week, we're launching a new miniseries where we interview Chief Sustainability Officers across industries and around the world.

We're kicking off our CSO Insights series by sitting down with Eric Lim, the Chief Sustainability Officer at United Overseas Bank (UOB), one of the largest banks headquartered in Singapore. We'll be back later this week with more interviews with CSOs at Southeast Asian banks.

Eric says UOB is "obsessed with supporting the client decarbonization and transition journeys," while also emphasizing the importance of a just transition. He tells us how initiatives like the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association, where he's a convening member, are working to simplify the topic of nature for financial institutions. And he explains how countries like Singapore are incorporating adaptation and resilience measures into the built environment.

"What we see with our clients is — even though there is globally perhaps a bit of this pullback from sustainability, a bit of greenhushing — that our clients simply continue to invest in low-carbon or green business models that they know make commercial sense," Eric says.

Listen to our recent podcast episode How sustainability professionals are weathering challenging times

Listen to our recent interview with the CEO of Climate Risk & Resilience at global insurance group Howden Why insurance is becoming central to climate risk conversations

Learn about S&P Global Sustainable1's Nature & Biodiversity dataset.

The All Things Sustainable podcast from S&P Global will be an official media partner of The Nest Climate Campus during Climate Week NYC. Register free to attend here.

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1 and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.

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