ASEAN Draws Up First ESG Taxonomy Draft

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has published its first draft taxonomy for ESG reporting, saying the move was necessary as many of its member states were on the climate-risk frontline. The Jakarta, Indonesia-headquartered trade bloc said the proposal would introduce “a common language across ASEAN for financing sustainable economic activities”. A region-wide framework would have four environmental objectives and two “essential criteria” for the economy. The Version 1 iteration released on Wednesday also provides for an overlay that can be tweaked to suit individual member states. This initially focuses on six material sectors including agriculture, power supply, manufacturing and transportation.