ASIAN firms and investors are taking an increasing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR), a top regional banker said yesterday.

Practices by companies that reflect these concerns present opportunities for financial investments, said Merrill Lynch's Pacific Rim president, Mr Jason Brand.

For instance, as climate change awareness grows, solutions are needed for a whole host of social and environmental problems, he said. This is where businesses in Asia can get involved and display leadership, he said on day two of the bank's four-day Asia Rising Stars conference.

He singled out local property developer City Developments (CDL) as a firm whose corporate and social responsibility practices have helped it build a green reputation and a stronger brand.

Yesterday, at the conference, CDL launched its inaugural Social and Environmental Report, which documents the company's social and environmental impact, and includes a disclosure of its carbon dioxide emissions. This is the first local environmental report to be checked by the Global Reporting Initiative, a global sustainability reporting standard backed by the United Nations Environment Programme.

With investors increasingly demanding such information from businesses, firms that comply get ahead of the game, said the Singapore Environment Council's executive director, Mr Howard Shaw. 'Carbon disclosure will be an eventuality for all firms in future,' he noted.

Also speaking to the event's 500-strong audience via satellite was former US vice-president Al Gore, who spoke of balancing the need for developing nations to lift themselves out of poverty and the need to achieve this growth without polluting the environment.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on May 16, 2008.

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