Panelists at the Asia ESG Summit in Kuala Lumpur discussed how companies can turn sustainability goals into projects that banks and investors will actually fund. CDL chief sustainability officer Esther An said ESG teams need to quantify how their work affects profitability, risk, and long-term value, not just report environmental metrics. PNB's Muazzam Mohamad added that sustainable investment must follow the same financial discipline as any other deal, with governance and social risks treated as part of the investment case. The panel also stressed that credible reporting is becoming a condition for green finance. A sustainability report that lists water, waste, and carbon data without linking it to strategy will not move lenders. Meanwhile, both speakers pointed to climate adaptation and resilience as a growing investment opportunity, as extreme weather, water stress, and flood risk start to erode asset values. The cost of inaction, they argued, is becoming harder to ignore.
