Regenerate: an Asia Pacific study on sustainability and beyond
Kearney’s latest research assesses the region’s progress and explores the trajectory of sustainability initiatives, shedding light on corporate ambitions, execution, and impact as APAC companies advance from sustainable to regenerative businesses.
Asia’s transition to net zero emissions is inherently complex. A global powerhouse for economic growth, this dynamic region has made significant progress. However, climate change is creating an existential threat amid high exposure to extreme weather events such as flooding, heatwaves, and droughts, which could disrupt decades of progress.
Amid these challenges, there’s an urgent need for Asia Pacific (APAC) to transition toward development that is not only carbon-neutral but also climate-resilient. Adopting pathways to reduce the region’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions is a large part of this shift. Additionally, embracing an approach that prioritizes generating net-positive impacts on the environment and society can ensure that the region’s growth remains robust in the face of climate change. This will require moving beyond conventional sustainability and embracing sustainable development that is regenerative, actively restoring and unifying entire ecosystems—the people, the digital technology, and the operational building blocks to move forward for the benefit of everyone.
Encouragingly, many companies across the region have embraced this bold, systems-level thinking: more than 40 percent of the executives we surveyed say their companies are already taking a regenerative approach toward sustainability. And of these, almost 70 percent say it is an organization’s responsibility to go beyond reducing and preventing negative impacts on our planet and society to generating net-positive outcomes for future generations. With this mindset, the region is well-positioned to tackle the challenges related to climate change.
We hope this report provides useful insights that encourage business leaders across Asia Pacific to enhance their sustainability ambitions, optimism, and momentum and accelerate the shift toward