GrowRight is driving the adoption of more responsible agricultural investment practices in Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia is primed for increased investments in food, agriculture, and forestry, with untapped green investment opportunities equaling $205 billion per year in these sectors alone. Investing responsibly in agriculture and forestry can help achieve environmental, social, and financial returns, and deliver on Sustainable Development Goals.
Grow Asia is working with partners to encourage regional adoption of the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture, and Forestry. These guidelines include a set of 10 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) guidelines for investment policy and practice, adopted by the ASEAN Member States in 2018.
PROMOTING BEST PRACTICE
DRIVING TRAINING AND LEARNING PROGRAMS
ENGAGING INVESTORS
STRENGTHENING POLICY ENVIRONMENT
Supported by:
UNLOCKING INCLUSIVE FINANCE FOR SMES
SMEs are essential for economic growth, as they comprise 95% of enterprises in ASEAN, and generate 45% of the region's GDP. Farmers and SMEs are facing daily impacts of climate change but even low-tech climate adaptation solutions are failing to find scalable markets due to economic barriers and poor access. Following a series of partner roundtables and an investor survey, Grow Asia has consolidated its recommendations for action - aligned with the B20 Trade and Investment Task Force policy recommendations - for G20 consideration.
A self-assessment toolkit designed for agribusinesses to score business operations against the 10 ESG principles of the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry. By identifying these gaps, companies will know where to focus their energy, in order to align with future policy changes.
Self-assessment toolkit for
agri-businesses
One essential strategy for boosting responsible investment is to harmonize national-level legislation across the region. Grow Asia and our partners provide direct technical assistance and capacity building for policymakers to improve legal and policy frameworks.
Technical Assistance for ASEAN Member States
Our goal is to help governments develop or update national regulations to align with the ASEAN Guidelines on Responsible Investing, which helps governments prioritize sustainability concerns, reach multilateral goals, and promote innovative and green finance mechanisms.