Page 73 - The Ethics of ASEAN

The Rise of Corporate Ethics in ASEAN

Pertamina, he believes that the company’s ethics in ESG are inseparable from Indonesia’s
development as a nation. Like Sharmini’s description of BP, the corporate ethics of a major
energy company engaged in producing fossil fuels is a challenge reducing the negative
impact on the environment.
As Shree Mogan reminds us, for business leaders in ASEAN, corporate ethics like
diversity and social justice is often still viewed as being “western” ethics. There will be
considerable challenges if ASEAN companies take a distrustful view of the increased
emphasis on ethics. However, when even in a small company you cannot get a loan or sell
your products without ESG compliance, the ethical preference quickly becomes concrete.
Also, with the fact that around half of the ASEAN workforce is already composed of Gen
Z and millennial workers, the generational shift in ethics will be a consideration for any
company.

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