Minister for Trade and Industry, Chan Chun Sing,
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Dr Koh Poh Koon,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.
On behalf of Temasek, welcome to our fifth Ecosperity conference.
This year marks the second time we’re holding this conference on the United Nations World Environment Day. I see many familiar faces here today; thank you for continuing on this journey with us. We deeply value your continued support.
This year’s Ecosperity is our biggest yet. We have more than 600 delegates with us, representing 23 countries. This affirms our belief that sustainability is a vital subject that touches lives all over the world.
Ecosperity is coined from two words: Ecology and Prosperity. The name recognises that growth can, and should, take place in a sustainable manner. We strongly believe that doing good and doing right can, and must, go hand-in-hand with doing well.
When we conceived the conference in 2014, our goal was to rally like-minded leaders to come together, discuss, and spur ideas and solutions to help build a sustainable tomorrow.
Last year, we partnered the Business and Sustainable Development Commission to launch the Asian edition of their report; “Better Markets, Better World”. The report identified 5 trillion dollars’ worth of economic opportunities in Asia that will support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs.
We also introduced the concept of an ABC World – an Active economy, a Beautiful society, and a Clean and cool earth. This framework places each of the 17 SDGs under these three pillars. It highlights the interdependence of the goals, and hopefully makes their purpose easier to recall.