The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has formed a new sustainability group and has named Darian McBain as the group’s chief sustainability officer, effective from October 1. The move is part of MAS’ efforts to establish Singapore as Asia’s green finance centre.
McBain, who has more than 20 years’ experience in sustainability roles spanning various sectors, will report to Ho Hern Shin, deputy managing director of the financial supervision division at the regulator, and Leong Sing Chiong, deputy managing director of the markets and development division, MAS said.
McBain will help set the agenda for MAS’ Green Finance Steering Committee, chaired by Ravi Menon, who is the managing director at the Singaporean central bank.
McBain has joined MAS from Thai Union Group and was recently named as a United Nations sustainable development goal pioneer for the environmental initiatives she has spearheaded.
New sustainability group
The group, with McBain at its helm, will promote sustainability efforts across MAS and help the central bank to build deeper capabilities in this multi-faceted area. It will also coordinate MAS’ green finance and sustainability agenda, which includes strengthening the financial sector’s resilience against environmental risks and developing a vibrant green finance ecosystem to support Asia’s transition to a low-carbon future. The group will also identify strategic green finance collaborations with regional and international counterparts, and reduce MAS’ own carbon and environmental footprint.
“The formation [of the group] reflects MAS’ commitment to embed climate change and environmental sustainability across its roles as a financial regulator, as a promoter of the financial sector, and as an organisation”, Menon said, adding that green finance and climate resilience are growing areas of priority for the authority.
MAS’ efforts
The formation of the group, and McBain’s appointment, are part of MAS’ efforts to help establish the city-state as Asia’s green finance centre.
MAS previously launched an inaugural report to outline some of the milestones the authority has achieved to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach net-zero in Singapore. These include the launch of a green taxonomy; the publication of an environmental risk management handbook for banks, asset managers and insurers; and also recent initiatives to foster efficient markets for trading carbon credits and the release of the green finance disclosure guidebook.
MAS also convened the Green Finance Industry Taskforce to accelerate green finance via improving disclosures and fostering green solutions.
Written by: Zeng Yixiang, Regulatory Intelligence Correspondent for Southeast Asia, Thomson Reuters
