Southeast Asia Sustainability Ambitions 2022

Southeast Asia is a region of immense opportunity and growth, boosted by largely favorable demographics of a young population, a growing middle class and rapid urbanization. Yet, to fully reach its economic potential, ASEAN as a bloc will have to grapple with the challenge of developing sustainably. Rapid growth will exacerbate the stresses on already fragile infrastructure foundations in most of the region. On top of that, like the rest of the world, ASEAN will have to face the global climate crisis, where Deloitte estimates that climate inaction could cost Southeast Asia’s economy US$28 trillion by 2070.

For the region to fully reach its economic potential, new alliances need to be formed among different stakeholders – large and small, public and private, local and multinational. In collaboration with the US-ASEAN Business Council, Deloitte Center for the Edge has provided in-depth insights on Southeast Asian nations into five key aspects of sustainability selected by US-ASEAN Business Council members – Energy & Climate, Biodiversity, Water, Waste and Gender Equality. This report serves as a one-stop resource for multinational companies and investors to identify areas where sustainability efforts may make the largest impact.