Watcher economies are still in the early stages of their sustainability initiatives

The International Data Corporation (IDC) has identified three distinct country segments in the Asia Pacific market for sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) related technology products and services. These segments are called Pacesetters, Emerging Leaders, and Watchers, representing different levels of sustainability maturity based on national policies and regulations.

Pacesetter economies have a strong regulatory environment for sustainability/ESG adoption, leading to high demand for sustainability/ESG-related technologies and services. Companies in these economies are focused on expanding their sustainability initiatives and may require sophisticated emissions tracking and analytics technologies.

Emerging Leaders economies are experiencing increasing interest in sustainability/ESG initiatives, driving demand for ESG data management, supply chain data management, product lifecycle data management, ESG reporting, and decarbonization technologies.

Watcher economies are still in the early stages of their sustainability initiatives and are focused on establishing their baseline and extracting emissions data from their operations. They may not require advanced technologies at this stage.

The speed of regulatory changes in the Asia Pacific region is impacting the demand for technologies that enable companies to meet stricter sustainability and ESG reporting requirements. Organizations are re-evaluating their business models, asset utilization, and supply chains to improve their sustainability performance and ESG metrics.

Eight economies in Asia Pacific, including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, are identified as hotspots for sustainability strategies and technologies. Companies operating in these countries will have an increased need for ESG data management, supply chain management, ESG reporting, and decarbonization technologies.

Sustainability performance and ESG scores are becoming important for accessing cheaper capital through green financing and preferred procurement in government and enterprise contracts.

To succeed in this evolving regulatory environment, organizations need to stay updated on sustainability/ESG policies and regulations and invest in ESG-related technologies and services to enhance their data collection, monitoring, validation, reporting capabilities, and sustainability credentials.

The IDC Sustainability Research Framework, which measures the impact of regulatory drivers on the adoption of sustainability strategies and technologies, was used to derive these insights. The framework considers factors such as the rule of law, public policy implementation, business compliance, implementing structure, and the conversion of international sustainability commitments to national public agendas across 16 Asia Pacific countries.

Tags: Asia PacificESGIDC