COP28 | Transforming Outcomes into Practical Solutions 5 Key Imperatives for Business in Asia Pacific

Linden is the Global Sustainability Director and a Partner at ERM. She leads ERM’s corporate approach to sustainability and reporting, impact and the ERM Foundation.

Linden manages ERM’s strategic relationships with key international organisations including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), UNGC, GRI, and many others.  She has been involved in many UN events, and other international sustainability initiatives.

Linden is a social scientist and has provided strategic and technical advice to a range of companies, multi-lateral institutions and governments.  She has worked in many countries and has been in the ‘Who’s who of Australian Women’ for her work in professional and voluntary organisations, and she remains actively involved in a number of civil society organisations.

Charlie is a leader in the areas of carbon accounting, corporate decarbonization strategies, energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate change policy. His expertise spans economic modelling through to engineering, auditing, and strategy across carbon, energy efficiency and renewables. Charlie has 20 years’ experience in the sustainability sector, and has worked extensively with corporates to develop net zero emissions targets and management strategies.

Michael leads ERM’s Renewable Energy practice across the Asia Pacific region. In the past 12 months, ERM has supported its clients on over 40GW of renewable project developments across the region. With over 20 years of experience in the Renewables, Technology, Infrastructure and Government sectors, he is a trusted advisor to boards and senior executives on the transformation and development of solar, battery, wind, hydrogen, microgrid and marine renewables projects. Michael has previously held notable leadership positions, including CEO and Non-Executive Director Roles of ASX-listed energy and technology companies, not for profits and industry boards including the Clean Energy Council as is currently a member of the Transgrid Advisory Committee.

Ashley is a Biodiversity and Social Specialist at ERM Kuala Lumpur, where she co-leads the Nature Positive service in the Asia region. Within her current capacity, Ashley supports clients in understanding the risks, impacts, and dependencies associated with their operations on nature and social systems. She is actively involved in crafting frameworks, strategies, and action plans to effectively mitigate such risks throughout organizations and supply chains.

Ashley has a profound understanding of natural ecosystems and the intricate connections with the priorities and concerns of indigenous peoples and local communities, which provides her with a unique perspective and ability to take into account both natural and social considerations into business decisions and imperatives. 

Kosuke Kanematsu is responsible for the sustainable finance business at ERM Japan. In his previous company, Sustainalytics, he provided second-party opinions on green/social/transition finance and sustainability-linked finance for numerous companies and financial institutions (especially for green bonds, which accounted for more than 2 trillion yen, or about 40% of the total issuance amount in the Japanese market from July 2021 to September 2011). (particularly with respect to green bonds, for a total issuance amount of over 2 trillion yen, or approximately 40% of the entire domestic market from July 2021 to September 2011). Previously, he worked in the Climate Investment Funds Office of the Climate Change Group at the World Bank, where he was involved in the supply of climate finance to developing countries. Kosuke is also a CFA Institute Certified Securities Analyst.

A graduate of IIM Ahmedabad, India and a gold-medalist from RSM Erasmus University, the Netherlands, she has over 15 years of financial markets experience. She has worked with leading investment banks in London and Singapore with successful delivery of structured investment fund business in EMEA and Asia. More recently, she worked with Swiss Re to oversee strategic growth and operational resilience of their reinsurance business in India. Her key strengths are her ability to combine technical understanding with strategic oversight, build for growth, nurture and motivate talent, and drive execution.