Across Southeast Asia, sustainability reporting is entering a new phase as regulators move to align corporate disclosures with ISSB standards. (Photo: iStock)
Across Southeast Asia, sustainability reporting is entering a new phase as regulators move to align corporate disclosures with standards set by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). What was once a patchwork of national ESG frameworks is gradually giving way to a more consistent, investor-oriented baseline designed to make sustainability information comparable across markets.
Between 2025 and 2026, ASEAN economies including Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines are revising existing rules or rolling out new requirements to bring sustainability disclosures in line with ISSB standards. As these requirements converge, differences in governance quality, climate risk management, and data credibility are becoming more visible. For investors, those differences increasingly serve as signals of corporate investability.
Carlo Chen-Delantar, Partner and Head of ESG at venture capital firm Gobi Partners, said the regional shift toward alignment is a positive development. As more countries adopt ISSB standards, “it removes a lot of noise, allowing investors to now compare companies across ASEAN,” he said. “It makes cross-border capital more disciplined, and it raises the bar for everyone.”
ASEAN aligns on ISSB, despite divergent ESG starting points
Across ASEAN, countries are moving toward a shared sustainability disclosure baseline, even though they differ in how early they introduced mandatory ESG reporting. The common destination is alignment with standards developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Beyond domestic regulatory reform, this shift is also shaped by growing external pressure from overseas markets, particularly the European Union, where new climate and sustainability rules are increasingly affecting Asian exporters and multinational supply chains.
