Welcome Address:
Professor Andrew K Rose
Dean and Distinguished Professor, NUS Business School

Opening Address:
Mr Chavalit Frederick Tsao
Chairman, TPC

Collaboration Overview:
Professor Lawrence Loh
Director, CGS, NUS Business School

Event Summary

The collaboration between TPC and the CGS, NUS Business School, marks a significant milestone in the realm of sustainability. TPC and CGS launched the Well-being and EESG Academy or WEGA with an initial seed fund of S$1 million from TPC. This partnership is set to pioneer a uniquely Asian approach to sustainability, focusing on Economics, Environmental, Social, and Governance (EESG) principles. By empowering businesses as pivotal drivers of EESG practices, WEGA aims to foster a sustainable well-being economy.

Formalized on July 17, 2024, by Professor Andrew K Rose, Dean and Distinguished Professor of NUS Business School, and Mr. Chavalit Frederick Tsao, Chairman of TPC, this collaboration underscores a shared commitment to advancing sustainability. In his welcome address, Professor Rose highlighted the strategic role of key stakeholders. He lauded Chairman Tsao’s leadership, insights and vision in establishing WEGA, Mr Yuelin Yang’s bridge-builder extraordinaire role in the connection, and CGS’s thought leadership under Professor Lawrence Loh for the execution.

Professor Rose commended WEGA as a bold and innovative initiative tailored to Asian contexts, unprecedented in its scope and ambition. Professor Lawrence Loh, CGS Director, emphasized WEGA’s uniqueness in contextualizing sustainability across various sectors beyond family businesses. He articulated a vision for WEGA to pioneer an Asian universal model for a well-being economy, encompassing for-profit organizations, public agencies, and educational institutions alike.

Expected to commence operations by the end of 2024, WEGA aims to advance sustainability concepts, promote best practices through research and education, and tailor these initiatives to different regions and sectors. The inauguration of WEGA was celebrated at a gathering hosted by TPC the same evening, where stakeholders shared their vision for a sustainable future and encouraged more organisations to join in on the cause.

Special recognition was extended to CGS advisory board members Professor Lutfey Siddiqi, Professor Patrick H.M. LOH, and Juanita Woodward for their steadfast support and contributions. Additionally, Mr. Thomas Thomas, CEO of ASEAN CSR Network, who did the pioneering work with CGS on its sustainability reporting in 2014, was also specially invited and present at this inaugural launch.

Other specially invited guests for the event included Mr Ng Boon Heong, CEO of Temasek Foundation, Ms Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer of City Developments Limited, and Christina Lee, Founder & CEO of Global Green Connect.