The Tokyo Olympics Setting a New Standard with Carbon Positive Aims
The Olympics have started with aplomb! Japan setting the early standard in the medals table and inspiring stories coming to the fore; including Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines winning the country’s first ever gold medal, Qatar’s Barshim, and Italy’s Tamberi deciding to share the Gold Medal in the High Jump and I am sure you can add your own! Sadly, we only have a few days left!
The one thing that has not been mentioned too much but is equally inspiring is the whole of the Tokyo Olympics and the Paralympics will be run entirely using renewable energy sources.
ENEOS, the largest petroleum company in Japan, is a gold partner of Tokyo 2020 and the major energy supplier for the games committed to supplying electricity only generated from renewables to competition venues and facilities.
The energy generated will come from a wood biomass power plant, which uses construction waste and tree clippings to produce electricity. This will come from Kawasaki City in Kanagawa Province about 20 km away. There will also be the utilization of solar power from Tamakawa, Naraha and Okuma in Fukushima, about 250 km away.
Fukushima has been focusing on renewable energy recruitment as part of its recovery strategy following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and it is expected that the Ariake Urban Sports Park, which is due to host the BMX freestyle, BMX racing and skateboarding events at the Olympics, will be powered completely by renewable electricity produced in Fukushima.
This latest initiative is in line with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) aim to make Tokyo 2020 a carbon-neutral Games. The IOC is making it a requirement for Olympic hosts to be climate-positive from 2030 onwards.
Climate positivity will be a huge next step in creating global events so hopefully, we can see this continue in 2022 with the Winter Olympics in Beijing and the Asian Games in 2022.
Aurex has seen sustainability and ESG grow significantly within renewable energy recruitment over the last year with mandates increasing specifically across senior hires into developers, banks, and consultancies across Asia. If you are interested to discuss with us the talent pools directly associated with ESG and Sustainability then please feel free to reach out.
The ESG Finance Boom!
Demand for sustainable finance jobs is heating up globally and perhaps nowhere more crucially than in Asia, home to some of the world’s biggest economies and carbon emitters.
HSBC Holdings Plc, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. are among banks that have recently hired new talents or moved existing employees to ESG roles.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., which had more outstanding green loans than any other Chinese lender, has set up a green financing committee to coordinate an ESG push across its corporate lending, global markets, and research divisions.
Countries from China to Indonesia are ramping up environmental, social, and governance measures to address challenges from air pollution to income inequality. That’s all-increasing attention on ESG investing, in a region that’s still trying to build up more experience after a relatively slower start than in Europe and the U.S. One segment that’s grown faster in Asia this year than elsewhere is ESG credit, further fueling the need for qualified staff.
Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that ESG debt issuance in Asia has tripled in 2021 from 35.3 billion USD to 106 million USD.
We have found that talent pools are very thin particularly with candidates who have proven track records and relevant ESG experience. Clients we are working with do understand the rarity of talent and some are willing to bring them in from abroad.
HSBC, one of the biggest ESG bond arrangers in Asia, plans to strengthen its sustainable finance teams across key markets including Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia, Australia, India, and Indonesia.
In Singapore, authorities set up green finance research and talent development center in late 2020. Singapore’s OCBC has increased sustainability-related jobs by at least 50 in the past two years, with internal and external hires.
Despite all this hiring from Asian financial institutions, demand remains intense.
Here at Aurex Group, we have been retained by financial institutions across both Energy and Infrastructure to secure senior C-level talent across the region. We have networks built and foresee ourselves as leading the charge in recruiting ESG professionals across the region.
Please feel free to reach out to us to discuss should you be interested in growing your ESG team or even if you are seeking to start an ESG focused division within your business.
We always look forward to keeping in touch and exchanging ideas, insights, and opinions. If you are a company considering hiring, we welcome the opportunity to present our services and capabilities. If you are a candidate, please check our jobs page or reach out to us to discuss our renewable energy recruitment capabilities,your background, skills, and future aspirations.
What people are talking about
LOGOS and French energy company Engie said they will build a regional renewable energy platform to provide solar generation and renewable energy options for the former’s Asia-Pacific portfolio.
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC has invested 240million into Arctic Green Energy to support the renewable energy firm’s expansion into Asia and Europe.
Together with Levanta Renewables, a Singapore-based developer of renewable energy projects in Southeast Asia, German developer wpd is planning the Kon Plong onshore wind energy project in the Vietnamese province of Kon Tum.
BlackRock Real Assets has acquired Korea Renewable Energy Development & Operation Holdings (KREDO) and plans to invest up to US$1bn (€846m) to develop its capacity. It is the first BlackRock Real Assets investment in South Korea’s offshore wind sector, part of the deployment of BlackRock’s latest Global Renewable Power strategy which recently raised US$4.8bn.
What we are currently working on
For the full job descriptions regarding the roles below, please reach out to us directly.
Project Development Manager - Renewable Energy - South Korea
In-house Counsel - Renewable Energy - South Korea
Wind Project Engineer - Korea
Senior Project Engineer - Solar - Vietnam
Market Moves
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We always look forward to keeping in touch and exchanging ideas, insights, and opinions. If you are a company considering hiring, we welcome the opportunity to present our services and capabilities. If you are a candidate, please check our jobs page or reach out to us to discuss our renewable energy recruitment capabilities,your background, skills, and future aspirations.
Amy MariettaConsultant, Power Generation, AsiaAurex Singapore Pte Ltd amy.marietta@aurexgroup.com +65 9424 0023 12 Marina View, #11-01 Asia Square Tower 2, Singapore 018961 EA 18S9493 | R1878463 |