The Nature Pledge: Biodiversity and Sustainability in Asia and the Pacific

UNDP - Sean Lees
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Join host, Sean Lees, as he speaks with leading voices on efforts to combat nature loss in Asia-Pacific. What can be done to ensure economic growth does not result in ecosystem collapse and species extinction? What shifts are needed in our values, business practices, and environmental policies to benefit both people and planet? What trade-offs are required? Subscribe to The Nature Pledge podcast to understand the people, policies and politics driving action on biodiversity in Asia and the Pacific today.

  1. FEB 3

    Episode 14 - Benchmarking Nature Performance: Corporate Rankings and Progress in Asia Pacific

    In this episode of The Nature Pledge, we consider the power of corporate benchmarking in nudging us towards a nature positive economy. Benchmarking the biodiversity performance of large enterprises can help us understand progress and incentivize further action. And as importantly, corporate rankings and indexes can tell us a great deal about how further there is left to go in mitigating the drivers of biodiversity loss. Recently, the World Benchmarking Alliance – or WBA – released its 2026 Nature Benchmark report. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, WBA’s 2026 assessment of the world's most influential companies produced some rather alarming results: Only 14% of companies in their overall survey reported on their nature impacts. Of these, the global average score for the quality of their nature reporting was a paltry 17.3 out of 100. What accounts for these failing grades? And how do we shrink the vast distance between corporate reporting, action and the global biodiversity goals? Listen in to our latest episode to find out!

    36 min

  2. JAN 14

    Episode 13 - Season 1 Recap: Managing Tensions and Transitions in the Nature and Sustainable Development Space

    In this 2025 recap episode, we revisit the key themes andmost valuable reflections from our guest speakers. Over 12 episodes, our guests had a lot to say about the changing political and economic environment impacting on overseas development assistance and our work on nature and sustainable development. We also spoke at length about to the tensions between regional economic growth ambitions and the goals articulated in national biodiversity strategies and action plans. Lastly, our guest speakers spent significant time detailing the importance but also the challenges of multistakeholder engagement. Listen in and hear the highlights from our inaugural season!

    26 min

  3. 11/24/2025

    Episode 12 - Financing Sustainability in a Time of Uncertainty

    To address biodiversity loss, climate change, poverty and inequality, trillions of dollars in public and private financing are required.  And yet the world seems to be churning faster than ever before with daily setbacks at both national and international levels. Some observers say that meeting our sustainable development ambitions are increasingly unlikely under current political and economic circumstances. Is a full-fledged revolution in sustainable financing needed? The private sector has NOT been sitting on the sidelines, but can it do more? Can it afford not to? Join us for Episode 12, "Financing Sustainability in a Time of Uncertainty" and hear from Sebnem Sener, UNDP’s Head of Private Finance for the SDGs, as she answers the most difficult questions: 1. Are we simply tinkering at the edges of the triple planetary crisis with sustainable finance, or addressing systemic risks?    2. If sustainable finance is both profitable and important, why does it need to be promoted? 3. With trade tensions and economic certainty running so high, are the best days for sustainable finance behind us?

    17 min

  4. 11/16/2025

    Episode 11 - China, Social Entrepreneurship and the Future of Sustainability

    Social entrepreneurship has taken off in the region, including in China, with remarkable energy and results. Governments and private organizations are taking note and increasingly supporting this sector through funding and enabling policies. How might impact-focused entrepreneurs change the shape of nature conservation and sustainable use in China and elsewhere? What does their rise mean for the “sustainability recession” we seem to be going through?   In Episode 11, we will hear from Richard Brubaker, an influential voice in both sustainability and social entrepreneurship circles in the region, but especially in China. As the Managing Director of Collective Responsibility, a Shanghai-based consultancy, Richard has worked in Asia for the last 30 years with a diverse range of stakeholders on sustainability—from governments and multinational corporations to startups and academic institutions.

    20 min

  5. 11/02/2025

    Episode 10 - Malaysia's Green Transformation and the Role of the Business and Human Rights Agenda

    Malaysia is a study in contrasts: a mega-diverse country at the verge of reaching advanced economy status. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the country has transformed in more ways than one over the course of its development journey. Edmund Bon, the Chair and Malaysia representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Committee on Human Rights provides insights into how attitudes in his country have changed towards nature, IPLCs and human rights, and how businesses have adapted. Evidencing a value-shift, the country has recently adopted a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR) which contains strong environmental provisions. How can this NAPBHR instrument be used to halt and reverse biodiversity loss? What role does ASEAN have to play? And how do bring human rights and environmental sustainability work closer together? Join us for an illuminating discussion with Edmund Bon, on these and other issues, on the newest episode of the Nature Pledge.

    26 min

  6. 10/19/2025

    Episode 9 - Financing Nature: Opportunity and Risks in Asia Pacific

    A recent World Economic Forum survey ranks biodiversity loss as one of the top threats to our global economy over the next ten years. Yet, a 700 billion USD annual financing gap to halt and reserve nature loss persists. Why the disconnect between the recognition of the risks to our economies and the rate and size of investments made in nature? Are the returns on investment in nature too small? Is the opportunity to invest in nature misunderstood?   To help clarify the picture, Matteo Marinelli, the Asia Pacific Lead for Sustainable Finance at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) based in Singapore, provides a wide range of insights on the complex landscape of biodiversity finance.

    29 min

  7. 10/02/2025

    Episode 8 - The Right to Development and Nature

    Dr. Surya Deva, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development is using his position to advance a planet-centered, participatory approach to development that, “prioritizes ecological sustainability and human participation, moving away from anthropocentric, growth-focused models.” How well is his message being received? What countries are buying it? And how might this novel interpretation of the right to development help us reach the aspirations of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework?

    27 min

  8. 07/15/2025

    Episode 7 - Retreat vs Renewal: Shifting Approaches to Business on Nature and Sustainability

    Businesses and banks are leaving net-zero alliances and governments are walking back sustainability disclosure requirements. Are we in a "sustainability recession"? In this episode of the Nature Pledge, we speak to Eva Zabey, CEO of Business for Nature, about how the Asia-Pacific business community is reacting in these uncertain times. Eva challenges sustainability professionals to think of this period as an opportunity to take stock, reset and consider changes in our approach to business and finance. She offers a pathway forward and concludes with an inspired view of the value, economic and, policy and practice shifts necessary to reach our nature-positive future.

    21 min
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Join host, Sean Lees, as he speaks with leading voices on efforts to combat nature loss in Asia-Pacific. What can be done to ensure economic growth does not result in ecosystem collapse and species extinction? What shifts are needed in our values, business practices, and environmental policies to benefit both people and planet? What trade-offs are required? Subscribe to The Nature Pledge podcast to understand the people, policies and politics driving action on biodiversity in Asia and the Pacific today.

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