SINGAPORE, July 17, 2024 – TPC (Tsao Pao Chee) Group and the Centre of Governance and Sustainability (CGS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the Well-being and EESG Academy (WEGA), where EESG stands for Economics, Environmental, Social and Governance.
TPC’s partnership with CGS is driven by a shared commitment towards advancing a sustainable well-being economy. With an initial seed fund of SGD $1 million from TPC, WEGA aims to become a research and education leader for a uniquely Asian approach towards sustainability. This approach positions businesses as the key driver behind ESG practices, fostering a thriving well-being and happiness economy.
Mr Chavalit Frederick Tsao, Chairman, TPC, said, “Climate change is the sum of all pollution that we put out to the environment. If this continues, there will be no humanity. We are desperately at the eleventh hour to find a solution, a holistic approach to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to creating a well-being and happiness economy. We need a theory of change that is holistic, harmonising and community based. This is unique to our Asian culture in the past which we need to bring it back. Without measurability, it is difficult to manage. Therefore, creating an Asia-focused matrix is necessary to steer positive climate and social changes. NUS is the number one business school in Asia and business is needed to drive this change. In that spirit, we establish WEGA, a place for research, community building and change, bringing together and promoting public, private and philanthropy partnerships. TPC as a family business of over 120 years is responding to the call and we invite all to join us on this movement.”
As a key partner, CGS will leverage its research expertise and resources to advance knowledge in well-being and EESG. CGS will also oversee day to day management of WEGA. TPC, through its non-profit OCTAVE Institute, will contribute resources on well-being programmes, leadership development, family dynamics and human relationships, while implementing the sustainability approach within its own organisations.
Professor Lawrence Loh, Director of CGS, said, “We are excited to partner with TPC in building a sustainable well-being economy, which provides everyone with equal opportunities for advancement and a sense of social inclusion. Indeed, well-being is really at the core of the key aspects of sustainability – economics, environmental, social and governance. Our initiative will develop innovative strategies and holistic metrics to guide organisations in embedding well-being for a sustainable and liveable future.”
WEGA is expected to be operational by the end of 2024. As a start, it will focus on developing and validating the models, promoting awareness, and stimulating sustainable transformation via four pillars of impact – business transformation, impact investing, advocacy and philanthropy.
