Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid: Leaders setting the direction for change Opening remarks by Mr Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid, Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia), at the Sustainability Leadership Programme for Financial Institutions, 14 July 2021. * * *  Introduction Good afternoon and a very warm welcome to all. Thank you to IBFIM and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) for this invitation to deliver the opening remarks. At the recent Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) Conference held last month, in his address, Sir David Attenborough somewhat laid down the gauntlet, in particular for us in the financial industry. “All of us, no matter who we are, have the responsibility to care for the planet. The future of all humanity now depends on us and on none more than you in the world of finance. You have the fate of the whole world in your hands.” With this in mind, it is quite apt that we are here, senior leaders in the industry, participating in this Sustainability Leadership Programme over the next two days. Over the past 18 months, many have felt the economic and social impact caused by the global health crisis. At the same time, the world has not been spared from natural catastrophes due to climate change. The latest being the mudslide in Atami, Japan. In Malaysia, more than 25,000 people were displaced from their homes due to severe flooding in several states between November 2020 and January 2021.
Industry platforms such as VBI-COP and the JC3 could potentially play a central role to ‘intermediate’ the data. As a first step, conversations between the Islamic banking and takaful operators to identify impact-driven and innovative financial solutions under VBI and VBIT, can take place to facilitate respective outreach to the underserved or unbanked population. Outside the financial sector, FIs can embark on collaborations with organisations sharing similar sustainability aspirations including state religious authorities, waqf institutions, business industry associations and advocacy groups, or non-governmental organisations who are at the heart of the vulnerable communities. For example, FIs can collaborate with government agencies and utility companies to support the consumers’ shift to energy-efficient residential homes or vehicles. Beyond the existing sustainable financial products offering preferential rates for the purchase of electric vehicles (EV) or green residential properties, more can be done to raise consumer awareness and to develop complementary infrastructure namely, charging stations. Initiatives such as the development of the VBIAF sectoral guides which are now underway for the manufacturing, construction and infrastructure, as well as oil and gas sectors, is a step in the right direction to streamline the cross-sectoral understanding of sustainability issues, thus allowing for better coordination of efforts to address sustainability risks throughout the value chain. In conclusion, it is our fervent hope that with sustainability, an innovative and collaborative mindset, we can come to develop value-driven solutions and discover new avenues for synergistic collaboration.