The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the formation of a new Sustainability Group and the appointment of Dr Darian McBain as its Chief Sustainability Officer, with effect from 1 October 2021.
The new Sustainability Group helmed by Dr McBain will steer sustainability efforts across MAS and help the organisation build deeper capabilities in this multi-faceted area.
The new group will coordinate MAS’ green finance and sustainability agenda, namely to strengthen the financial sector’s resilience against environmental risks as well as develop a vibrant green finance ecosystem to support Asia’s transition to a low-carbon future.
Additionally, the group seeks to identify strategic green finance collaborations with regional and international counterparts and reduce MAS’ own carbon and environmental footprint.
Dr McBain has more than 20 years of deep experience in sustainability roles spanning across various sectors. She was most recently chief sustainability officer in Thai Union Group, a seafood supplier conglomerate.
She holds a PhD in social indicators for global supply chain analysis and a Masters in business strategy, politics and environment, and was recently named as a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Pioneer for the environmental initiatives she has spearheaded.
Dr McBain will report to Ho Hern Shin, Deputy Managing Director for Financial Supervision and Leong Sing Chiong, Deputy Managing Director of Markets and Development.
She will set the agenda for the regulator’s Green Finance Steering Committee chaired by Ravi Menon, the Managing Director of MAS.
Menon said,
“The formation of the Sustainability Group reflects MAS’ commitment to embed climate change and environmental sustainability across its roles as a financial regulator, as a promoter of the financial sector, and as an organisation.
Green finance and climate resilience are growing areas of priority for MAS and we are pleased to have Darian join us and lead our efforts in these areas.”