Asia is the dynamo of today’s global economy. But it lags behind the west in one critically-important regard: commitment to environmentally and socially sustainable investment.

The decades-long pursuit of economic development, which has seen the region achieve ever-higher living standards for billions of people, has paid too little attention to the environmental and social consequences. The result is the growing pollution of Asia’s air, water and land, and worrying increases in inequality.

This must now change, with governments, regulators, companies and consumers all playing their parts. And in this transformation, Asian investors, including the wealthy families that still control a lot of the region’s riches, have a critical role to play in expanding sustainable investment.