From Sustainability to Impact: The Next Frontier of Capital

Good morning,

Thank you for inviting me to join you today. It is a privilege to be among such a distinguished gathering at this inaugural Doerr Roundtable. The fact that this conversation is happening — and happening now — speaks volumes about how profoundly the role of capital is evolving.

Let me start with a simple proposition.

Sustainability is no longer a peripheral concern, subordinated to profitability. It is integral to value creation. It is fundamental to how we understand resilience, opportunity, and risk in long-term investing.

But sustainability, as we have traditionally defined it, is no longer enough. The next frontier is impact.

Impact is about deploying capital not only to avoid harm or mitigate downside risk, but to proactively shape better outcomes — for people, for the planet, and for future generations. It is about moving from doing less bad, to doing demonstrably more good, and at scale.

Asia is Pivotal

If impact is the goal, then Asia is pivotal.

Asia is home to more than half of the world’s population — and accounts for more than half of global carbon emissions. If we are serious about solving for the world, we must solve for Asia.

The region sits at the intersection of extraordinary wealth creation and persistent inequality; of rapid growth and mounting environmental stress. Urbanisation, rising energy demand, and the accelerating adoption of digital technology and artificial intelligence are intensifying pressures on land, water, food systems, and public health. The choices made in this decade will shape Asia’s development trajectory for generations.

And yet, there are reasons for cautious optimism.

In various degrees across the region, we are seeing a developing momentum in renewable energy, sustainable land use, de-carbonisation of rice production, coastal protection, and ocean conservation. These efforts are laying the groundwork for stronger public, private, and philanthropic partnerships — and for new models of leadership and collaboration that can unlock scalable impact.

How Asia grows — what we choose to build, finance, and scale — will determine whether global ambitions for a liveable planet remain aspirational, or become real, measurable progress.

This is why we must move beyond sustainability as a compliance reporting exercise, and toward impact as a strategic, investment-driven discipline — one that measures success not only by risks mitigated, but by the systems change we unlock, across a true triple bottom line of profit, people, and planet.

The Catalytic Role of Philanthropic Capital

At Temasek Trust, we are guided by a shared purpose: to build better for every generation.

We pursue this through four philanthropic pathways: building capacity, catalysing solutions, convening partnerships, and mobilising capital.

That fourth pathway is what I want to give special attention to.

Philanthropic capital can serve as risk-tolerant, catalytic capital. It can be used to pilot new models, validate solutions in markets that are not yet ready for commercial investment. It can enable outcomes-based or pay-for-success financing, and blend with commercial capital to turn uncertainty into investable opportunity.

This is often where impact begins.

With catalytic capital, we can spark new pathways. It provides a bridge to help promising ideas move from concept to credibility — proving what is possible before markets fully catch up.

The Power of Multi-Sector Partnerships

But catalytic capital alone is not enough.

The challenges we face — climate change, health security, food systems, sustainable development — are systemic challenges. And systemic challenges demand systemic responses.

As the African proverb reminds us: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Philanthropy can take early risk. Governments can create enabling policy and regulatory environments. The private sector can bring innovation, execution, and scale.

When these strengths align — when risk is shared thoughtfully, and capital is sequenced intentionally — impact can move from niche to norm, from sandbox to scalability.

Innovative Financing for Transformation

However, the hard truth is that our capital structures today are still not designed for sustainability at scale — much less impact at scale.

Too much early-stage risk is concentrated in too few hands. Too little capital is structured to absorb that risk.

Developing Asia requires trillions of dollars in additional annual investment to meet development and climate goals. Closing this gap is not just about deploying more capital — it is about designing capital for impact.

Blended finance, integrated capital stacks, and market-building instruments are essential tools. When done well, they align risk and return, accelerate the path from innovation to commercial readiness, and ensure that the solutions we finance deliver measurable, durable outcomes.

At Temasek Trust, we are working with partners to help build this infrastructure.

We have launched a digital impact marketplace to connect funders and founders — investors with inventors. Through our Foundation Advisory work, we aim to mobilise donor-advised funds into high-impact carbon and nature-based solutions. Our catalytic climate and health fund supports promising initiatives at the intersection of climate action, human health, and liveability. We would like to facilitate a carbon buyers club. And further along the capital spectrum, our impact investment fund ABC Impact — now in its second fund, with over US$600 million raised — is advancing inclusive and sustainable solutions across Asia.

This is a positive start, and there is increasing momentum. But much more remains to be done.

Looking Ahead

Let me close with three reflections.

First, we must deploy capital with intentionality — guided by the outcomes we seek to shape.

Second, we must ensure additionality — where every dollar mobilises more, and helps move solutions from pilot, to proof, to commercial scale.

And third, we must recognise that the world needs more than sustainability — it needs impact — impact that is measurable, scalable, and transformative.

As investors, philanthropists, innovators, and leaders, we have the opportunity not merely to respond to change, but to shape the future that Asia — and the world — will inherit.

We need to innovate with urgency. We need to scale with ambition. And we need to collaborate with purpose.

Because the real risk is not doing too much. The real risk is doing too little, too late.

Thank you, and I wish you a meaningful and productive day ahead.

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