Embedding Climate in the Boardroom: From Occasional Agenda Item to Core Business Strategy

For many companies in Southeast Asia, climate change has usually been treated as an issue to monitor, not one to manage. It appears in the annual report. It might make it onto the board agenda once or twice a year. But it is rarely embedded into the heart of governance and decision-making.

That needs to change.

The climate crisis is not a temporary disruption. It’s a defining risk and opportunity for businesses across the region. And the boardroom must evolve to meet it. Effective climate governance is not about isolated policies or ad hoc discussions. It’s about making climate part of how a board thinks, plans, oversees, and leads.

Integration Begins with Structure

Boards cannot oversee climate-related risks and opportunities if they do not have the internal structures to do so. According to the guide, effective integration starts with:

- Clear board-level responsibility: Climate oversight should sit within a dedicated committee or be clearly assigned to an existing one.

- Defined management roles: Senior executives should be accountable for delivering climate strategy across departments.

- Regular reporting lines: Climate issues must flow between management and the board in a structured, consistent way.

Without formal structures, climate becomes a side topic and companies miss the chance to manage it proactively.

The Culture of a Climate-Competent Board

Governance is about more than policies. It’s about people — and how they make decisions. For boards to lead on climate, they must cultivate the right culture: one of curiosity, challenge, and continuous learning.

This includes:

- Ensuring the board has access to climate expertise, either internally or through external advisers

- Regularly updating directors on the latest science, regulations, and stakeholder expectations

- Encouraging open, informed discussion of climate risks and opportunities at the strategic level

- Embedding climate knowledge into board training and development programmes

When boards understand the stakes and are supported to ask the right questions, they can move from passive observers to active stewards of climate ambition.

Tools That Make the Shift Possible

The guide identifies several tools boards can use to embed climate into governance in a practical, measurable way:

- Scenario analysis: Understand how different climate futures could impact the business model.

- Internal carbon pricing: Attach a real financial value to emissions in capital planning.

- Climate KPIs: Align executive incentives with climate targets and disclosures.

- Climate due diligence: Integrate climate into M&A and supplier assessments.

- Board evaluations: Include climate governance as a performance metric for the board.

These tools move climate from values to systems, turning good intentions into sustained action.

Climate as Core Business Strategy

Boards that embed climate into their operations and culture are not simply keeping up, they are setting the pace. They are better positioned to respond to regulatory change, earn stakeholder trust, and navigate market shifts with confidence.

In a region as vulnerable and opportunity-rich as Southeast Asia, board-level climate leadership is not just responsible, it’s essential.

The transition is coming. Boards must decide whether they will be reacting to it, or driving it.

Download the full guide here.