JAKARTA, INDONESIA — The ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) Green & Sustainable Working Group confirmed that it has inducted AC Ventures’ Principal and Head of ESG Lauren Blasco into its Carbon Center of Excellence (CCoE). ASEAN, officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of ten member states in Southeast Asia. The union has a total area of 4,522,518 km2 and an estimated total population of about 668 million, containing approximately 8.5% of the global population.
Launched in April 2003, ASEAN-BAC was set up with the mandate to provide private sector feedback and guidance to boost ASEAN’s efforts toward economic integration. Accordingly, its activities are primarily focused on facilitating business and policy cooperation between nations.
ASEAN CCoE aims to promote an understanding of carbon markets for business leaders, market participants, and regulators. It will build from B20 Indonesia legacy initiatives and launch a new ASEAN Alliance on Scaling Carbon Markets (AASCM), which will champion scaling up voluntary carbon markets and compliance markets in the region.
In 2023, the Republic of Indonesia holds the Chairmanship of ASEAN. The union’s CCoE is set to establish and build upon a variety of initiatives, including its Carbon Knowledge Hub, a curated repository of resources designed to deliver the right know-how and insights to navigate the carbon markets for key actors (credit sellers, investors, etc); its Practice Sharing Center, a series of knowledge exchanges and capacity building sessions meant to help businesses understand and formulate strategies in relation to carbon markets; and the ACSCM, which will act as a focal point for international partnerships geared toward scaling up carbon markets.
Lauren has committed to a five-year tenure to act as an official advisor to public and private stakeholders across the bloc on how to build, launch, and grow voluntary carbon markets.
Lauren explained, “I am honored to be joining the ASEAN-BAC Carbon Center of Excellence. It is a unique opportunity to shape and guide the future of the voluntary and compliance carbon markets in Indonesia and throughout the ASEAN region. I believe that these carbon markets are a critical tool for combating climate change and ensuring a sustainable future for all.”
She added, “I look forward to collaborating with local, regional, and international partners to create effective and equitable carbon market solutions that can catalyze change and drive real, tangible progress. Together, I am confident that we can make a significant positive impact on our environment, economies, and communities.”
Dharsono Hartono, Legacy Lead of the ASEAN Net Zero Hub and Carbon Center of Excellence, added, “The ASEAN-BAC Carbon Center of Excellence is a beacon of innovation and action against climate change. Our mission is to drive the ASEAN economy toward achieving net-zero emissions, paving the way for a better future. With Lauren onboard as an expert in carbon management, we are propelling our mission further. Her knowledge and commitment will undoubtedly accelerate our path toward a carbon-neutral business landscape in ASEAN.”
On behalf of AC Ventures, in partnership with Boston Consulting Group and with support from The Upright Project in Finland, Lauren recently set the first quantifiable ESG standards for Indonesia’s tech sector. This was done via the most in-depth and data-driven impact report to date on the local digital economy. She also sits on the board of Waste4Change, the leading responsible waste management startup in the country.
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently tapped Lauren to join its newly formed ESG task force, an elite group of stakeholders in the nation, assembled and launched on the sidelines of the recent B20 Summit in Bali in November 2022. This group of high-profile corporate figures and business leaders has been asked to craft and propose a sector-agnostic roadmap that will help set the rules for ESG standards and compliance nationwide.
Lauren is a seasoned sustainability and impact practitioner with more than 13 years of experience in the private, public, and educational sectors. She held multiple roles including Director of Sustainability at Potato Head Group, Executive Director at Clean the World, Guest Lecturer at the National University of Singapore, Adjunct Professor at The University of Hong Kong, lead consultant on projects with The National Environment Agency in Singapore, Think Tank/Incubator participant at Asia P3 hub, Incubation Network, Second Muse, Responsible Business Forum as well as frequent ESG panel speaker across Asia Pacific.
