DSM announces new commitment to sustainability in Asia

DSM, a global company active in health, nutrition and materials, has just announced a new commitment to sustainable development. At the Annual Tri-sector Forum organized by SMU today (April 28), the company said it has created a DSM Senior Fellow in Partnership and Sustainability at the Singapore Management University (SMU) through a S$200,000 grant.  

“We are delighted that, through the Masters of Tri-Sector Collaboration program at SMU, this Fellowship will help to advance knowledge, foster best practices, help shape policies, facilitate networks and promote partnerships in sustainable development,” explains Pieter Nuboer, Asia Pacific Vice President. “This collaboration with SMU marks a further milestone in DSM’s commitment to promoting sustainable activities through the collaborative efforts of Government, Civil Society and Business. We firmly believe that the cohorts of SMU’s Master of Tri-Sector Collaboration program will play a critical catalyst role in this context.”

The DSM Senior Fellow appointed by SMU is Simon Zadek, a Senior Fellow at the Global Green Growth Institute and the International Institute of Sustainable Development. His work is focused on the intersection of economic policy, business strategy and transformation, and sustainability outcomes. During the course of his fellowship, Simon will be teaching a course on ‘Partnership Mindset and Sustainability’; looking at the rationale behind the three sectors working together more closely to build businesses and societies that are able to thrive in an interconnected 21st century environment.

Ann Florini, Professor of Public Policy at the School of Social Sciences at SMU and Academic Director of the Master of Tri-Sector Collaboration program, said “SMU greatly appreciates DSM’s farsighted support for our efforts to advance the theory and practice of cross-sector collaboration through our teaching and research programmes. As DSM's experience demonstrates, such partnerships among business, government, and civil society are crucial to solving the great challenges of the 21st century.”

Through this initiative, the parties involved aim to discover new opportunities and new solutions to overcome present challenges, such as climate change, energy, health and wellbeing. This in turn will boost economic prosperity, environmental quality and social responsibility, in line with the DSM mission to improve the lives of people today and for generations to come.

At the Forum, DSM Chief Technology Officer Marcel Wubbolts will also be part of the panel on Food Security in Asia. The panel is set to explore current partnerships that are actively addressing the issues of food security, hunger and malnutrition in Southeast Asia.

DSM has been ranked among the very top in the Chemical sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index five times and held the worldwide sustainability leader position in the Materials industry six times since 2004.