Will RichardsonHead of EcoSystems and Networks, 51toCarbonZero · Sustainability & Net-Zero Strategy Leader | Helping £100m+ Enterprises Cut Climate Risk & Operating Costs | Head of EcoSystems & Networks | Host of Sustainability Solved Podcast

Europe vs. Asia: The sustainability shift #business #globaltrade #shorts

15 Jul 2026 · 0 min

Watch on YouTube

0:29

In this brief commentary, Will Richardson contrasts how sustainability targets are being adopted in Asia versus Europe. He argues that Asian companies are voluntarily setting ambitious sustainability goals because market forces—investors, customers, and supply‑chain partners—are demanding them, with no regulatory compulsion. In Europe, by contrast, the sustainability agenda was primarily driven by government regulations a decade ago, which forced companies to comply. Richardson frames the Asian shift as a market‑pull phenomenon versus the regulation‑push model seen in Europe, highlighting a fundamental change in the drivers of corporate sustainability worldwide.

None of these Asian companies were forced to do it. There is no regulator standing behind them with a clipboard. They are setting these targets because the commercial case has become overwhelming. The investors, the customers, and the supply chain partners that matter to them are demanding it. So the smart companies are moving first. That is a fundamentally different driver than what we saw in Europe a decade ago. In Europe, regulation pulled the market. In Asia, the market is pulling itself.