When Robin Hu joined Temasek in 2016 to lead its newly formed Sustainability and Stewardship Group (SSG), he faced a formidable challenge: integrating sustainability into Temasek’s investment strategy.

At the time, sustainability was still a nascent concept in business. While the recent adoption of the Paris Agreement had drawn global attention to climate action, standardised playbooks for incorporating its principles into corporate strategies were practically non-existent, he says. 

“Sustainability didn’t have a language or a vocabulary, much less a cohesive narrative to communicate to our investment professionals why it needed to be a priority. And without that, we couldn’t inspire action. To make it compelling, we had to not only articulate what needed to be done, but ​why it was imperative for Temasek to act.” 

He saw this “white space” as both a challenge and an opportunity to translate emerging climate science into actionable business strategies, learning as the field itself gained momentum.

“Sustainability needed to have a language before it could become a conversation,” he says. “Only then could it become a conviction, and then action. We needed to create that pathway.”

A multifaceted approach to a complex challenge

Robin’s journey to sustainability leadership was not a conventional one. Trained as a computer scientist, he traversed the worlds of technology, government, and entrepreneurship before breaking into the world of media, with senior leadership roles in Singapore Press Holdings and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. These diverse experiences proved invaluable as he set about building a shared vocabulary – and path forward – for sustainability.  

The most critical mission, he noted, was to win over Temasek’s investment professionals – “the sharp pencils of the organisation”. Without their buy-in, the company’s sustainability efforts would not succeed.

“Sustainability is a combination of science, accounting, policy, and storytelling,” Robin explains. “The ​​science was developing, but was not yet well understood, and thus compelling. We needed to turn the science into numbers that resonated with them.” Robin and his team worked to factor climate-related risks and opportunities into the cost of capital, making a financial case for action.

“We needed to make clear – using science-based evidence – that failing to act today would only increase the financial burden tomorrow,” he says. Ultimately, the vision was for sustainability to “underwrite and undergird” everything Temasek did. 

 “As an intergenerational investor, we have a duty to use sustainability as our moral compass, and allow it to guide our investment decisions.” 

A journey of bold strides

In those first four years, the company made significant strides in integrating sustainability into its investment strategy.  

Riding on the growing awareness of sustainability following the adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, Temasek developed an “Environmental, Social and Governance screen” in 2018 to evaluate both potential investments and portfolio companies. Just two years later, it committed to ​halving the net carbon emissions attributable to its portfolio by 2030, based on a 2010 baseline, and achieving net zero emissions by 2050. This decision had a catalytic effect, prompting a number of Temasek portfolio companies to appoint Chief Sustainability Officers and adopt sustainability measurement metrics. 

​​“Temasek’s publicly proclaimed commitment to decarbonisation changed the tone of the conversation,” says Robin. “At the time, it was a gargantuan step to take. But that was the moment sustainability moved from the head to the heart.”  

By the time Robin moved to head Temasek’s International Policy and Governance group at the end of 2020, sustainability had become a multi-faceted strategy that factored into Temasek’s investment screening, risk management, and performance measurement processes. It also began leveraging a diverse mix of investment vehicles and strategic ​partnerships to drive impact. Initiatives like ​​GenZero, which aimed to advance sustainability through nature-based and technological solutions, and Temasek’s “sustainable living” portfolio – valued at S$44 billion in 2024 – cemented the company’s leadership in the field.  

“The concept of time in Temasek can sometimes feel surreal,” Robin reflects. “When you’re in the thick of it, it feels like you’re moving too slow. But looking back, you see how far you’ve come. That Temasek is now a leader in sustainability is a testament to the team’s dedication and its leaders’ audacity to commit to Net Zero.” 

A New Frontier 

In 2021, Robin’s focus shifted to biodiversity loss and wildlife conservation when he became Chairman of the Board of Mandai Nature, an endowment set up by Temasek Trust and Mandai Park Holdings. This transition marked a natural progression in his sustainability journey.  

“Climate and decarbonisation get a lot of attention today, but biodiversity and wildlife conservation are often overlooked,” says Robin, who remains an Advisory Senior Director to Temasek. “The climate crisis has seen science turning into accounting, accounting into policy, and policy into consumer behaviour. People don’t yet understand biodiversity loss. If it can be scientifically quantified, it can be translated into a narrative, and from there, into action, but we're not there yet.”  

Robin credits his work at Temasek for giving him the “knowledge, conviction, and ambition” to take on that mission. 

“As a parent and a grandfather, I would be embarrassed to put my children into financial debt. Having worked in Temasek, I know I don’t want to leave them with a climate debt. I am devoting this phase of my sustainability journey to the preservation of ‘natural capital’ so ​our children don’t inherit a ​‘nature debt’ from biodiversity loss.”  

“Every generation can only prosper if we prosper both financially and naturally.”