Returning from Expo 2025 Osaka, I joined a full week of sustainability and innovation events in Kuala Lumpur—IGEM, KL Sustainable Summit, and Malaysia–Japan Environment Week—where regional leaders and ERIA partners advanced actionable strategies on energy, circular economy, and urban governance. These engagements underscored ASEAN’s growing capacity to turn sustainability dialogue into measurable impact.
Fresh from #Expo2025 Osaka 🇯🇵, I engaged in a dense cluster of#sustainability and #innovation events at #KLCC, Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾: #IGEM 2025, the inaugural KL Sustainable Summit (#KLSS 2025), and the #Malaysia 🇲🇾‑#Japan 🇯🇵 Environment Week, which fosters both strategic and technical #cooperation between the two nations.
The #ASEAN Energy Business Forum 2025 (#AEBF‑25) and #NEEC 2025 brought ministers, policymakers, and industry leaders together on actionable #energy strategies.
Alongside, #ERIA 🇯🇵-led initiatives are shaping regional approaches to marine plastic mitigation, while #circular economy and waste valorization discussions highlighted cross-national #collaboration and innovation.
From my expertise, the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur Dr Maimunah Mohd Sharif, former Director at UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) 🇺🇳, is attempting a “Walk the Talk” shift in municipal sustainability #leadership—performative in ambition. Beyond KL, she shapes #ASEAN urban agendas through the #ASEAN Governors and Mayors Forum, amplifying #Malaysia’s regional leadership, with outcomes that will require careful #monitoring to confirm tangible #impact.
This week showcased 360° navigation across policy, #governance, and #innovation, reinforcing how dialogue, #strategy, and action converge to create measurable #sustainability impact.
